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.
22 Methods of Classifying Phthisis Parasites by Shape and Color 辨瘵蟲形色 노채충을 형색으로 구분하는 법
➀ One can assess the severity of an illness by examining the color of the parasites that come out through the excrement. The parasites first start eating the fat in the bowel and viscera so their color is white, and then the color changes to yellowish red as they eat the blood and the flesh. They then move on to eating the essence and bone marrow which changes their color to plum and once they eat all the essence and bone marrow, the color becomes black. Once the parasites go into the kidneys, the patient is near death. If the parasites are white, the patient should take tonifying medicines for thirty days; if the color is yellowish red, the patient should take tonifying medicines for sixty days. If the color is either plum or black, it means that the illness is very severe and that only one to two out of ten patients will survive even after taking tonifying medicines for one hundred and twenty days.
➁ It states that, “If the head of a parasite is red, it can be treated as it means that it has eaten the flesh of the patient, and if the head is white, it is difficult to treat as it means that it has eaten the bone marrow of the patient.”
➂ If the mouth area of the parasite is blue, red, or yellow it can be treated, and if it is white or black, it is impossible to treat as it means that it has eaten the essence and bone marrow. Also, if the parasite is red, it means that it can be treated. If the color below the stomach is black, treatment is difficult; if it’s white, treatment is impossible.
➃ Black color in the mouth area of a phthisis parasite means that it has already been inside the kidneys and it cannot be treated.
23 Contraindicated Medicines for Parasitic Diseases 諸蟲畏忌藥 모든 충병의 금기약
➀ Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草) should be prohibited in parasite diseases. The parasites move around with sweet tastes, stop with sour tastes [some say that they become quiet], calm down with bitter tastes, and lower their heads and come out with hot tastes.
➁ When treating ascaris, one should refrain from using sweet-tasting herbs such as Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草). This is because the ascaris move around in the upper area when they eat sweet things, become quiet with sour things, calm down with bitter things and lower their heads with hot things.
➂ The ascaris become quiet with sour tastes and calm down with bitter tastes.
➃ By sweet things, they are referring to things such as Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草), Yeot (Korean hard taffy), bee honey and sugar; things with sour tastes are vinegar, Mume Fructus Praeparatum (烏梅) and Granati Fructus (石榴). By bitter things, they mean things like Ursi Fel (熊膽), Suilus Fel (猪膽), Phellodendri Cortex (黃柏), and Sophorae Radix (苦參), and by hot things, they mean things such as Leaf mustard, Zanthoxyli Pericarpium (川椒), and Zingiberis Rhizoma (生薑).
24 Simple Prescriptions 單方 단방
There are 41 kinds in total.
- Polygonati Rhizoma 黃精: Long period of ingestion will bring out the three corpses parasites. It can be taken either in powder or tablet form. The upper corpse parasite likes wealth and comes out in a hundred days. The middle corpse parasite likes the five tastes and comes out in sixty days. The lower corpse parasite likes the five colors and comes out in thirty days. They all come out decomposed.
- Asparagi Tuber 天門冬: It kills the three parasites and gets rid of the hidden corpse parasites. It can either be taken in powder or pill form and both methods are fine.
- Hydrocerussitum 胡粉: ➀ It kills the three parasites and is most effective for treating corpse parasites. ➁ In order to treat Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲), mix 1 don of Hydrocerussitum (胡粉) (stir-fried) with meat soup, and take on an empty stomach. Ingest it and it will be effective.
- Sulfur 硫黃: It kills the parasites in the stomach. It is good to ingest as a Golden Juice Elixir (金液丹). [See the chapter on Cold for the prescription].
- Plumbi Cineres 黑鉛灰: ➀ When the patient is vomiting parasites due to the accumulation, mix 2 don each of ashes from burning Plumbum and Arecae Semen (檳榔) powder with thin rice gruel, and ingest the mixture. ➁ In order to treat Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲), chew and swallow some lean meat on an empty stomach, and then drink 4 don of Plumbi Cineres mixed with sugared water. This will force the parasites to all come out.
