Library

For treating minor carbuncles and furuncles (inflammatory skin diseases), when the swelling is formed but not yet suppurated, plaster applications should not be used. Instead, apply medicinal paste to allow the lesion to resolve internally. Take fresh deer horn tips, place them in a mortar, and grind them thickly with aged rice vinegar or the common "Huangzi vinegar" of the time. Frequently use a goose feather to brush the mixture around the periphery of the carbuncle or furuncle, leaving a central opening. Reapply when dry; within one or two days, the condition will resolve internally. Whenever slight pain and fever are felt from a minor carbuncle or furuncle, use raw licorice root nodes (Gancao Jie). Do not roast or bake; dry them in the sun. If sunlight is unavailable, dry them over a steamer lid using low heat, then grind into a fine powder. Mix 2-3 qian with hot wine and take orally. After several doses, both pain and fever will cease.

For treating carbuncles and deep abscesses that have not yet hardened, as well as cases involving qi and blood stagnation resulting in swollen lumps, lightly stir-fry Evodiae Fructus (Wuzhuyu), grind into a fine powder, and mix with egg white for topical application. This is miraculous! It is suitable for mild cases.

Divine Formula for Treating Carbuncles and Deep Abscesses on the Back:
Honeysuckle Flower (Jinyinhua, also known as Renhan Cao)
Harvest the leaves and grind them to extract the juice. Use any amount, place it in a porcelain bottle, add water, and decoct strongly using alternating medium and high heat. While hot, add good quality unadulterated wine, mixing the herbal juice and wine equally. Boil for more than ten times, filter out the dregs, and drink frequently. Dry the remaining dregs, grind and sieve them into a fine powder. Make pills the size of paulownia seeds using a paste made from wine-boiled flour. Take thirty pills each time, swallowed with warm wine on an empty stomach. These pills can be taken regularly once the illness has subsided slightly, due to their mild potency.

Preventive Formula for Carbuncles and Deep Abscesses: Taking this medicine ensures lifelong immunity from this disease.
Astragali Radix (Huangqi, seven liang). Select straight, soft stalks resembling arrow shafts; discard roots and branches. Half is used raw: finely chopped and dried. Half is cut into inch-long segments, flattened, moistened with honey water, stored in a clay vessel covered tightly, steamed three times over a rice steamer, then removed, dried, and crushed.
Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma preparata (Fencao, one and a half liang of purified material without nodes and peel). Half is used raw: finely chopped and dried. Half is roasted until yellow, then chopped and dried.
Grind the above two herbs into a fine powder. Take two qian each time, decocted in plain boiled water for morning and noon doses; normally taken as a decoction. At night, while drinking wine, mix the first cup with the powder. Regular consumption in this manner prevents carbuncles and deep abscesses for life.

Note: The above formulas do not appear in other treatises; they are collected here and appended after the main discussions.

Cervical carbuncle (Naoju) should not be treated with moxibustion, as it may draw qi upward, causing phlegm, saliva, pus, and blood to rush up, leading to death as quickly as flipping a hand. One should urgently moxa Zusanli (ST36) and Qihai (CV6), and gradually administer medicines that cool the chest and diaphragm and resolve blood stasis, allowing the patient some relief. This theory is recorded in *Tongshen Fanglun*. Cervical carbuncles and deep abscesses in the throat were traditionally considered incurable. This moxibustion method guides toxic pathogens downward, which is theoretically sound. Those suffering from this disease should not sit idle awaiting death; they should believe in and use this method.

Trichosanthis Powder: Treats breast carbuncles and "nai lao" (a term commonly used today for the early stage of this disease) in women, with miraculous effects.
Trichosanthis Fructus (Gualou, one fruit). Remove the peel, dry by baking, and grind into powder. For urgent use, crush thoroughly. Fruits with many seeds are more potent.
Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui, half a liang). Wash clean, remove the radix tip, dry by baking, and slice thinly.
Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gancao, half a liang). Finely chop and use raw.
Myrrha (Moyao, one fen). Grind separately.
Boswelliae Resina (Ruxiang, one qian). Grind separately.
Combine the above ingredients with three sheng of unadulterated wine in a silver or ceramic vessel. Simmer slowly over low heat until one sheng of clear liquid remains. Divide into three doses, taken long after meals. If "nai lao" symptoms occur, take this medicine immediately to eradicate the root cause. If the toxin has already formed pus, it will transform the pus into yellow fluid; if the toxin has not yet formed, it will be excreted through urination and defecation. In severe cases, repeat the dosage to reduce the illness. Although there are many formulas for female breast abscesses, this single formula is unparalleled in its miraculous efficacy, never failing.

Commentary: The above two formulas treat cervical carbuncle and breast carbuncle respectively, neither of which relates directly to back carbuncles. However, since these are from Li Xun's book, they are included here.