Ms. Huo, female, 63 years old, has long suffered from spleen and stomach weakness. She caught a cold and experienced body chills, fever, headache without sweating, and epigastric stuffiness. The physician used a method of releasing the exterior with pungent-warm herbs, supplemented with bitter-cold herbs to relieve stuffiness. After taking the medication, she did not sweat, the exterior condition was not resolved, and she had several episodes of loose stools, with increased stuffiness and discomfort, gradually leading to a loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and cold limbs. The pulse was deep and faint, and the tongue coating was smooth and moist. This was due to a pre-existing deficiency of spleen yang, exacerbated by the misuse of bitter-cold herbs, causing the pathogen to invade inward.
Due to the impaired movement of spleen yang, the stuffiness worsened, and diarrhea persisted. The current treatment should focus on dispersing the exterior pathogen and warming and strengthening the middle jiao. Therefore, Cinnamon Twig and Ginseng Root Decoction was prescribed. Prescription:
Cinnamon Twig 10g, stir-fried White Atractylodes Rhizome 10g, wild Tangshen 10g, Dried Ginger 10g, Liquorice Root 6g.
After taking the medication, she drank a cup of thin porridge to enhance the efficacy of the herbs. After two doses, she experienced slight sweating, the chills and fever subsided, the stuffiness lessened, and the diarrhea decreased. After taking five doses consecutively, the stuffiness and diarrhea ceased, and all symptoms were cured.