Throat moth

Also nipple moth; baby moth. Redness, swelling, and soreness of either or both of the throat nodes (tonsils) with a yellowish-white discharge visible on their surface. Baby moth is attributable to a) congesting lung-stomach heat with fire toxin steaming upward; b) qì stagnation and congealing blood together with old phlegm and liver fire binding to form malign blood; or c) liver kidney yīn-liquid depletion with vacuity fire flaming upward. Accompanying signs include constipation, a thick slimy tongue fur, difficulty in swallowing fluids, and alternating heat and cold.

Biomedical correspondence: tonsillitis.

Medicinal therapy: Congesting lung-stomach heat is treated by coursing wind and diffusing the lung, and by dispersing swelling and resolving toxin; formulas such as Throat-Clearing Diaphragm-Disinhibiting Decoction (清咽利膈汤 qīng yān lì gé tāng) can be used. Liver fire patterns are treated by clearing heat and expelling phlegm with formulas such as Pathfinder Poria Pill (指迷茯苓丸 zhǐ mí fú líng wán). Effulgent yīn vacuity fire patterns are treated by enriching yīn and downbearing fire with formulas such as Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill (知柏地黄丸 zhī bǎi dì huáng wán). Nipple moth assuming a nipple-like shape without severe pain and brought on by contraction of cold is called stone moth, a condition that is difficult to treat.

Acumoxatherapy: For lung-stomach heat, base treatment mainly on LU, LI, and ST. Select LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend, 曲池 qū chí), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), ST-44 (Inner Court, 内庭 nèi tíng), ST-43 (Sunken Valley, 陷谷 xiàn gǔ), and CV-22 (Celestial Chimney, 天突 tiān tú); needle with drainage, and prick TB-1 (Passage Hub, 关冲 guān chōng), LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng), and LI-1 (Shang Yáng, 商阳 shāng yáng) to bleed. For phlegm turbidity and liver fire, base treatment mainly on LR, GB, and ST. Select LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), LR-2 (Moving Between, 行间 xíng jiān), GB-34 (Yáng Mound Spring, 阳陵泉 yáng líng quán), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), and ST-40 (Bountiful Bulge, 丰隆 fēng lóng); needle with drainage. For yīn vacuity with effulgent fire, base treatment mainly on KI and LU. Select KI-3 (Great Ravine, 太溪 tài xī), KI-6 (Shining Sea, 照海 zhào hǎi), and LU-10 (Fish Border, 鱼际 yú jì); needle with even supplementation and drainage, and prick LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng) to bleed.

Etymology

Chinese: 乳 rǔ, breast, milk, suckle, suckling; 蛾 é, moth. The name is usually understood as a double metaphor (a swelling both like a nipple and like a moth) although, as has been pointed out , suckling moth (i.e., baby moth) is an equally plausible interpretation, which is supported by the alternate name é zǐ.