Written By Jun Heo(許浚, 1539~1615), Translated by Namil Kim, Wung Seok Cha et al., Published by Ministry of Health & Welfare (Korea)Buy vitamins and supplements.
17 Examination Methods for Phtisis 驗瘵法 노채의 검사법
➀ Phthisis and corpse-transferring both have parasites. First, burn Benzoinum (安息香) and make the patient inhale the smoke. If the patient does not cough, it is not corpse-transferring, and if the inhaled smoke causes unstoppable coughing, it is corpse-transferring. The patient should take a Taiyi Moonshine Elixir [prescription is mentioned afterwards].
➁ Burn Olibanum (乳香) and fumigate the patient’s hands. Hold the hands palm up and cover the hands with silk. Fumigate for a long time and a hair about 1 chon (寸) long will come out of the back of the patient’s hands. If the hair is white and yellow, it can be treated; a red hair means it can be mildly treated and a bluish black color means death. The last type is most commonly experienced. If there is no sign of hair after a long time of fumigation, it is not this disease.
18 Symptoms of Phthisis 勞瘵病證 노채의 검사법
➀ The six symptoms of phthisis are tidal fever, night sweating, hemoptysis, phlegm coughing, seminal emissions, and diarrhea. If the disease is not serious, the six symptoms will appear occasionally, and if the disease is serious, all the symptoms will appear. If the Fire burns in the upper energizer, tidal fever, and hemoptysis will appear; if the Fire moves in the lower energizer, symptoms such as seminal emission and diarrhea will appear.
➁ The symptom of lying down half the time and standing up the other half at the beginning of phthisis is called Eop Yeop (殗殜; suffering). Shortness of breath and phlegm coughing are known as lung atrophy, and fever from within the bone marrow is known as bone steaming. When it has passed internally to the five viscera, it is called Bu Ryeon (復連: repeated connection) and the illness caused by the deficiency is called consumptive disease. In males, it passes from the kidneys to the heart, the heart to the lungs, the lungs to the liver, and the liver to the spleen. In females, it passes from the heart to the lungs, the lungs to the liver, the liver to the spleen, and the spleen to the kidneys. When it reaches the last viscera, the patient will die.
➂ The symptoms of this disease are as follow: an aversion to cold and fever, night sweating, intercourse with ghosts in dreams, leaking of essence, which then leads to murky urine and dry, erect hairs. There can also be tumors in the stomach, small lumps on both sides behind the head, suffocating sensation in the chest, pain in the shoulders and back, and unclear vision. The limbs feel powerless, the knees and thighs tingle and ache, and the patient prefers lying down to standing up. The patient is very lucid in the morning but suffers from mild fever and pale complexion in the afternoon which on the whole seems like malingering. The patient likes exposing other people’s faults and is always angry. The legs feel weak when walking or standing, and the patient feels nervous while sleeping and sees dead people in dreams. The heart often pounds from being surprised and there are also coughing and sticky saliva. One can also vomit bloody pus like with lung atrophy, suffers from diarrhea and dysentery, loss of weight, dry nose and mouth, red cheeks and lips and cannot eat much even though there are thoughts of food. Even though death is near, the patient is very lucid, which is like a fish living in a small puddle made from a wheel being unaware of its death from the drying of the water.
➃ Phthisis is mainly a yin deficiency. It belongs to yang from 11:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and yin from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. If the yin is deficient, there is a fever from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Being awake belongs to yang and being asleep belongs to yin, which is why there is night sweating during sleep in a yin deficiency. Going up belongs to yang and going down belongs to yin, which is why the saliva keeps coming up and the patient keeps spitting it out.
19 Incurable Signs in Phthisis 瘵不治證 노채의 불치증
➀ Losing weight belongs to Fire because the Fire burns and melts the flesh. When one loses all of one’s weight, it is difficult to treat.
➁ Bone pain or bone wilting, a sunken voice or inability to speak, lean or black face in phthisis all mean it is intractable.
