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Ephedra Decoction for Bloated Chest

By Fornia ⋅ March 9, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Here we’ll discuss two interesting examples of Ephedra Decoction Pattern in which the patient’s chest feels bloated. We analyze two lines from On Cold Damage.

太阳与阳明合病，太阳与阳明合病，喘而胸满者， 不可下，以麻黄汤。 (line 36)

In line 36, we have a guy exhibiting Ephedra Decoction Signs. Most notably, he’s panting and his chest feels bloated. We are told he also exhibited Yangming signs, constipation being the most likely sign. But because of his exterior signs, we shouldn’t use precipitation (excretion) as a solution.

太阳病…，设胸满胁痛者，与小柴胡汤。 (line 37)

In line 37, the patient is not longer exhibiting Greater Yang signs, but he’s got a Lesser Yang symptom of “bloated chest and hypochondriac pain”. That’s why 小柴胡汤 is used.

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