诸病中，惟伤寒关系最重，然治之亦有捷要。但乘其初起在肌表时，蚤如法治之，无弗愈者。
譬御盗于未入室之前，自易驱除，要在审辩的确。所谓阴盛阳虚，汗之则愈，下之则死；阳盛阴虚
，下之则愈，汗之则死。差毫厘谬千里，不死于病而反死于医药，不如不药之为愈矣。故曰伤寒不
药为中医。盖
或值旅邸舟次，或山僻乡村，无明理医家，切勿妄服药。凡伤寒初起，头疼身痛，怕寒拘急，无汗
，为寒伤荣，即宜绝戒腥酒谷味，诸果饮食，一切有形难化之物。更宜却劳，断怒气、房欲、风寒
，安卧。急取带须葱头一握，生姜五钱，陈皮二、三钱，细茶叶一撮，白梅一个，紫苏三钱。水二
大钟，砂锅煮沸，以被袱覆患者，头入药确，令热气先熏头面，汗出，再乘热饮一大钟，渣即煎，
接饮。以浓被覆身，裹头烘足，俟汗出至足为愈。腿足无汗，而身热头疼仍在者，寒邪未尽也，宜
再发微汗。如病初起，头疼身热大汗出者，属风伤卫，不必发汗，恐有亡阳之害。如自有微汗，仍
如前法，再略取汗。前法中去紫苏、葱头，加黑枣三个煎服，汗止为愈。如起病时，胸膈胀满，因
伤谷、肉诸物，本日即与淡盐汤热饮三、二碗，以吐出饮食为度。不得吐，即以所伤之物烧灰，姜
汤调服。如过数日者，用姜、葱熨（法见伤寒。）最忌腥、酒。米汤不饮一口，必无饿死之理，绝戒谷
味，易安。如绞肠沙，米汤一口，杀人例也。如口干大渴，但饮茶、白汤、灯心汤、姜汤。或至七
、八日热极，则加悉尼、西瓜、鲜菱、嫩藕、生萝卜，惟捣取清汁啜之，去渣。凡调理不如法，至
数日后热邪传里，身大热，口大渴，谵语烦躁，狂言发斑，大便闭；或下利秽水，扬手掷足，揭去
衣被，唇焦，舌白苔渐变黄黑；或天气暄热，内外热极。可将病患卧于凉地席上，四围多致水盆，
令病患手浸水中；或更以青布一幅，浸湿覆于胸前，切宜避风，必病患喜好，方可为之。若渴极欲
水，问其欲饮几何，但与之半，勿多饮。或和苏叶、姜汁、砂糖、卤梅之类亦佳，勿强与水，致水
结胸之患。又有大热至六、七日，忽然作冷，浓加盖覆犹寒，战悚不定，此名发战，乃正气复而邪
欲出之象。急宜泡姜汤一大壶，置病患胸前，任意呼啜，以助正气，少顷正胜邪散，
汗出而解矣。如七、八日外热退，或乍有潮热，二便通快，胸膈清爽，惟以清米汤饮之，渐加稠汤
，进薄粥，以少为贵。若进腥酒，立刻番复，更慎房室。尤有乡村专务杀牲祷神，所谓食归众口，
罪归病患。惜哉！又阴证伤寒，腹痛肢冷，根据中寒条多吃浓姜汤，炒盐熨，用灸法治之。
在所有疾病中，只有伤寒关系最为重大，然而治疗它也有简便关键的方法。只要在疾病初起、邪气尚在肌表时，尽早按照正确法则治疗，没有不痊愈的。
这就像在盗贼尚未进入室内之前进行抵御，自然容易驱除，关键在于辨别准确无误。所谓阴盛阳虚，发汗则愈，攻下则死；阳盛阴虚，攻下则愈，发汗则死。差之毫厘，谬以千里，病人不是死于疾病，反而死于医药误治，不如不药而愈更好。所以说“伤寒不药为中医”（即不妄加用药才是高明的医生）。大概是因为有时身处旅店或舟船之中，或在偏僻乡村，没有通晓医理的医生，切勿胡乱服药。
凡是伤寒初起，出现头痛、身体疼痛、怕冷、肢体拘急、无汗等症状，这是寒邪伤了营血，此时应立即严格戒绝腥膻、酒类、谷物及所有果实饮食，以及一切有形难消化的食物。更应避免劳累，断绝怒气、房事欲望以及风寒侵袭，安心卧床休息。
急需取带须葱头一把，生姜五钱，陈皮二至三钱，细茶叶一撮，白梅一个，紫苏三钱。用水两大钟（古代量器），在砂锅中煮沸，用被子覆盖患者，让头部靠近药液上方，使热气先熏蒸头面部，待出汗后，再趁热饮用一大钟药汁，药渣再次煎煮，接着饮用。用厚被覆盖全身，包裹头部并烘烤足部，等到汗出至脚部即为痊愈。如果腿足无汗，而身热头痛仍在，说明寒邪未尽，宜再次发出微汗。
如果病初起时，头痛、身热且大汗出，这属于风邪伤了卫气，不必发汗，恐怕会导致亡阳的危害。如果患者已有微汗，仍按前述方法，稍微助其出汗即可。前述方剂中去掉紫苏和葱头，加入黑枣三个煎服，汗止即为痊愈。
如果在起病时，胸膈胀满，因伤食谷肉等物，当天即给予淡盐汤热饮三至二碗，以吐出饮食为度。如果不能吐出，就将所伤之物烧成灰，用姜汤调服。如果已过数日，可用姜、葱熨法（方法见伤寒篇）。最忌吃腥膻、饮酒。米汤一口也不喝，绝不会饿死，严格戒绝谷物饮食，容易安顿。如果是绞肠痧（一种急性腹痛病症），喝一口米汤，是杀人的例子。
如果口干大渴，只饮茶、白开水、灯心草汤、姜汤。或者到了七八天热势极盛，则加入悉尼（可能指某种清凉水果或代称，此处保留原名）、西瓜、鲜菱角、嫩藕、生萝卜，只捣取清汁饮用，去掉渣滓。
凡调理不合规矩，导致数日后热邪传入体内，出现身体大热、口大渴、说胡话烦躁、狂言发斑、大便闭塞；或者下利污秽水样便，扬手掷足，掀去衣被，嘴唇焦裂，舌苔由白渐变为黄黑；或者天气炎热，内外热极。可将病患卧于凉席上，四周多放置水盆，让病患将手浸在水中；或者再用一块青布，浸湿后敷在胸前，切记要避风，必须病患感觉舒适喜好，才可以这样做。如果渴极想喝水，询问他想喝多少，只给他一半的量，不要让他多喝，以免导致水结胸的祸患。
