The Causes and Prevention Methods of Erroneous Sweating in Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases
Sweating therapy is the most important treatment method for greater yang syndrome,and the common causes of erroneous sweating mentioned in the text include incorrect diagnosis,mismatch between formula and syndrome;overuse of drugs for a mild dis-ease,leading to consumption of qi and yin;underuse of drugs,leading to difficulty in controlling the disease;incorrect treatment com-bined with complicated syndromes;constitutional peculiarities,complications and recurrence;fire therapy for sweating,causing changes in the treatment.To avoid erroneous sweating,it is important to pay attention to the correspondence between formula and the patient's syndrome.Sweating therapy is mainly suitable for greater yang cold damage and stroke syndrome.Cold damage belongs to exterior excess syndrome,while stroke is exterior deficiency syndrome.For exterior excess syndrome,Ephedra Decoction can be used.For exterior defi-ciency syndrome,Cinnamon Twig Decoction is often used.It is also important to consider any accompanying symptoms and treat accord-ingly.It is a necessity to pay attention to the dosage,frequency,and urgency of a formula,and if sweating does not occur,the patient can add clothes or be covered with a quilt and given a bowl of hot porridge.If sweating occurs too much,warm powder can be used to cover the patient's body for arresting sweating.In Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases,the method of sweating is mostly referring to dispersing with pungent and warm properties,while there are also methods such as warming acupuncture and fire moxibustion.In clinical practice,the appropriate method of sweating should be chosen.Attention should be paid to individualized treatment,and patients who drink alco-hol,have dry throats,suffer from cystitis,have sores,nosebleeds,lost blood,sweating problems,and weak and cold constitution should be cautiously given sweating.When choosing sweat-inducing drugs such as Ephedra Decoction,Major Green Dragon Decoction,etc.,the patient's constitutional strength should also be taken into consideration.
sweatingerroneous sweatingTreatise on Cold Damage DiseasesZhang Zhongjing