Ms. Xu, female, 26 years old. Chief complaint: "malaria" with chills, fever, and headache for over a month. The patient felt aversion to cold with fever and headache after drinking a small amount of alcohol on New Year's Eve in 1964. She has taken over 10 doses of Chinese medicinals and Western medicine for "malaria," but neither was effective. Currently, she experiences aversion to cold with fever, headache, and body aches daily. During episodes, sweating starts from the limbs, with less chills and more fever. After the fever subsides, she feels thirsty and drinks warm water without sweating. This occurs two to three times a day, accompanied by cough with thin phlegm, no vomiting or bitterness, normal bowel movements, and a rapid pulse with the left side wiry and the right side relatively weak.
This condition, with intermittent chills, fever, and headache, resembles malaria, especially in a high-malaria area. However, typical malaria does not occur two to three times a day. Observing the absence of vomiting, bitterness, and normal bowel movements, as well as no signs of transmission to shaoyang or yangming, it suggests that the exterior pathogen has lingered for a long time without proper resolution. The healthy qi remains strong, leading to prolonged stagnation transforming into heat, resulting in more fever and thirst. The treatment should focus on releasing the exterior pathogen while clearing stagnant heat. The prescription is Cinnamon Twig Two Spleen-Qi Effusing One Decoction:
Cinnamon Twig 9g, Peony Root 9g, Ephedra 3g, raw Gypsum 15g, Liquorice Root 3g, Fresh Ginger Rhizome 3 slices, and 3 jujubes.
After taking 2 doses, the patient recovered completely.