➂ If phthisis has caused canker sores in the throat and loss of voice, the patient will die and continuous diarrhea from the deficiency also means death.
20 Ingestion Methods for Parasite-killing Medicines 殺諸蟲服藥法 살충약을 먹는 법
➀ Classic of the Taoist Canon (道藏經) states “All parasites face their heads down but from the first to the fifth day of every month, they move facing their heads up. For this reason, it is preferable to ingest the medicine before the third day of every month.”
➁ Before the fifteenth day, the parasite faces up so it is easy to treat and after the fifteenth day, it becomes difficult to treat as the parasite faces down. One must first ingest meat juice, sugar or honey to induce the parasites to face up and then use medicine to move them down.
➂ The phthisis parasite is very smart so one must never let the patient know the medicines being used.
➃ The three corpses parasites and nine parasites are all very smart so one must not let the patient know when using medicines or applying moxibustion treatment. Once the parasites are aware, it may be impossible to catch them forever. The parasites are very smart so it is important to pay careful attention and keep them unaware.
➄ When ingesting parasite medicines, the medicine should be taken after skipping dinner the previous day and chewing and swallowing the juice of a piece of greasy meat when the patient is extremely hungry in the morning.
21 Prescriptions That Treat Various Parasites 治諸蟲藥 여러가지 충을 치료하는 약
➀ When making medicines to treat parasites, it is important to refrain from making any noise or speaking. People have experienced that the parasites would come out sooner when they kept these rules.
➁ All the parasites are inside the stomach and when they procreate and increase in number, one must break the accumulation and kill the parasites. Aucklandia and Sparganium Powder, Remove Parasites Pill, Remove Parasite and Pick Accumulation Powder [prescription has been aforementioned], Wonderful Response Pill, Seven Turnaround Miraculous Response Elixir, Deal with Ten Thousand Conditions Pill [prescription has been aforementioned], Meet Immortals Elixir, Parasite Chaser Pill, Resolve Toxicity of Ten Thousand Diseases Elixir [see the chapter on Detoxification for the prescription], and Five Immortals Pill should be used.
➂ There are two ways to treat phthisis. One is to kill the parasites and remove the root of the illness, and the other is to tonify the deficiency and recover the true origin. If the illness is severe and there is no original qi, neither of these methods to treat the parasites will save any patient. It will only work to prevent the illness from infecting other people.
➃ Phthisis is usually a yin deficiency and a disease of the phlegm and blood so a Four Substances Decoction [see the chapter on Blood for the prescription] with the addition of stir-fried Phellodendri Cortex (黃柏), Bambusae Caulis in Liquamen (竹瀝), the urine of a child, and the juice of Zingiberis Rhizoma (生薑) are used.
➄ Symptoms such as alternating chills and fever, continuous coughs, hemoptysis, and gradual loss of weight, all caused by phthisis or corpse transferring, can be treated by first taking a Triple Recalcitrant Decoction [see the chapter on Cough for the prescription] and then Lotus Plumule Powder. This method will leave no place for mistakes.
➅ In order to kill phthisis parasites, a Taiyi Moonshine Elixir, Human Skull Powder, Purple Gold Tablet, Five Types of Twig Powder, and Charisma Powder can be used.
➆ Fine Jade Paste, Placenta Pill, or Solidify Spirit Pill can all be used to tonify the deficiency caused by tuberculosis.
➇ People in the past have said, “There are thirty six kinds of phthisis and all of them can only be stopped when there are secret acts of goodness.” Patients with phthisis should go into the mountains or stay in a quiet room, clarify their minds and sit up straight in silence, make the teeth chatter, and burn incense. They should also moderate their meals, give up desires, and focus their senses to nurture themselves. Following these rules will lead to recovery. Medicines will not have any effect, if a patient does not follow these rules.
➈ There are many medicines that involve fumigation for phthisis or corpse transferring but almost none have been effective. Only by burning the powder medicine along with the dead people can the contagion of the disease be stopped.
