少阴下利 vs 厥阴下利
By Karina • Jun 28th, 2008 • Category: Digestion & Elimination, shanghanlunAn re-introduction:
“五六日自利而渴者,属少阴也, 虚故引水自救,” (line 282b)
If you remember, diarrhea (下利/自利) can be classified as 太阴下利 or 少阴下利.
We know it COULD BE 少阴下利 if thirst is present.
We can further subdivide thirst-present diarrhea into cold-diarrhea (寒利) or hot-diarrhea (热利) by looking at the urine. It is already known that with cold-diarrhea, the urine is clear and prolonged.
What about thirst-present 热利?
Let us look at two passages from the classic 《伤寒论》:
“ 热利下重者,白头翁汤主之。” (line 371)
“下利欲饮水者,以有热故也,白头翁汤主之。” (line 373)
Within the 《伤寒论》context, 白头翁汤 is for diarrhea characterized by heat. Apart from the thirst, we can also expect the urine to be red and of short duration, unlike the 少阴寒利 type of urine.
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