- Cassiteritum Pulvis 白鑞塵: ➀ It kills tuberculosis parasites. It can be added to tablet or powder forms. ➁ Take a stir-fried egg and Cassiteritum Pulvis and form pills with paste that has been added with alcohol. Taking the pills will treat Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲).
- Acori Gramineri Rhizoma 石菖蒲: It kills various parasites in the abdomen. It can either be taken in decoction, powder, or tablet form and all the ways are fine.
- Coicis Radix 薏苡根: It pushes down the three parasites and treats heart pain caused by ascaris. Cook porridge using the water that has been decocted with the roots. One doe of thick decoction is also very effective.
- Sophorae Radix 苦參: It kills bad parasites. Soak it in alcohol and drink it.
- Ulmi Pasta Semen 蕪荑: It kills the three parasites, drives away Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲), and kills other various parasites. Roast till yellow 2 nyang along with flour and grind into powder. Take 2 don mixed with thin rice gruel.
- Juice of Artemisiae Argyi Folium 艾汁: It kills ascaris. Take 1 doe on an empty stomach and the parasites will come out.
- Indigo Pulverata Levis 靑黛: It kills bad parasites and makes them into water. This is paint made from small leaves and it can be taken in a powder form mixed with water.
- Indigo Pulverata Levis 藍靑汁: ➀ It kills various parasites and makes them into water. It is good to drink 1 doe. ➁ It kills phthisis parasites and makes them into water. Take one big glassful of blue juice from Japanese indigo (raw) with 0.5 don of Realgar (雄黃), Alumen (礬石) (roasted), Benzoinum (安息香), Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum (降眞香) powder each, and 1 pun of Moschus (麝香). Take the mixture on an empty stomach at dawn at the beginning of a month.
- Crassirhizomae Rhizoma 貫衆: It kills the three parasites and Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Take the decoction on an empty stomach or in the form of powder.
- Agrimoniae Pilosae Herba 狼牙: ➀ It kills all the parasites in the abdomen. ➁ It kills Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Grind into powder and form pills the size of a hemp seed with honey. Take 1~2 don on an empty stomach with thin rice gruel.
- Quisqualis Fructus 使君子: It kills parasites and is effective for killing the ascaris in children. Roast seven of the herb with a fire turning to ashes and peel off the skin. Chew and swallow on an empty stomach with boiled water and all the parasites will come out.
- Polygoni Avicularis Herba 萹蓄: It kills the three parasites and ascaris and stops parasite pain. Decoct strongly and take 1 doe of its juice on an empty stomach. The parasites will come out immediately.
- Carpesii Fructus 鶴蝨: ➀ It kills the parasites of five viscera. It is best among the medicines that kill parasites and can also get rid of ascaris or pinworms. ➁ When there is pain of the heart due to ascaris syncope, grind into powder, and knead with honey to form pills the size of a seed of a foxglove tree. Take 40~50 pills with honeyed water on an empty stomach. ➂ For parasite pain, take 2 don of powder, mix with warm vinegar, and take on an empty stomach. The parasites will come out after ingestion. ➃ When the large intestine parasite keep coming out or comes out after a while of recession, one must take Carpesii Fructus (鶴虱) powder mixed with water.
- Rehmanniae Radix Crudus 生地黃: ➀ It treats heart pain caused by parasites. Knead with flower using the juice from grinding and make Sujebi (Korean soup with small pieces of dough) or make rice ball cakes with starch powder and ingest when cooled. It is important not to use any salt in this process. Once taken, the parasites will come out and never appear again. ➁ There once was a woman who had pain in her heart and difficulty breathing. She made rice ball cakes with foxglove juice and starch powder and took them when cooled. Then she vomited something that looked like a toad and was immediately cured.
- Auriculariae Polyporus 槐木耳: It treats heart pain caused by ascaris. Burn the mushroom that grows on a Japanese pagoda tree until the medicinal properties are left, grind into powder, and take mixed with water. If the pain continues after ingestion, drink a doe of hot water, and the parasites will come out immediately.
- Zanthoxyli Pericarpium 川椒: ➀ It kills phthisis parasites and other various parasites. It can either be taken in decoction or pills and both ways are fine. ➁ In order to treat phthisis, grind 2 pun of Zanthoxyli Pericarpium (川椒) and 1 pun of Meliae Radix (苦練根) into powder, and take in the form of pills. All of the corpse parasites will be discharged through the feces. It is also good to take in the form of a decoction.
