Clinical Case of Refractory Oral Ulcer, June 29, 1993

Clinical Case of Refractory Oral Ulcer, June 29, 1993

In the summer of the Jiaxu year, Comrade Chen Xu, former Deputy Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee, suffered from persistent oral ulcers that did not heal despite prolonged treatment, accompanied by toothache, pharyngeal swelling, constipation, and general body pain and discomfort. Upon examination, the pulse was large and slippery with a slight string-like quality. The tongue was red with a yellow and greasy coating. I prescribed a formula to clear excess heat in the stomach: gypsum, gardenia fruit, raw rhubarb, patchouli, ledebouriella, coptis, scutellaria, phellodendron, rhubarb, anemarrhena, achyranthes, rehmannia, ophiopogon, hedyotis diffusa, polygonum cuspidatum, and dandelion. This formula primarily clears excess heat from the stomach meridian, and after three doses, significant improvement was observed. Rehmannia, anemarrhena, and ophiopogon are known to easily deplete yin when used excessively, while white peony, dandelion, and polygonum cuspidatum are powerful agents for clearing heat and detoxifying. These three herbs have particularly strong detoxifying effects and can often reduce extremely high erythrocyte sedimentation rates. As mentioned earlier, the Three Animals and Liquid-Generating Intestine Decoction also contains polygonum cuspidatum and hedyotis diffusa, which further enhances its efficacy.