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The neighbor Feng Xiang’s child, a few months old, accidentally dropped a gold mesh hairnet ring on the table and swallowed it. The child cried incessantly. Feng Xiang sought help from a physician, but the physician happened to be out. Feng Xiang waited at the door, restless and unable to sit or stand still. Someone asked what illness his child had that caused such panic. Feng Xiang explained the situation. The person advised him to quickly buy a few stalks of Chinese chives (Jiucai), cook them thoroughly without cutting them, and swallow them together with broad beans. After no more than two doses, the ring was passed in the stool. This method is not recorded in medical texts, so it is hereby documented (from Liu Huanbei's *Hao Ji Yan*).

Sun Simiao said: Children who have not been exposed to frost and snow do not contract Shanghan (Cold Damage) disease, whereas adults often do. However, regarding the pathogenic qi of Tianxing Shiji (epidemic diseases), children are also susceptible, which is why they frequently suffer from Ban Zhen (maculopapular rashes). The treatment for these epidemic seasonal diseases follows the same methods as for adults, except that the dosage is slightly smaller and the medicinal nature is slightly cooler. Zhu Danxi also stated: Generally, the medicines used for treating children are the same as those for adults, but the dosage is smaller. Recently, a famous physician in Wuzhong treated adults with small dosages and children with large dosages, failing to strike the right balance, resulting in both excess and deficiency errors. Why? If the disease is severe but the decoction dosage is small, the pathogenic factors will not be fully eliminated while the medicinal power has already exhausted itself. It is like using a cup of water to extinguish a fire fueled by a cartload of firewood; it cannot put it out. This is called "insufficiency." If the disease is mild but the decoction dosage is large, the pathogenic factors are already gone, but the medicinal power remains excessive, thereby damaging the healthy qi. It is like a fire burning Kunlun Mountain, where both jade and stone are destroyed, uncontrollable. This is called "excess." Both scenarios are the work of incompetent physicians, and students should not emulate them.

Douchuang (smallpox/variolous eruptions) belonging to the deficiency-cold pattern can persist for ten-plus days before death. Those with vigorous Duwa (toxic heat/evil qi) turning purple die within seven to eight days. Generally, Douchuang arises from fetal toxins moving from the interior to the exterior. They typically emerge completely within one to three days, during which time the toxic heat remains inside. By the sixth day, it should have fully manifested on the surface. From the seventh to ninth days, pus forms and scabs appear. If the toxic heat is vigorous and fails to fully emerge, after the sixth day it may re-enter the internal organs. One must urgently administer blood-cooling and detoxifying herbs before the sixth day, when the toxic heat should naturally emerge, to expel it. After the sixth day, even a skilled physician cannot save the patient, hence death occurs most rapidly. In cases of weakness and scanty toxic heat, the issue is merely insufficient Qi and Blood to transform pus and complete the eruption process, leading to a prolonged course before death. This distinguishes deficiency/excess and severity. Furthermore, it is said: A profusion of eruptions indicates abundant toxic heat, requiring initial detoxification. However, an abundance of eruptions may suggest insufficient Qi and Blood circulation, so subsequently, tonifying herbs should be added to assist in forming pus and blood (from Xue Lizhai's *Jiaju Yilu*).