- Lacca Sinica Exsiccata 乾漆: It kills the three parasites, corpse-transferring, and phthisis parasites. Crush and stir-fry until there is no smoke. Grind into powder and make pills as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree with honey. Take fifteen pills with warm water. Or grinding into powder and taking one don with warm water can also treat ascaris syncope.
- Arecae Semen 檳榔: It kills the three parasites, hidden corpse parasite, and Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). The red and bitter tasting kind kills the parasites. Wrap it in damp paper, roast, and grind into powder. Take in doses of 2 don with water that has been decocted with leek and honey on an empty stomach and it will be effective.
- Torreyae Semen 榧實: It kills the tree parasites and treats Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Peel off the skin and ingest seven at a time. After a long time, the parasites will come out naturally. Take 1 geun and the roots will be torn out.
- Meliae Radix 苦練根: ➀ It kills ascaris, Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲), and other various parasites. ➁ It kills five kinds of parasites. Grind the white skin of the roots into powder and ingest two don mixed with thin rice gruel.[B045] ➂ For heart pain caused by ascaris syncope, cut the white skin in slices and thickly decoct in water. Take in doses of one cup slowly or make rice porridge with the decocted water. ➃ In order to make the Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲) and other various parasites come out, take one nyang of the sliced up white skin and twenty black beans and decoct in water. Add two don of sugar when the beans are cooked, ingest the mixture, and the parasites will come out.
- Omphalia 雷丸: It kills the tree parasites, ascaris, and Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Soak it in water and after peeling its skin, dry in the sun. Grind into powder and ingest one don with thin rice gruel at dawn at the beginning of a month.
- Anguilla japonica Temminck et Schlegel 鰻鱺魚: ➀ It kills corpse-transferring, phthisis parasites, and various other parasites. Ingesting boiled and seasoned eel all the time is good for people who are tired and gaunt from suffering from an illness for a long time. It is also good to dry it in the sun, roast it, and ingest all the time. ➁ There once was a woman who was suffering from phthisis parasites. Her family put her in a coffin and sent it floating down a river. When a fisherman found it, she was still alive. After eating lots of boiled eels, she was cured and finally became the fisherman’s wife.
- Pheretima Senex 白頸蚯蚓: It gets rid of the three parasites, hidden coprse parasites, and kills long parasites and ascaris. Dry, stir-fry, and grind into powder. It can either be taken by mixing with thin gruel rice or grinding its juice.
- Korean Golden frog, Rana plancy 金線蛙: It kills corpse parasites, phthisis parasites, and ascaris. Ingest it all the time either by roasting or boiling.
- Granati Radix seu Cortex 石榴東引根皮: It treats ascaris and Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Thickly decoct a handful of root skin and take on an empty stomach. Various parasites will all come out after ingestion.
- Pruni Pseudocerasi Radix (Stretching East) 櫻桃東行根: It treats ascaris and Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Decoct thickly and ingest on an empty stomach.
- Persicae Folium 桃葉: It gets rid of the three parasites and corpse parasites. Grind the leaves and drink one doe of its juice.
- Sesami Oleum 脂麻油: It kills all parasites. Evenly mix one hop of oil, two eggs, and one nyang of Natrii Sulfas (芒硝), and the parasite will come out immediately after ingestion.
- Portulacae Herba 馬齒莧: It kills various parasites and Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲). Grind the raw herb and drink its juice or boil, mix with salt and vinegar, and ingest on an empty stomach. Either way, the parasite will come out naturally after ingestion.
- Anatis Platyrhynchoris Caro 野鴨: It kills all the parasites inside the stomach and the twelve kinds of parasites. Boil it and ingest the meat. It is also good to drink the soup.
- Ursi Fel 熊膽: It kills parasites and also treats heart pain caused by ascaris. Take a pea-sized piece and ingest with warm water.
- Felis Jecur 猫肝: It kills tuberculosis parasites. Dry the fresh liver of a black cat in the sun and grind into powder. Ingest it on an empty stomach with warm wine at dawn at the beginning of a month.