- Aucklandia and Sparganium Powder 木香三稜散 목향삼릉산: It treats the yellowish complexion due to parasites in the stomach. Prepare 5 don of Pharbitidis Semen (黑丑) (half raw and half stir-fried, grind into powder and use the first pile of powder after sifting), 3 don of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃), 2 don of Arecae Semen (檳榔) (flat-shaped), Arecae Semen (檳榔) (sharp-shaped), Omphalia (雷丸), black Cassiterite (錫灰) (moistened with vinegar and stir-fried), Sparganii Rhizoma (三稜) (coated and roasted with fire turning to ashes), Curcumae Rhizoma (蓬朮) (coated and roasted with fire turning to ashes), and Aucklandiae Radix (木香) each. Grind these herbs into powder and take 3 don at a time with honeyed water on an empty stomach. First swallow meat juice and then ingest the medicine.
- Purge Parasites Powder 下蟲散 하충산: It treats all the parasites in the stomach. Prepare 1 don of Quisqualis Fructus (使君子肉) and Arecae Semen (檳榔) each and 5 pun of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃). Grind these herbs into powder and mix with water that has been decocted with Meliae Radix (苦練根).
- Wonderful Response Pill 妙應丸 묘응환: It treats the accumulation of parasites. Arecae Semen (檳榔) 1.2 nyang, Pharbitidis Semen (黑丑) (Ground into powder and use the first pile of powder after sifting.) 3 don, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃), Omphalia (雷丸), black Cassiterite (錫灰), Ulmi Pasta Semen (蕪荑), Aucklandiae Radix (木香), and Quisqualis Fructus (使君子肉) 1 don each. Grind these herbs into powder and knead with a decoction of Allii Fistulosi Bulbus (葱白) that has been left outside overnight to form millet-sized pills. Take in doses of 4 don at dawn and swallow with Allii Fistulosi Bulbus (葱白)-decocted water. In order to get rid of Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲), the patient should take with water that has been decocted with Granati Radix seu Cortex (石榴根皮). A child should take doses of either 1 don or 5 pun. After ingestion, the parasites will come out around sunrise. This medicine brings down the parasites without moving the genuine qi, brings down the accumulation and gets rid of pathogenic qi. One dose is enough for the effects to take.
- Seven Refined Ingredients Effective Turn-a-round Response Elixir 七轉靈應丹 칠전영응단: It treats all kinds of parasite accumulation. This prescription is the same as the Wonderful Response Pill (妙應丸) but without the Quisqualis Fructus (使君子肉). Ingest in the aforementioned method.
- Meet Immortals Elixir 遇仙丹 우선단: It treats the accumulation of parasites. Prepare 4 nyang of Pharbitidis Semen (黑丑) (half raw and half stir-fried, use the first pile of powder after sifting), and 5 don of Sparganii Rhizoma (三稜), Curcumae Rhizoma (蓬朮), Artemisiae Capillaris Herba (茵蔯), and Arecae Semen (檳榔) (all raw) each. Grind these herbs into powder and in doses of 4 nyang, knead with flour paste (made with 1 nyang of flour, using juice from soaking 5 don of Gleditsiae Spina (皂角) in water and rubbing it together) to form pills the size of royal foxglove tree seeds. Take in doses of 3 don with tea at dawn. If the disease isn’t too severe, one dosage will be effective; if the disease is severe, the patient should take again and wait for the bad things to come out completely. The parasites that come out are Cheon Sim Chung (穿心蟲; heart-penetrating parasites)、Heol Byeol Chung (血鱉蟲: yellow blood parasites), corpsetransferring parasites, lung parasites, Jil Sim Chung (疾心蟲; diseased-heart parasites), Ma Mi Chung (馬尾蟲; cauda equina parasites), Jeok Heol Chung (積血蟲; accumulated-blood parasites), Se Chung (細蟲: fine parasites), long parasites, and Chon Baek Chung that have various shapes or five colors and resemble frozen fish. Wang Jinglue was passing through Guangdong when he came into contact with mountain mist miasma and his stomach bloated and felt full. No medicine was effective but luckily he met an ascetic by accident. He ingested this medicine and a parasite over 3 chon (寸) in length that resembled a snake came out and he was soon cured.
