疫邪为病,有从战汗而解者;有从自汗、盗汗、狂汗而解者;有无汗竟传入胃者
;有自汗淋漓,热渴反甚,终得战汗方解者;有胃气壅郁,必因下乃得战汗而解者;有表以
汗
解,里有余邪,不因他故,越三五日前证复发者;有发黄因下而愈者;有发黄因下而斑出者
;
有竟从发斑而愈者;有里证急,虽有斑,非下不愈者。此虽传变不常,亦疫之常变也。有
局外之变者,男子适逢淫欲,或向来下元空虚,邪热乘虚陷于下焦,气道不施,以致小便闭
塞,小腹胀满,每至夜即发热,以导赤散、五苓、五皮之类,分毫不效,得大承气一服,小
便如注而愈者。或宿有他病,一隅之亏,邪乘宿昔所损而传者,如失血崩带,经水适来适断
,心痛疝气,痰火喘急,凡此皆非常变,大抵邪行如水,惟注者受之,传变不常,皆因人而
使,盖因疫而发旧病,治法无论某经某病,但治其疫,而旧病自愈。
温疫发热一二日,舌上白苔如积粉,早服达原饮一剂,午前舌变黄色,随现胸膈
满痛,大渴烦躁,此伏邪即溃,邪毒传胃也。前方加大黄下之,烦渴少减,热去六七,午后
复加烦躁发热,通舌变黑生刺,鼻如烟煤,此邪毒最重,复瘀到胃,急投大承气汤。傍晚大
下,至夜半热退,次早鼻黑苔刺如失。此一日之间,而有三变,数日之法,一日行之。因其
毒甚,传变亦速,用药不得不紧。设此证不服药,或投缓剂,羁迟二三日,必死。设不死,
服药亦无及矣。尝见温疫二三日即毙者,乃其类也。
In diseases caused by epidemic pathogens, some are resolved through *zhan han* (shivering sweat); some are resolved through spontaneous sweating (*zi han*), night sweating (*dao han*), or manic sweating (*kuang han*); some have no sweating but the pathogen directly transmits to the Stomach; some experience profuse spontaneous sweating yet heat and thirst worsen, requiring shivering sweat for resolution; some have Stomach Qi stagnation and depression, requiring purgation to induce shivering sweat for resolution; some have exterior symptoms resolved by sweating, yet residual interior pathogens remain, causing recurrence of previous symptoms after three to five days without other causes; some jaundice cases heal due to purgation; some jaundice cases develop macules (*ban*) due to purgation; some heal directly through the emergence of macules; some have urgent interior syndromes where, despite the presence of macules, healing is impossible without purgation. Although these represent irregular transmission patterns, they are common variations within epidemics.
There are also variations outside the standard patterns: In men who have recently engaged in excessive sexual activity, or who inherently have deficiency in the Lower Yuan (Kidney and lower jiao), the pathogenic heat sinks into the Lower Jiao due to deficiency, impairing the movement of Qi channels, resulting in urinary retention and lower abdominal distension, with fever worsening at night. Treatments such as Dao Chi San (Guide Out Redness Powder), Wu Ling San (Five-Ingredient Powder with Poria), and Wu Pi Yin (Five-Peel Decoction) prove ineffective. However, a single dose of Da Cheng Qi Tang (Major Order the Yang Decoction) results in copious urination and recovery. Alternatively, if the patient has pre-existing conditions with localized deficiency, the pathogen may transmit to the damaged area. Examples include blood loss, metrorrhagia, leukorrhea, menstruation just starting or stopping, heart pain, hernia, and wheezing/urgency due to phlegm-fire. All these are irregular transmissions. Generally, pathogenic factors flow like water, affecting only where it accumulates. Irregular transmission occurs due to individual constitution, often triggering old diseases upon contracting an epidemic. The treatment principle is regardless of the meridian or specific disease, one must treat the epidemic itself, and the old disease will resolve spontaneously.
In warm epidemics, after one or two days of fever, the tongue coating appears white like accumulated powder. Taking one dose of Da Yuan Yin (Reach the Origin Drink) in the morning causes the coating to turn yellow by midday, followed by chest and diaphragm fullness/pain, severe thirst, and irritability. This indicates the latent pathogen is breaking out and the toxic heat is transmitting to the Stomach. Adding Rhubarb (*Da Huang*, *Rhei Radix et Rhizoma*) to the previous formula to purge leads to slight reduction in irritability and thirst, with fever decreasing by 60-70%. However, in the afternoon, irritability and fever recur, the entire tongue turns black with prickles, and the nostrils appear sooty black. This signifies the heaviest pathogenic toxicity re-stagnating in the Stomach, necessitating immediate administration of Da Cheng Qi Tang (Major Order the Yang Decoction). Profuse purgation in the evening leads to fever subsiding by midnight. By the next morning, the black nostrils and tongue prickles disappear. This represents three changes within one day, compressing several days' pathology into one day. Due to the severity of the toxin and rapid transmission, medication must be administered urgently. If untreated, or if mild agents are used delaying treatment by two to three days, death is inevitable. Even if survival occurs, late medication would be futile. Cases of death from warm epidemics within two to three days belong to this category.