杨季登二女。俱及笄将字。长女病经闭年余。发热食少。肌削多汗。而成痨怯。医见汗多。误为虚也。投
以参术。其血愈锢。余诊时见汗出如蒸笼气水。谓曰此症可疗处。全在有汗。盖经血内闭。止有从皮毛间透
出一路。以汗亦血也。设无汗而血不流。则皮毛干槁而死矣。宜用极苦之药。以敛其血入内。而下通
于冲脉。则热退经行。而汗自止。非补药所能效也。于是以龙荟丸日进三次。月余忽觉经血略至。汗热稍轻。
始减前丸。只日进一次。又一月。经血大至。淋漓五日。而诸病全瘳矣。第二女亦病多汗。食减肌削。诊时手
间筋掣肉颤。身倦气怯。余曰。此大惊大虚之候。宜从温补者也。遂于补剂中多加茯神枣仁。投十
余剂。全不对病。余为徘徊治法。因自讦曰。非外感也。非内伤
也。非杂症也。虚汗振掉不宁。能受补药。而病无增减。且闺中处子。素无家难。其神情浑似丧败之余。此曷
故耶。忽而悟曰。此必邪祟之病也。何为其父不言。甚有可疑。往诊问其面色。曰时赤时黄。余曰。此症确有
邪祟。附入脏腑。吾有神药可以驱之。季登才曰。此女每晚睡去。口流白沫。战栗而绝。以姜汤灌至良久方
苏。挑灯侍寝防之。亦不能止。因见所用安神药甚当。兼恐婿家传闻。故不敢明告也。余曰。何不蚤言。
吾一剂可愈。乃以犀角羚羊角龙齿虎威骨牡蛎粉鹿角霜人参黄 等药合末。令以羊肉半斤。煎取浓汁三盏。尽调
其末。一次服之。果得安寝。竟不再发。相传以为神异。余盖以祟附于身。与人之神气支持。亦逼处不安。无
隙可出。故用诸多灵物之遗形。引以羊肉之膻。俾邪祟转附骨角。移从大便而出。仿上古遗精变气祝
繇遗事。充其义耳。吾乡熊仲纾先生幼男去疾。髫龄患一奇症。食饮如常。但脉细神呆。气夺色夭。仲翁曰。
此何病也。余曰。病名淹牒。左传所谓近女室晦。即是此病。彼因近女。又遭室晦。
故不可为。令郎受室晦之邪。而未近女。是可为也。即前方少加牛黄丸。服旬日而安。今壬午去疾已举孝廉矣。
胡卣臣先生曰。辨症用药。通于神明。究莫测其涯 。
杨季登的两个女儿，都到了十五岁即将许嫁的年纪。大女儿患闭经一年多，伴有发热、食欲减退、肌肉消瘦和多汗，最终形成了虚劳怯症。医生看到患者出汗多，误认为是虚证，便投用参、术等补气药，结果导致经血更加瘀滞不通。我诊察时，见患者出汗如同蒸笼冒出的水汽，便对她说：“这个病症可以治疗的关键之处，全在于‘有汗’这一点。因为经血在体内闭塞，只有从皮毛毛孔间透发出来这一条出路。因为汗也是由血所化生的。假如没有汗出而血液又不流通，那么皮肤就会干枯槁死。”因此，适宜使用极苦寒的药物，来收敛内陷的经血，并使其向下通达冲脉，这样热退、月经来潮，汗出自然停止。这不是补益类药物所能奏效的。于是，让患者每天服用三次龙荟丸。一个多月后，忽然觉得月经稍微来潮，出汗和发热症状稍减轻，才减少龙荟丸的用量，改为隔天服用一次。又过了一个月，月经大量来潮，淋漓持续五天，各种疾病全部痊愈了。
二女儿也患有出汗多的毛病，食欲减退，肌肉消瘦。诊察时，见她手指间的筋脉抽搐、肌肉颤动，身体疲倦，气息虚弱。我说：“这是大惊之后导致的严重虚损征象，应该采用温补的方法治疗。”于是在补益剂中多加了茯神和酸枣仁，投药十余剂，完全不对症。我为此在治法上徘徊犹豫，于是自我检讨说：“这既不是外感病，也不是内伤病，更不是普通的杂症。虚汗不止、身体震颤不安，既然能够承受补药，但病情却没有增减。况且这位闺阁中的未婚女子，向来没有家庭变故，她的神情却好像遭受过重大打击后的样子，这是什么缘故呢？”忽然醒悟道：“这一定是邪祟附体的病。为什么她父亲不说明情况？这很可疑。”我去诊察并询问她的面色，回答说：“脸色时而发红，时而发黄。”我说：“这个病症确实有邪祟附着进入脏腑，我有神药可以驱除它。”杨季登这才说道：“这个女儿每晚睡去后，口中流出白沫，战栗昏厥，用姜汤灌下很久才能苏醒。我们挑灯侍奉在旁防备着，也不能制止。因为看到之前用的安神药似乎很对症，加上恐怕女婿家听到传闻，所以不敢明告。”我说：“为什么不早点说？我一剂药就可以治好。”于是用犀角、羚羊角、龙齿、虎威骨、牡蛎粉、鹿角霜、人参、黄芩等药物研成细末，令取半斤羊肉，煎取浓汁三盏，将药末全部调入其中，一次性服下。果然得以安稳入睡，竟然不再发作。人们相传以为神奇怪异，我这是因为邪祟附身，与人的神气相互支撑，彼此逼处不得安宁，无处可出，所以使用多种灵异动物的遗骸（骨骼牙齿等），以羊肉的膻味为引，使邪祟转而依附于骨角，随大便排出体外。这是模仿上古遗留的精怪变化、祝祷驱邪的事迹，充实其义理罢了。
我的同乡熊仲纾先生的小儿子去疾，童年时患有一种奇症。饮食如常，但脉象细微，神情呆滞，元气耗夺，面色枯夭。熊先生说：“这是什么病？”我说：“病名叫‘淹牒’（因房事或接触阴邪导致的慢性消耗性疾病）。《左传》所说的‘近女室晦’，就是这种病。那个人是因为亲近女色，又遭遇阴晦之气，所以不可救治。令郎是受了阴晦之邪，但并未亲近女色，所以是可以治疗的。”就在前面的方子中少加牛黄丸，服用十天后就安好了。如今壬午年，去疾已经考中孝廉了。
胡卣臣先生说：“辨证用药，通于神明，终究无法测度它的边际。”
Yang Jideng's two daughters were both of age (fifteen) and about to be betrothed. The eldest daughter had suffered from amenorrhea for over a year, accompanied by fever, poor appetite, emaciation, and profuse sweating, eventually developing into a consumptive weakness syndrome (Laoqie). Physicians, seeing the profuse sweating, mistakenly diagnosed it as deficiency and administered tonics such as Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen) and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu), which only caused further stagnation of the menses. Upon my examination, I observed her sweating like steam rising from a steamer, and told her: "The key to treating this condition lies entirely in the presence of sweating. Since the menstrual blood is internally obstructed, there is only one pathway for it to emerge: through the skin and hair follicles. This is because sweat is also derived from blood. If there were no sweating and the blood did not flow, the skin would become dry and withered, leading to death." Therefore, it was appropriate to use extremely bitter-cold herbs to consolidate the internalized blood and guide it downward to connect with the Chong Mai (Penetrating Vessel). Once the heat subsided and menstruation resumed, the sweating would stop naturally. This could not be achieved with tonic medicines. Thus, Longhui Wan (Longdan Xiegan Wan modified or similar bitter-draining pill) was administered three times daily. After more than a month, she suddenly felt a slight onset of menstruation, and the sweating and fever slightly alleviated. The dosage of the pill was then reduced to once every other day. Another month later, menstruation flowed heavily for five days, and all ailments were completely cured.
