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Fright wind

惊风 〔驚風〕jīng fēng

Also child fright wind; infantile convulsions. A disease of infants and children, characterized by convulsions and loss of consciousness. Fright wind is equivalent to tetany in adults. Distinction is made between acute and chronic forms.

Biomedical correspondence: infantile convulsions.

See acute fright wind; chronic fright wind; eight signs of fright wind; four patterns of fright wind.

Etymology

Chinjīng, fright; 风 fēng, wind. Wind, especially liver wind, can cause various forms of spasm (hypertonicity of the sinews, tetany, tugging and slackening, arched-back rigidity). Wind as a natural phenomenon bends, sways, and contorts trees (wood), and as an evil, it affects the sinews, which are governed by liver-wood. Fright is a natural response that manifests physically in the form of tension or jerking of the sinews, and hence is analogous to wind in its effects on the body. Fright wind is so called because in some instances it is thought to be caused by fright, and also by analogy of manifestations. See fright.

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