- Remove Parasites Pill 追蟲丸 추충환: It brings down parasite accumulation. 1 nyang of Pharbitidis Semen (黑丑) (grind into powder and use the first pile of powder after sifting), 3 don of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃), 2 don of Quisqualis Fructus (使君子肉), 1.2 don of Aucklandiae Radix (木香), Arecae Semen (檳榔), Ulmi Pasta Semen (蕪荑), and black Cassiterite (錫灰) each. Grind these herbs into powder and start by thickly decocting Gleditsiae Spina (皂角) and Meliae Cortex (苦練根皮). The decoction should be about two big bowls in amount and then boil down to make the ointment. Knead with this ointment to form pills as big as the seeds of a royal foxglove tree. Coat the pills first with Aquillariae Lignum (沈香) powder and then again with Omphalia (雷丸) powder. Take in doses of 50 pills with sugared water on an empty stomach. Once the parasites come out, the patient will be cured.
- Five Immortals Pill 五仙丸 오선환: This prescription is demon-like in the sense that it can treat all kinds of parasites. Prepare 4 nyang of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃), 1 nyang of Gleditsiae Spina (皂角), Omphalia (雷丸), Meliae Radix (苦練根) each, and 2 don of Aucklandiae Radix (木香). Grind these into powder and knead with paste made with wine to form pills as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree. Take 30~40 pills at a time with tea water.
- Lotus Plumule Powder 蓮心散 연심산: It treats phthisis. Prepare 5 pun of Angelica Gigantis Radix (當歸), Astragali Radix (黃芪), Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草), Amydae Carapax (鱉甲) (soaked in vinegar and roasted), Angelicae Decursivae Radix (前胡), Bupleuri Radix (柴胡), Araliae Continentalis Radix (獨活), Osterici Radix (羌活), Saposhnikoviae Radix (防風), Sinomeni Caulis et Rhizoma (防己), Poria Sclerotium (茯苓), Pinelliae Tuber (半夏), Scutellariae Radix (黃芩), Citrus Unshius Pericarpium (陳皮), Asini Corii Colla (阿膠珠), Cinnamomi Cortex Spissus (肉桂) (with fine fragrance and rolled up in balls), Paeoniae Radix (赤芍藥), Ephedrae Herba (麻黃) (with its roots and joints intact), Armeniacae Semen, Nelumbinis Stamen (蓮實), Arisaematis Rhizoma (天南星), Cnidii Rhizoma (川芎), and Aruantii Fructus Immaturus (枳殼) each, and one handful of Genkwa Flos (芫花) (stir-fried black with vinegar). Grind these herbs into powder and decoct in water with three pieces of Zingiberis Rhizoma (生薑) and two Zizyphi Fructus (大棗) as one package. After the patient has thrown up the foreign substances, it is important to gradually reduce the amount of Genkwa Flos (芫花). Genkwa Flos (芫花) is the opposite of Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草) so it kills parasites and it stops the fever and gets rid of cold qi when stir-fried. This is where its beauty lies.