又有大热持续六七天，忽然变得寒冷，加盖厚被仍然觉得冷，战栗不定，这名叫“发战”，是正气恢复而邪气欲出的征象。急宜泡一大壶姜汤，放在病患胸前，任其随意呼吸引吸饮用，以助正气，过一会儿正气战胜邪气消散，出汗而解除了。
如果七八天后热退，或偶尔有潮热，大小便通畅爽快，胸膈清爽，只用清米汤饮用，逐渐增加稠米汤，进薄粥，以少量为贵。如果进食腥酒，立刻复发，更要谨慎房事。
尤其令人痛心的是乡村专门从事杀牲祭神祈祷，所谓“食物归众人享用，罪责归病患承担”。可惜啊！还有阴证伤寒，腹痛肢冷，参照中寒条目的方法，多吃浓姜汤，炒盐熨烫，用灸法治之。
Among all diseases, only Shanghan (Cold Damage) is of the most critical importance; however, its treatment also has a concise and essential method. As long as one treats it early according to the correct principles when the pathogen is initially at the muscle and surface level, there will be no case that does not heal.
This is like defending against thieves before they enter the room; it is naturally easy to drive them away, provided that the differentiation is accurate. It is said: "When Yin is excessive and Yang is deficient, sweating leads to recovery, while purging leads to death; when Yang is excessive and Yin is deficient, purging leads to recovery, while sweating leads to death." A difference of a hair's breadth can lead to an error of a thousand miles. If a patient dies not from the disease but from medical mismanagement, it is better to abstain from medication altogether. Hence, it is said that "abstaining from medication in Shanghan constitutes the skill of a middle-tier physician" (implying that avoiding unnecessary or harmful intervention is wise). This is often because one might be staying in an inn or on a boat, or in a remote village, without access to a knowledgeable physician; under such circumstances, one must never take medicine rashly.
Whenever Shanghan begins, presenting with headache, body pain, aversion to cold, limb stiffness, and absence of sweating, this indicates Cold damaging Ying (Nutritive Qi). At this stage, one must strictly avoid seafood, alcohol, grains, fruits, and any other solid, hard-to-digest foods. One should also avoid labor, anger, sexual desire, and exposure to wind and cold, and rest peacefully in bed.
