麻疹作痢,谓之夹疹痢,因毒热未解,移于大肠所致。有腹痛欲解,或赤或白,或赤
白相兼者,悉用清热导滞汤主之。若见痢色紫黯,或如痈脓,屋漏水,鸡肝色,黑豆汁,
气喘燥渴,发呃不食,皆不可治。若麻出之时,曾作泻痢,未经清解,至没后变成休息
痢,里急后重,昼夜无度,此余毒留于大肠,须分虚实用药。实者三黄丸利之,虚者香连
丸和之,再以黄芩汤养血行气,血和则便脓自愈,气行则后重自除,正此谓也。
麻疹大便闭者,乃火邪留结大肠,结而不解,致毒内攻,故无论前后,即与润利无妨。小水赤涩者,初起正出
时为正候,若见于正没及没后,为遗毒不散,宜用导赤散治之。如仍不通,或因大便闭结所致,通其大便,小便自利。
凡麻疹热轻,神安气安,醒睡如常吉也。设当发热正出之时,昏昏沉睡,必是火邪内郁,未透于表,速宜胜药
宣发,佐以清热,免致后患。若正没及没后见此,又是热退神清,多睡以养元复元气,不为害也。倘昏睡不省人事,
不知痛痒,或似睡非睡等症,皆在不治。又有一等面肿目闭者,乃脾经火旺,治以泻黄利水,火退,目闭自开。
麻后发热成疳,初时夜间身热自汗即退,或日晡时面红神倦嗜卧,微热得汗稍解,日复如是,宜早为施治,用黄连
解毒汤主之。倘延迟失治,或四五十日、或百日、或一二年,形体日瘦,腹膨泄泻,不可救药。
When measles is complicated by dysentery, it is called "Measles Complicated with Dysentery" (Ma Zhen Jia Li). This is caused by toxic heat that has not yet resolved, shifting to the Large Intestine. If abdominal pain occurs with an urge to defecate, and the stool is red, white, or a mixture of both, the primary prescription should be Qing Re Dao Zhi Tang (Clear Heat and Guide Out Stagnation Decoction). If the dysenteric stool appears purple and dark, resembling pus from a carbuncle, or resembles the color of dripping roof water, chicken liver, or black bean juice, accompanied by panting, irritability, thirst, hiccups, and inability to eat, these are all intractable conditions. If diarrhea or dysentery occurred during the eruption phase of measles and was not cleared and resolved, after the measles subsided, it may transform into Resting Dysentery (Xiu Xi Li), characterized by tenesmus and frequency without limit day and night. This indicates residual toxins remaining in the Large Intestine; medication must be differentiated based on excess or deficiency patterns. For excess patterns, San Huang Wan (Three Yellows Pill) is used to purge; for deficiency patterns, Xiang Lian Wan (Aromatic and Coptis Pill) is used to harmonize. Subsequently, Huang Qin Tang (Scutellaria Decoction) is used to nourish blood and promote qi circulation. When blood is harmonized, bloody stools heal spontaneously; when qi moves freely, tenesmus is eliminated. This is the principle being described.
Constipation in patients with measles results from fire pathogens accumulating and knotting in the Large Intestine, failing to resolve, thereby causing toxic pathogens to attack internally. Therefore, regardless of whether it occurs early or late in the disease course, administering moistening and purgative herbs is harmless. Reddish and scanty urine with painful difficulty in urination is a normal manifestation during the initial eruptive stage. However, if it appears during the resolution phase or after resolution, it indicates lingering toxins that have not dispersed, and Dao Chi San (Guide Out Redness Powder) should be used for treatment. If urination remains obstructed, it may be due to fecal impaction; once the bowels are unblocked, urination will naturally flow freely.
Generally, if measles presents with mild heat, calm spirit, and steady breath, with normal waking and sleeping states, this is auspicious. However, if during the feverish eruptive stage the patient falls into a deep, lethargic sleep, it indicates internal depression of fire pathogens that have failed to vent to the exterior. It is urgent to use potent herbs to ventilate and release the exterior, assisted by heat-clearing agents, to prevent future complications. If such symptoms appear during or after the resolution of measles, but the heat has subsided and the spirit is clear, excessive sleep serves to nourish primordial qi and restore vital energy, posing no harm. Conversely, if the patient is comatose, unconscious, insensible to pain or itch, or exhibits a state of semi-consciousness, these are all intractable conditions. Another presentation involves facial swelling and closed eyes, which is caused by flourishing fire in the Spleen Meridian. Treatment should employ Xie Huang San (Drain Yellow Powder) combined with diuretic methods; once the fire recedes, the eye closure will naturally resolve.
Post-measles fever leading to Gan syndrome (malnutrition syndrome) initially presents with nocturnal body heat and spontaneous sweating, which then subside. Or, in the late afternoon, there is facial flushing, mental fatigue, drowsiness, slight fever relieved by sweating, repeating daily. Early intervention is required, primarily using Huang Lian Jie Du Tang (Coptis Decoction for Resolving Toxicity). If treatment is delayed or neglected, over a period of forty to fifty days, one hundred days, or even one to two years, the patient's physique becomes increasingly emaciated, the abdomen distends, and diarrhea persists, rendering the condition incurable.