3 Gastrointestinal Damp-Heat Type

(3) Gastrointestinal Damp-Heat Type

① Symptoms: Sudden onset, nausea and vomiting, distension and pain in the epigastric region extending to the abdomen, fever and chills, loose stools, reduced urine output with yellow color, thick or slightly yellow and greasy tongue coating, and slippery, rapid pulse.

② Treatment: Dispel exterior cold, transform turbid qi, clear damp-heat.

③ Prescription: Modified Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang. Use 10g of kudzu root, 10g of patchouli, 10g of scutellaria, 10g of coptis, 10g of poria, 10g of tangerine peel, 10g of nutmeg, 10g of pinellia, 10g of magnolia bark, 10g of halite (wrapped), and 10g of talc; decoct twice, mix well, divide into three doses, take one dose daily.

④ Note: This type is also a common syndrome of acute gastroenteritis. The main features are vomiting, diarrhea, and pain in the epigastric region, occasionally accompanied by chills and often with fever. All are caused by gastrointestinal reactions after consuming raw, spoiled, or contaminated food, or by direct invasion of the gastrointestinal tract due to alcohol, hot pot, spicy food, and other stimulating foods. Additionally, acute gastritis caused by Western medicines that irritate the gastrointestinal tract also falls into this category. The onset is relatively rapid, often occurring immediately after eating the aforementioned foods. Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang is an excellent prescription for treating chills, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and epigastric pain. In the modified formula, kudzu root and patchouli dispel exterior cold and transform turbid qi, while poria, tangerine peel, nutmeg, pinellia, magnolia bark, and halite harmonize the stomach and lower qi, alleviating pain. Coptis, scutellaria, and talc clear heat and drain dampness to stop diarrhea. If there is concurrent food stagnation, add fried sanxian; for those who vomit, add yushu dan; if there is hematemesis, melena, or positive fecal occult blood test, choose baiji, shengpuyuang, and shengdiyu. The author hereby appends a clinical case for readers' reference.

Zhang ××, female, 64 years old, housewife. First visit on August 4, 1998. Two days earlier, she ate leftover food and subsequently experienced stomach discomfort, nausea, loss of appetite, followed by epigastric distension, chills, fever (body temperature 38°C), slight sweating, and since today, diarrhea 5–6 times, watery stool. Self-medication with Western drugs was ineffective, so she came for consultation. Thick, greasy tongue coating, slippery, rapid pulse, tenderness in the upper abdomen and around the navel. Stool test: negative for occult blood, 4–5 pus cells per HP, diagnosed as acute gastroenteritis, classified as gastrointestinal damp-heat with exterior involvement. Prescribed Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang combined with Gui Zhi Tang, modified to clear damp-heat and reverse the flow: 12g of kudzu root, 10g of scutellaria, 6g of coptis, 10g of patchouli, 3g of gui zhi, 10g of white peony, 6g of licorice, 4 dates, and 10g each of fried sanxian; decocted once daily, total of two doses. The next day, epigastric pain, watery stool, and fever all disappeared, followed by maintenance treatment with a spleen-tonifying and stomach-soothing formula.