Urgently gather a handful of green onion heads with roots, 5 qian of fresh ginger, 2-3 qian of Chenpi (Aged Tangerine Peel), a pinch of fine tea leaves, one white plum, and 3 qian of Zisu (Perilla Leaf). Add two large zhong (ancient liquid measure) of water, boil in a clay pot. Cover the patient with quilts, positioning their head near the steam so that the hot vapor first fumigates the head and face. Once sweating occurs, drink one large zhong of the decoction while hot. Re-boil the dregs and continue drinking. Cover the body with thick quilts, wrap the head, and warm the feet. Recovery is indicated when sweat reaches the feet. If the legs and feet do not sweat, yet fever and headache persist, it means the Cold pathogen has not been fully expelled; induce mild sweating again.
If at the onset, there is headache, fever, and profuse sweating, this belongs to Wind damaging Wei (Defensive Qi). Sweating therapy is not required, as it may cause Wang Yang (Collapse of Yang). If the patient already has slight sweating, follow the previous method but induce only slight additional sweating. In the previous formula, remove Zisu and green onion heads, add three black dates, decoct and administer. Recovery is indicated when sweating stops.
If upon onset, there is distension and fullness in the chest and diaphragm due to dietary injury from grains and meats, give hot light salt water to drink (2-3 bowls) on the same day, until the ingested food is vomited out. If vomiting does not occur, burn the ingested substance to ash, mix with ginger soup, and administer. If several days have passed, use the Jiang Cong Yi (Ginger and Green Onion Moxibustion/Fumigation) method (see Shanghan section). The utmost taboo is consuming seafood and alcohol. Do not drink a single drop of rice gruel; starvation is impossible. Strictly abstain from grain foods, which facilitates ease of management. In cases of Jiaochang Sha (Intestinal Colic/Spasm), even a sip of rice gruel can be fatal.
If there is dry mouth and extreme thirst, consume only tea, plain boiled water, Dengxin Cao Tang (Juncus Decoction), or ginger soup. Or, if by the seventh or eighth day the heat is extreme, add Xini (likely a local fruit or cooling agent), watermelon, fresh water caltrop, tender lotus root, and raw radish. Crush these to extract the clear juice and drink it, discarding the residue.
If management is improper, leading to Heat pathogen transmitting inward after several days, symptoms may include high fever, extreme thirst, delirious speech, irritability, manic talk, macules, constipation; or dysentery with foul watery stool, flailing hands and feet, removing clothes and covers, cracked lips, and tongue coating changing from white to yellow/black. Or, if the weather is hot and internal/external heat is extreme, place the patient on a cool mat, surround them with basins of water, and let the patient immerse their hands in the water; alternatively, wet a piece of blue cloth and apply it to the chest. Avoid wind strictly. This should only be done if the patient finds it comfortable and desirable. If extremely thirsty and desiring water, ask how much they wish to drink, but provide only half that amount. Do not allow excessive drinking to prevent Shui Jie Xiong (Water Accumulation in the Chest).
In another scenario, after six or seven days of high heat, the patient suddenly becomes cold, feels cold even under thick covers, and experiences uncontrollable shivering. This is called Fa Zhan (Shivering), indicating that Zheng Qi (Upright Qi) is recovering and the pathogen is attempting to exit. Urgently brew a large pot of ginger soup, place it near the patient's chest, and allow them to inhale the aroma and sip as desired to support Zheng Qi. Soon, Zheng Qi will overcome the pathogen, and recovery will occur through sweating.
After the seventh or eighth day, if the fever subsides, or there is occasional tidal fever, bowel and bladder movements are smooth, and the chest/diaphragm feels clear, drink clear rice gruel, gradually increasing to thicker gruel, then thin congee, emphasizing small quantities. If seafood or alcohol is consumed, relapse will be immediate; exercise caution regarding sexual activity.
It is particularly lamentable that in villages, people specifically slaughter animals to pray to gods, meaning "the meat is shared by the crowd, but the blame falls on the patient." Alas! For Yin Syndrome Shanghan, characterized by abdominal pain and cold limbs, refer to the Zhong Han (Middle Jiao Cold) section: consume more strong ginger soup, use fried salt for external warming, and treat with moxibustion.