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Guo Jizhong said: "Inquiring about the cause of dry mouth and epigastric fullness after childbirth. The answer is: After childbirth, Ying and Wei (nutritive and defensive qi) are severely deficient, and blood and qi have not yet stabilized. Consuming wheat noodles too early overwhelms the stomach's digestive capacity. The 'toxicity' of noodles accumulates in the epigastrium, steaming upward into the chest. Consequently, there is dry mouth with thirst and subcardiac fullness. If physicians fail to recognize this condition and mistakenly diagnose it as chest and diaphragm congestion/stagnation, using purgative drugs will result in failure in almost all cases. However, taking Jian Ni Wan (See-Ni Pill) will lead to recovery."

Annotation: This serves as a warning for those who consume noodles. People in the South rarely eat noodles, but improper consumption of any diet can cause disease; one should not restrict the etiology solely to noodles.

Chen Wuyue commented: "Postpartum dry mouth and epigastric fullness are not necessarily caused only by eating noodles. It may be due to the mother accumulating internal worry and vexation, suffering external invasion of dry-heat pathogenic factors, or consuming sweet, greasy, and rich foods, leading to dry mouth and fullness. Treatment should follow the specific cause. For vexation, Si Wu Tang (Four Substances Decoction) minus Rehmanniae Radix (Shu Di Huang), plus Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Ren Shen) and Mume Fructus (Wu Mei) decocted is suitable. (Treating based on the cause is very correct; however, for treating vexation, removing Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuan Xiong) from Si Wu Tang is even better than removing Rehmanniae Radix). If caused by external dry-heat, determine which meridian is affected and treat accordingly according to the meridian patterns; it is difficult to list all possibilities. For injuries caused by diet, Jian Ni Wan can be prepared as either pills or decoction."

Xue noted: "If the aforementioned symptoms are due to retained food stagnation, use Liu Jun Zi Tang (Six Gentlemen Decoction) added with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Bai Zhu), Zhi Shi (Immature Bitter Orange), and Medicated Leaven (Shen Qu). If caused by meat consumption, add Crataegi Fructus (Shan Zha). If caused by fish, add Tangerine Peel (Chen Pi). If the food has digested but fullness persists, or if pain and vomiting occur instead, this indicates injury to the Spleen and Stomach; use Liu Jun Zi Tang (Six Gentlemen Decoction). If there is acid regurgitation and belching of rotten smells, add Roasted Ginger (Pao Jiang); if diarrhea occurs, add Cimicifugae Rhizoma (Sheng Ma). If there is no response, assist with Si Shen Wan (Four Spirits Pill), or alternatively use Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction)."

A woman consumed Jiao Shu (Zongzi/Sticky Rice Dumplings), experiencing vexation, thirst, fullness, abdominal pain, and tenesmus (urge to defecate without success). Purgative/digestive medications were ineffective. Her diet decreased daily, and her body emaciated over half a year. I considered this a disorder caused by food accumulation. I used Da Jiu Qu (Large Yeast) stir-fried into powder, taken with warm wine, two qian per dose. Soon after, borborygmus occurred, and after a long while, undigested Zongzi was passed, leading to recovery. Another woman consumed dried fish, developing abdominal pain and dysentery. Various medications failed. Equal parts Chen Pi (Tangerine Peel) and Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma) were powdered and administered with Chen Pi decoction, resulting in recovery after several doses.

Jian Ni Wan (See-Ni Pill) treats postpartum deficiency of blood and qi, retention of food and fluid, dry mouth with vexation, and subcardiac painful fullness.

Ingredients: Curcuma Longa Rhizome (Jiang Huang, stir-fried), Galangal Fruit (Bi Cheng Qie), Alpinia Officinarum Rhizome (Liang Jiang), Sparganium Tuber (San Leng, stir-baked with vinegar), Curcuma Zedoaria Rhizome (E Zhu/Peng Zhen, stir-baked with vinegar), Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Ren Shen), Citrus Reticulata Pericarpium (Chen Pi, white pith removed). All in equal proportions.

Preparation and Administration: Grind the above ingredients into fine powder. Use Radish (Note: Jian Ni Wan contains warming and slippery herbs like San Leng, E Zhu, and Liang Jiang, combined with Ren Shen. Using radish juice to make pills is also a clever method for treating noodle accumulation. However, Li Zhai [Xue Ji] purely uses tonification methods, designed for those accustomed to rich diets and long-term use of digestive aids. For common people with new illnesses, who have not used digestive aids and have excess qi, how can one rigidly adhere to Li Zhai's theory? Methods should be adjusted flexibly according to circumstances. Radish soup is used here to treat noodle accumulation.) Slowly boil until extremely soft, mash thoroughly, extract the remaining juice, and use this juice to cook flour paste. Form pills the size of paulownia seeds. Take 30-50 pills per dose, washed down with radish soup or plain water.