秀翁年将五十,体虚多劳,初病足痹,医治数月不效,诊脉虚濡无力,视其腓肉枯瘪,
膝盖
肿大,谓曰∶此干香港脚也。又名鹤膝风。病由肝肾下亏,邪乘虚伏,医者不知温补托邪,泛
从标治,转致血气耗伤,无性命之虞,有终身之患。治仿大营煎,加附子、党参、河车、鹿
角胶,初服十剂,其痛已减,再服十剂,足能履地,续服丸药,枯回槁泽,行动如常。
临兄女三岁,右肢痿软,不能举动,医作风治。予曰∶此偏废证也。病由先天不足,肝
肾内
亏,药当温补。若作风治,误矣。临兄曰∶偏废乃老人病,孩提安得患此。予曰∶肝主筋,
肾主骨,肝充则筋健,肾充则骨强,老人肾气已衰,小儿肾气未足,其理一也。与右归饮,
加参 鹿角胶,数十服乃愈。
礼兄平素体虚,时感寒热,耳旁肿痛,维时此证盛行,俗称猪头瘟。医与清散药两剂,
耳旁
肿消,睾丸旋肿,痛不可耐,寒热更甚。予思耳旁部位属少阳。睾丸属厥阴肝胆相为表里,
料由少阳之邪,不从表解,内传厥阴故耳。仿暖肝煎,加吴萸一剂而效。同时族人泽瞻兄病
此,予诊之曰∶得无耳旁肿消,睾丸肿痛乎?泽兄惊曰∶子何神耶。亦用煎法治愈。后阅会
心录,载有肿腮一证,云医不知治,混投表散,邪乘虚陷,传入厥阴,睾丸肿痛,耳后全消
,昔贤之言,洵不诬也。
Old Man Wu Xiusen was nearly fifty years old, with a weak constitution and prone to overwork. Initially, he suffered from numbness and bi-syndrome in the feet. After several months of treatment without effect, his pulse was diagnosed as deficient, soggy, and powerless. His calf muscles were observed to be withered and shrunken, while the knees were swollen. I stated: This is Gan Hongxiangjiao (Dry Hongxiangjiao, a type of bi-syndrome characterized by limb emaciation and joint swelling). It is also known as Hexikeng (Crane's Knee Wind). The disease arises from deficiency in the Liver and Kidney below, with pathogenic factors lying dormant due to deficiency. The physicians failed to employ warming and tonifying methods to expel the pathogens, instead treating superficially, which further depleted Qi and Blood. Although there was no threat to life, it resulted in lifelong affliction. The treatment imitated Daying Decoction (Great Camp Decoction), added with Fuzi (Aconite Lateralis Radix Praeparata), Dangshen (Codonopsis Radix), Heche (Placenta Hominis), and Lujiaojiao (Colla Cornus Cervi). After taking ten doses initially, the pain decreased. After another ten doses, he could walk on the ground. Subsequently, taking pill medicine restored moisture to the withered tissues, and movement returned to normal.
The younger sister of Mr. Hong Linchuan was three years old, suffering from flaccidity and weakness in the right limbs, unable to move. Physicians treated it as wind-induced pathology. I said: This is Pianfei Syndrome (Hemiplegia or unilateral paralysis). The disease stems from congenital insufficiency and internal deficiency of the Liver and Kidney; the medication should be warming and tonifying. Treating it as wind-induced pathology would be a mistake. Mr. Hong said: Pianfei is a disease of the elderly; how can a child suffer from this? I replied: The Liver governs the sinews, and the Kidney governs the bones. When Liver Qi is sufficient, sinews are strong; when Kidney Qi is sufficient, bones are robust. The Kidney Qi of the elderly has declined, while that of children is not yet fully developed; the principle is the same. Prescribed Yougui Yin (Right Restoring Decoction), added with Renshen (Ginseng Radix) and Lujiaojiao (Colla Cornus Cervi). After dozens of doses, she recovered.
Mr. Wu Litin had a generally weak constitution and frequently experienced alternating chills and fever, with swelling and pain beside the ears. At that time, this condition was prevalent, commonly known as Zhutouweng (Pig Head Plague, referring to mumps). Physicians administered two doses of clearing and dispersing herbs. The swelling beside the ears subsided, but the testicles subsequently swelled, causing unbearable pain, and the chills and fever worsened. I reasoned that the area beside the ear belongs to the Shaoyang Meridian. The testicles belong to the Jueyin Meridian, where the Liver and Gallbladder are exterior-interior partners. I surmised that the Shaoyang pathogen did not resolve from the exterior but transmitted internally to the Jueyin Meridian. Imitating Nuogan Decoction (Warming Liver Decoction), added with Wuyu (Evodiae Fructus), one dose yielded efficacy. At the same time, a clan member, Brother Zezhan, suffered from this condition. Upon diagnosis, I said: Could it be that after the swelling beside the ears subsided, the testicles became swollen and painful? Brother Zezhan exclaimed in surprise: How miraculous you are! He was also cured using decoction therapy. Later, reading *Huixin Lu* (Records of Heart-to-Heart Understanding), it recorded a case of Swollen Cheeks, stating that if physicians do not know the proper treatment and indiscriminately administer exterior-dispersing herbs, the pathogen will sink into the deficiency and transmit to the Jueyin Meridian, causing testicular swelling and pain while the swelling behind the ears completely disappears. The words of the sages are indeed not false.