- Dendrocopos major, Picus canus Gmelin 啄木鳥: It kills phthisis parasites. Get one live woodpecker and feed it with a mixture of 4 nyang of Cinnabaris (朱砂) powder and 4 nyang of lean pork (sliced thin) for a whole day until there is none left. Kill the woodpecker, cover it with salty mud, roast over a fire overnight, and take it out before the sun rises the next day. Without breaking the mud, bury it in a hole about 2 ja long in the ground, and take it out the next day. Remove the mud and grind it into fine powder in a silver or stone bowl. Then, mix it with fine wine that has been mixed with a bit of musk, and ingest it all at once. After the ingestion, if the patient stays inside a tent and waits, the parasite will certainly come out through the nose and mouth. At that moment, one should pick up the parasite with iron tongs and kill it by putting it in boiling oil.
- Puer Urina 童子尿: It is best to drink this for phthisis. People in the past used to say, “By ingesting cold medicines, it is difficult to save even one person out of a hundred but everyone will live by drinking urine.” However, in cases where the spleen-stomach is deficient or qi blood is weak, one should add moderate amounts to tonifying medications and replace herbs that purge Fire. When drinking, it is better to add little doses of Zingiberis Rhizoma (生薑) juice or Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草) powder.
- Lutrae Jecur 獺肝: It treats loss of energy and weight due to corpse-transferring and phthisis. Urgently, dry one liver of an otter in the shade and grind into powder. Mix one don with warm water three times a day and the effects will be wonderful.
- Lutrae Ungus 獺爪: Phthisis parasites eat away at the lung system inside the pulmonary lobes which leads to hemoptysis and sore throat and this is the reason why it is the most difficult kind to treat. Grind the toenails of an otter into powder and ingest with warm wine. The effects are wonderful.
25 Acupuncture and Moxibustion 鍼灸法 침구법
➀ For symptoms such as steaming bone, corpse-transferring, and phthisis, it is important to immediately perform moxibustion on Dr. Choi’s four flower points. [It is explained in detail in the chapter Acupuncture and Moxibustion]. It will not be as effective if performed too late.
➁ Phthisis parasites eat away the lung system between the two lungs, which lead to hemoptysis and hoarse throat. This area is above the diaphragm and below the heart, which makes it difficult for the whole medicinal and acupuncture effect to take place, so it is important to quickly perform moxibustion on BL43, BL13, and the four flower points (BL17 and BL19).
➂ In order to treat the phthisis, the patient should take off the upper clothes completely in the middle of the night every tenth day when the six spirits gather together. The two hollow places on the sides of the waist are called Yo An (腰眼). (The extrameridian acupuncture point located on the lower back below the spinous process of the 4th lumbar vertebra). Draw two points in the Yo An standing up straight and then lie facedown on a bed. Perform 7 jangs (unit for counting moxa cones) of small-sized moxibustions. The patient will be cured once the parasites are gotten rid of either through vomiting or bowel movements. This is called a Wu Sun Gu (遇仙灸, hermit meeting moxibustion). ➃ Draw points on the Yo An the previous day and at 11 p.m. On the day before every tenth day, perform 7, 9, or 11 jangs of moxibustion and the effects will be wonderful. Once the parasites come out with the excrement, burn them.
➄ Perform moxibustion on BL43 and ST36 in case of steaming bone and consumptive fever.
➅ For symptoms of phthisis, steaming bone or drying of the front teeth, perform 14 jangs of moxibustion on GV14, CV15. Quick moxibustion on BL43, BL13, BL17, BL19 and GV14 is also good for the condition.
➆ In the case of corpse-transferring and phthisis, perform acupuncture about three pun deep on KI1, and let the bleeding run for a time duration of six inhalations. Treatment is possible if it bleeds but it is very critical if there is no bleeding. Treatment on ST40 can treat phlegm. Perform acupuncture about one chon deep and let the bleeding run for the time duration of ten inhalations. The cinnabar field can treat shortness of breath. Perform acupuncture about three pun deep and tonify for the time duration of two exhalations.
