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When a newborn infant is first born, the digestive function has not yet opened, and the Stomach Qi (Stomach Energy) has not yet moved. The body is like an empty and clear cavity; it is advisable to pay special attention to regulation during this period. Before the infant cries, let a skilled woman gently probe the infant's mouth with her finger to remove dirty blood. Then, using Licorice Root Decoction (Gancao Tang), wrap a soft cloth around the finger, dip it in the decoction, and wipe away the saliva in the mouth. Afterward, observe the infant's complexion. If the body and face are both red, and the lips and tongue are purple-red, it can be known that there must be fetal toxin (Tai Du). Every day, use salted tea (weak saline solution), but do not make it too salty. Dip a cloth in it to wash the mouth, removing sticky saliva. This should be done five or six times daily. This method is extremely miraculous and strange, yet unknown to the world. The reason is that the infant's fetal toxin resides in the Spleen and Stomach, and there is often much sticky saliva in the mouth. Conditions such as "horse teeth" (epithelial pearls), "goat's mouth" (oral candidiasis), double tongue, and wooden tongue all originate from this. Daily washing and wiping will cause the toxin to leave with the saliva; how could illness arise? Moreover, the method is extremely simple and easy; why ignore it and not practice it? If the fetal toxin is severe, washing may need to continue until the child is one year old. This is the regulation for infants with toxic conditions. If the infant's face and lips are pale red, this indicates fetal coldness. Tea should not be used; instead, only weak ginger water should be used for washing and wiping, once or twice a day at most. Ginger can stimulate appetite and harmonize the middle jiao, making it most suitable for current needs. As for ancient formulas using Coptis Rhizome (Huanglian), Rhubarb (Dahuang), Cinnabar (Zhusha), and Calomel (Qingfen) for "opening the mouth," these methods must absolutely not be used at this time. Infants born today are deficient in constitution nine out of ten times. Bitter-cold herbs that attack and weaken are most inappropriate. Furthermore, a newly born infant is like a hibernating insect emerging from its hole or grass and trees just sprouting; suddenly encountering heavy snow and severe frost, they would inevitably become stiff and broken. Using bitter-cold herbs entering a mouth full of saliva is exactly the same. I often see that on the third and seventh days after birth, symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting milk, diarrhea, and night crying inevitably appear. These are all harms caused by bitter-cold herbs damaging the Stomach Qi. Who can understand this!

Someone might ask: You say bitter-cold herbs cannot be used for the mouth of a newborn, so why do later formulas such as Hangxie Dan and Xieqing Wan contain Sanhuang (Three Yellows) and Dahuang? Is this not contradictory? I reply: In those cases, the fetal toxin has already manifested, and external signs provide evidence. When there is disease, treat the disease; why fear Dahuang! Now, when opening the mouth of a newborn, whether there is toxin or not has not been distinguished. Even if there is toxin, it has not yet erupted; it is deeply hidden and latent, with no sound or odor. Cheng Fengchu said: Just as when a neighborhood is peaceful and without incident, one cannot seize an ordinary person and execute him saying, 'You will become a bandit.' Using bitter-cold herbs to "open the mouth" is executing an innocent person; fearing bitter-cold herbs after the toxin erupts means failing to punish bandits when they exist. How can this be acceptable?