The second daughter also suffered from excessive sweating, reduced appetite, and emaciation. During the pulse diagnosis, I noticed twitching of tendons and trembling of muscles in her hands, along with physical fatigue and weak qi. I stated: "This is a sign of severe deficiency following great fright; it should be treated with warming and tonifying methods." Consequently, I added Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fushen) and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (Suanzaoren) to the tonifying formula. After administering more than ten doses, there was no effect. I hesitated regarding the treatment strategy and reflected upon myself, saying: "This is neither an external contraction nor an internal injury, nor a miscellaneous disease. The spontaneous sweating and tremors are unceasing; since she can tolerate tonics yet the condition remains unchanged, and considering she is a maiden who has never experienced family disasters, why does her demeanor resemble that of someone who has suffered a catastrophic loss?" Suddenly, I realized: "This must be a disease caused by evil spirits (Xiesui). Why did her father not mention this? It is suspicious." I went to examine her and asked about her complexion. She replied: "Her face turns red at times and yellow at others." I said: "There is indeed an evil spirit attached to the viscera. I have divine medicine to expel it." Only then did Yang Jideng reveal: "My daughter, after falling asleep each night, foams at the mouth, shivers violently, and loses consciousness. We pour ginger decoction into her mouth for a long time until she revives. We stay awake by lamp light to guard against it, but cannot stop it. Because the sedative medicines used previously seemed appropriate, and fearing rumors from the future husband's family, I dared not speak openly." I said: "Why did you not say so earlier? One dose will cure her." I prepared a powder made from Rhinoceros Horn (Xijiao), Antelope Horn (Lingyangjiao), Dragon Teeth (Longchi), Tiger Bone (Hu Gu - *Note: Modern substitutes often used*), Oyster Shell (Muli), Deer Antler Glue/Residue (Lujiaoshuang), Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen), and Scutellaria Root (Huangqin). Half a jin (approx. 500g) of mutton was boiled to extract three bowls of concentrated broth. The powder was mixed into the broth and taken in one dose. She indeed slept peacefully, and the condition never recurred. People passed it down as miraculous. My reasoning was that when an evil spirit attaches to the body, it contends with the person's Shen Qi (Spirit and Qi), causing mutual discomfort with no outlet. Therefore, I used relics of spiritual animals (bones, teeth, etc.) guided by the strong odor of mutton to attract the evil spirit to attach to the bones and horns, facilitating its expulsion via the large intestine. This imitates ancient practices of exorcism and transformation of spirits, fulfilling their underlying principles.
Mr. Xiong Zhongshu, a gentleman from my hometown, had a young son named Quji. In his childhood, he suffered from a strange illness. His diet and drink were normal, but his pulse was fine/thready, his spirit was dull, his Qi was depleted, and his complexion was sallow/withered. Mr. Xiong asked: "What disease is this?" I replied: "The disease is called 'Yandie' (Chronic debility due to sexual excess or yin pathogens). As mentioned in the Zuo Zhuan, 'approaching women leads to晦 (darkness/yin pathogen)' refers to this condition. That patient suffered because he approached women and encountered yin pathogens, making him incurable. Your son contracted the yin pathogen but did not approach women, so he is curable." I modified the previous formula by adding a small amount of Calculus Bovis (Niuhuang). After ten days of administration, he recovered. By the Renwu year, Quji had already passed the provincial examinations to become a Xiaolian.
Mr. Hu Youchen remarked: "Differentiating symptoms and prescribing medication reaches the level of the divine; its depths are unfathomable."