Chronic Pharyngitis-Induced Cough 2000.12.16

Chronic Pharyngitis-Induced Cough 2000.12.16

In the winter of the Gengchen year, a patient in the ward who had undergone tracheotomy for throat cancer was recovering, but due to a cold, he experienced paroxysmal coughing, excessive phlegm, and throat discomfort, sometimes accompanied by a “water chicken” sound. I prescribed Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang combined with Ma Xing Shi Gan Cao Tang and Su Xing San, and after three doses, the effect was evident. “Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang” is a famous formula from “Zhong Lou Yu Yue,” written by Zheng Mei during the Qing dynasty, originally intended for treating diphtheria. However, “diphtheria” here does not refer to modern medical diphtheria, but rather to all inflammatory diseases of the throat. According to my observation, the main indications for this formula are all chronic inflammations of the throat, including chronic pharyngitis, chronic tonsillitis, and chronic laryngitis. This formula does not use heat-clearing and detoxifying agents or fire-draining products to eliminate inflammation! Its defining feature is nourishing yin. Sheng Di Huang, Xuan Shen, and Mai Dong are all part of the liquid-nourishing formula; Zhe Bei softens hard phlegm, Bai Shao consolidates yin, and although mint and platycodon have some heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, they are not the main heat-clearing and detoxifying agents in traditional Chinese medicine. From this perspective, chronic inflammation is characterized by yin damage, because fire easily harms yin, and prolonged exposure inevitably leads to yin depletion! Inflammation of the throat is like this, and inflammation of the stomach is also like this! Ye Tian Shi’s Yang Wei Tang mainly uses sanda, mai dong, yuzhu, and shi hu as key ingredients; inflammation of the lungs is also like this, as evidenced by the Yue Hua Wan for treating tuberculosis, which includes bai he, bai bu, bai wei, bei sha shen, ji nei jin, tian dong, mai dong, a jiao, zao jiao, lu jiao, han san qi, sheng di huang, shu di huang, sang bai pi, jing ge, fu ling. For hepatitis treatment, there is the Yi Gui Tong Yuan Yin, which is also a yin-nourishing and fluid-producing formula—both can serve as references!