Sore throat

Painful pharynx and/or larynx. Sore throat may be a repletion or vacuity sign.

Patterns

Wind-cold sore throat (风寒咽痛 fēng hán yān tòng) is characterized by usually only mild pain, redness. and swelling in the throatand is often attended by nasal congestion, sneezing, clear snivel (nasal mucus), cough with thin phlegm, headache and generalized pain, heat effusion without sweating, thin tongue fur, and a tight floating pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Course wind and disperse cold with Six-Ingredient Decoction (六味汤 liù wèi tāng) plus perilla leaf (Perillae Folium, 紫苏叶 zǐ sū yè) and fresh ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, 生姜 shēng jiāng).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on LI, LU, and BL. Select GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí), BL-12 (Wind Gate, 风门 fēng mén), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LU-7 (Broken Sequence, 列缺 liè quē), and CV-22 (Celestial Chimney, 天突 tiān tú); needle with drainage and add moxa, if appropriate, and prick LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng) to bleed.

Wind-heat sore throat (风热咽痛 fēng rè yān tòng) is characterized by more pronounced pain felt particularly when swallowing, with redness and swelling. It is accompanied by heat effusion, aversion to cold, sweating, and headache, by a red tongue with thin yellow fur, and by a rapid floating pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Course wind and disperse heat with Lonicera and Forsythia Powder (银翘散 yín qiào sǎn).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on LU and LI. Select LI-11 (Pool at the Bend, 曲池 qū chí), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), GV-14 (Great Hammer, 大椎 dà zhuī), TB-5 (Outer Pass, 外关 wài guān), and GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí); needle with drainage, and prick LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng) to bleed.

Damp-heat sore throat (湿热咽痛 shī rè yān tòng) is characterized by acute pain, swelling and redness, and small vesicles that give way to ulceration after bursting. There is usually heat effusion, cough, ejection of yellow phlegm, inhibited feeling in the chest and diaphragm, red tongue with slimy yellow tongue fur, and a rapid pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Clear heat and resolve toxin and disinhibit dampness, using Sweet Dew Beverage (甘露饮 gān lù yǐn) plus isatis leaf (Isatidis Folium, 大青叶 dà qīng yè).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on LI, ST, and SP. Select LI-11 (Pool at the Bend, 曲池 qū chí), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), SP-9 (Yīn Mound Spring, 阴陵泉 yīn líng quán), ST-44 (Inner Court, 内庭 nèi tíng), CV-22 (Celestial Chimney, 天突 tiān tú), ST-43 (Sunken Valley, 陷谷 xiàn gǔ), and TB-1 (Passage Hub, 关冲 guān chōng); needle with drainage, and prick LI-1 (Shang Yáng, 商阳 shāng yáng) to bleed.

Depressed fire sore throat (郁火咽痛 yù huǒ yān tòng) is characterized by rapid development into a severe condition with difficulty in swallowing even small amounts of fluids. The throat is hot and red, and, characteristically, the uvula is swollen, constituting what is called throat impediment. Other signs include hasty rapid breathing, red tongue with scant fur or thin yellow fur, and a large floating rapid pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Downbear fire and disperse binds with Impediment-Diffusing Decoction (宣痹汤 xuān bì tāng) plus moutan (Moutan Cortex, 牡丹皮 mǔ dān pí) and gardenia (Gardeniae Fructus, 山栀子 shān zhī zǐ).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on LU, LI, KI, LR, and back transport points. Select LU-10 (Fish Border, 鱼际 yú jì), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LI-2 (Second Space, 二间 èr jiān), TB-1 (Passage Hub, 关冲 guān chōng), KI-1 (Gushing Spring, 湧泉 yǒng quán), LR-2 (Moving Between, 行间 xíng jiān), BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù), and BL-18 (Liver Transport, 肝俞 gān shù); needle with drainage, and prick Ten Diffusing Points (十宣 shí xuān), LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng), and HT-9 (Lesser Surge, 少冲 shào chōng) to bleed.

Yīn vacuity sore throat (阴虚咽痛 yīn xū yān tòng) is a dry sore throat accompanied by dry mouth and desire for fluids, and a sensation that the throat is blocked by phlegm that is not easily expectorated. The pain is worse after midday. Other signs include postmeridian tidal heat, heat in the hearts of the soles and palms, night sweating, dry stool, yellow urine, red tongue with scant fur, and a rapid fine pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Supplement the lung and kidney and clear vacuity heat. Use formulas such as Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill (知柏地黄丸 zhī bǎi dì huáng wán).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on KI and LU. Select KI-3 (Great Ravine, 太溪 tài xī), KI-6 (Shining Sea, 照海 zhào hǎi), KI-7 (Recover Flow, 复溜 fù liū), LU-10 (Fish Border, 鱼际 yú jì), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), and TB-2 (Humor Gate, 液门 yè mén); needle with even supplementation and drainage and prick LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng) to bleed.

Dual vacuity of qì and yīn sore throat (气阴两虚咽痛 qì yīn liǎng xū yān tòng) is usually characterized by dryness and soreness, is exacerbated by taxationand is accompanied by shortness of breath, lack of strength, tidal heat, dry stool, pale tongue with thin fur, and a forceless fine pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Boost qì and nourish yīn with Lily Bulb Metal-Securing Decoction (百合固金汤 bǎi hé gù jīn tāng) with the addition of qì-boosting agents.

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on KI, LU, CV, and back transport points. Select KI-3 (Great Ravine, 太溪 tài xī), KI-6 (Shining Sea, 照海 zhào hǎi), KI-7 (Recover Flow, 复溜 fù liū), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), TB-2 (Humor Gate, 液门 yè mén), ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), CV-6 (Sea of Qì, 气海 qì hǎi), BL-23 (Kidney Transport, 肾俞 shèn shù), BL-20 (Spleen Transport, 脾俞 pí shù), and BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù); needle with supplementation. See also throat impediment, throat wind, throat moth, throat-locking welling-abscess.