- Taiyi Moonshine Elixir 太乙明月丹 태을명월단: ➀ It treats corpse transferring and phthisis. Prepare 2 nyang of Rabbit excrement, 1 nyang of Hominis Capitis Os (天靈蓋) (coated with condensed milk and roasted) and Amydae Carapax (鱉甲) (coated with condensed milk and roasted) each, 5 don of Realgar (雄黃) and Aucklandiae Radix (木香) each, and 2.5 don of Calomelas (輕粉). Grind these herbs into powder and knead with ointment that has been made by mixing 1 doe of fine alcohol and half a nyang of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃) powder and boiling down the mixture. Make pills the size of bullets and coat them with Cinnabaris (朱砂). Take one pill at a time with alcohol and child’s urine at dawn. It is important to let the patient be unaware of the ingestion for the parasites in order to vomit parasites. If it does not work, take another dosage the next day. ➁ This prescription is introduced as a Realgar Formula (雄黃元) in the Effective Formulas Handed Down for Generations (得效方)
- Purple Gold Tablet 紫金錠子 자금정자: ➀ It treats corpse-transferring and phthisis. ➁ There was a woman who had been suffering from phthisis for such a long time that the corpse parasites were eating away at her. She ground up a pill of this prescription and after ingesting, she threw up ten little parasites at once, and had diarrhea. Afterwards, she took a Liquid Styrax Pill for fifteen days and soon recovered. As this medicine spread widely, there wasn’t a case where phthisis wasn’t cured. ➂ There once was a family whose five brothers were all suffering from corpse-transferring and three of which had already died. One ascetic suggested that they eat a Purple Gold Tablet (紫金錠) and the two remaining brothers each took a pill. One brother let out filth looking like pus and the other brother let out dead parasites and they were both cured. ➃ This is also known as a Resolve Toxicity of Ten Thousand Diseases Elixir. [See the chapter on Detoxification for the prescription].
- Human Skull Powder 天靈盖散 천령개산: ➀ It makes the phthisis parasites come out. Hominis Capitis Os (天靈蓋) (prepare pieces the size of two fingers and wash with water that has been decocted with Santalini Lignum (檀香). Process by coating with condensed milk and roasting), 5 Arecae Semen (檳榔), 2 don of Ferulae Resina (阿魏), Euphorbiae Kansui Radix (甘遂), Moschus (麝香), and Benzoinum (安息香) each, and 1 don of Cinnabaris (朱砂). Grind these herbs into powder and take in doses of 3 don. Prepare 14 stems of Allii Macrostemi Bulbus (薤白) and Allii Fistulosi Bulbus (葱白) each, 2 handfuls of Artemisiae Annuae Herb, 5 don of Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草), peach tree, willow branches, and Japanese apricot flower tree branches (all facing east) each,and 1 piece of Mori Cortex (桑根白皮) and Granati Radix seu Cortex (石榴根皮) each. Put these herbs in a china bowl with 4 doe of child’s urine and decoct with an average fire until only 1 doe is left. Take the remaining in three divided doses. With each dosage, mix with the powder of aforementioned herbs, and ingest at dawn. If the patient is a male, a female should decoct the medicine, and if the patient is a female, it should be a male that decocts it. If the patient wishes to vomit after ingesting the medicine, one should hold Mume Fructus Praeparatum Alba (梅肉) in the mouth and the phthisis parasites or bad things, yellowish water, and black excrement will surely come out in the morning. If these things do not come out even then, the patient should take another dosage and another around sunrise. If the diarrhea does not stop, grind the same amounts of Fossilia Ossis Mastodii (龍骨) and Coptidis Rhizoma (黃連) into 3 don of powder, and mix it with plain water. Then eat some thin rice gruel for tonification.[B146] ➁ A woman and two men who were all suffering from phthisis took this medicine. A parasite that looked like a centipede came out of the woman. Dozens of red little parasites came out of one man and one of the parasites was dark red in color and was bigger than the other parasites with a hair on its head. From the other man, a parasite that looked like a Mume Fructus Praeparatum (烏梅) came out and when opened up it had legs like a spider.
- Five Types of Twig Powder 五枝散 오지산: ① It brings down the parasites of corpse-transferring and phthisis. 7 stems of a peach tree branch, plum tree branch, Japanese apricot flower tree branch, mullberry branch, and pomegranate tree branch (all facing east and small branches of 3 chon (寸) length) each, a small handful of Artemisiae Annuae Herba (靑蒿), 7 chon of Meliae Radix (苦練根), 7 Japanese indigo leaves (raw), and 7 Allii Fistulosi Bulbus (葱白) (with its roots intact, washed and cut up). Decoct these herbs with 2.5 doe of children’s urine until the mixture is reduced by half. Get rid of the residues and add 1 don each of Benzoinum (安息香), Styrax Liquides and Ferulae Resina (阿魏). Decoct again until only 1 cup is left and filter clearly. Add 0.5 don each of Cinnabaris (朱砂), Realgar (雄黃), Omphalia (雷丸), Alumen (礬石) (roasted), Sulfur (硫黃), and grind into powder. Mix with 1 don of Arecae Semen (檳榔) powder and 2.5 pun of Moschus (麝香) and take in two divided doses. Then the parasites or bad accumulations will come out either through vomiting or diarrhea. If a parasite of great size comes out, pick it up rapidly with iron chopsticks and burn it with strong fire. Then, put it in a porcelain jar and bury it underground in deep woods. Also, burn all of the patient’s clothes and bedsheets, and bury them somewhere remote.[B186] ② It kills the parasites of corpse-transferring and phthisis. Grind up 2 geun of Zanthoxyli Pericarpium (川椒) (throw away those that have not opened up and the seeds). Prepare by stir-frying until its juices come out) and mix in doses of 1 don [2 don according to some] with rice-boiled water. Take the mixture on an empty stomach. If the patient cannot stand the dizziness and feeling of suffocation, knead with paste made with wine and make pills as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree. Take 30~50 pills on an empty stomach. [This is called a Charisma Formula (神授元)]. There was once someone who got the illness from having intercourse with his wife who was suffering from phthisis. One day, he accidently ran into an extraordinary person who said, “The qi of phthisis has already entered the five viscera and only by taking 2 geun of this prescription rapidly can this be cured.” The man followed the orders and ingested most of the medicine. Then one parasite shaped like a snake came out through his excrement and the man was cured. Other people in the future also saw great results from this medicine.
- Fine Jade Paste 瓊玉膏 경옥고: It treats phthisis. It nourishes the blood and tonifies the qi, which makes it a wonderful medicine that strengthens original qi. The sentence, ‘ten equal portions of this prescription can save ten people with phthisis’ is its explanation. [See the chapter on Body for the prescription].
- Placenta Pill 紫河車丸 자하거환: It treats corpse-transferring and phthisis and cures within two months. As for the other kinds of consumptive disease, it only takes one month to recuperate. 1 Hominis Placenta (紫河車) (dried by the fire), 5 don of Amydae Carapax (鱉甲) (soaked in vinegar and roasted), 2.5 don of Platycodonis Radix (桔梗), Picrorhizae Rhizoma (胡黃連), Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃), Sophorae Radix (苦參), Phellodendri Cortex (黃柏), Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (知母), Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae (貝母), the middle leather from an old drum, and Praecipitatum Urinarium Hominis (人中白) each, 2 don of Gentianae Radix (草龍膽) and Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草) each, 1.5 don of Rhinocertis Cornu (犀角), Curcumae Rhizoma (蓬朮), and Natrii Sulfas (芒硝) each, and 1 nyang of Cinnabaris (朱砂) (refined with water). Grind these herbs into powder and knead with honey to make pills as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree. Coat them with Cinnabaris (朱砂) and take 20~30 pills with warm alcohol. Patients who have a fever in the intestines should take them before meals; those who have a fever in the lower chest should take after meals.
- Solidify Spirit Pill 凝神飮子 응신음자: It treats the symptoms of cold and heat, spontaneous sweating, hemoptysis, and massive loss of weight all caused by phthisis. 7 pun of Ginseng Radix (人參), Angelica Gigantis Radix (當歸), Paeoniae Radix Alba (白芍藥), Hoelen cum Radix (白茯神), Poria Sclerotium (白茯苓), Astragali Radix (黃芪), Atractylodis Rhizoma (白朮) Alba, Pinelliae Tube Fermentata (半夏麴), Schisandrae Fructus (五味子), Rehmanniae Radix Preparata (熟地黃), Nelumbinis Semen (蓮實), Liriopis Tuber (麥門冬), Platycodonis Radix (桔梗), and Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草) each. Cut these herbs and decoct with 1 Mume Fructus Praeparatum (烏梅), and 2 Zizyphi Fructus (大棗) in water as 1 package.
