White membrane invading the eye

A disease of the eye characterized by the appearance of small gray-white vesicles at the border between the dark and white of the eye that gradually spreads into the dark of the eye. In severe cases, the vesicles join up, and after healing leave a nebulous screen. Other signs include aversion to light, pain, and tearing. The condition often repeatedly returns after clearing. It is caused by exuberant liver-lung heat or yīn vacuity with effulgent fire.

Biomedical correspondence: phlyctenular keratoconjunctivitis.

Medicinal therapy: Repletion patterns are treated by draining liver and lung fire with Gentian Liver-Draining Decoction (龙胆泻肝汤 lóng dǎn xiè gān tāng) plus mulberry root bark (Mori Cortex, 桑白皮 sāng bái pí), lycium root bark (Lycii Cortex, 地骨皮 dì gǔ pí), and scrophularia (Scrophulariae Radix, 玄参 xuán shēn). Effulgent yīn vacuity fire patterns are treated by nourishing yīn and clearing heat, using Yīn-Nourishing Lung-Clearing Decoction (养阴清肺汤 yǎng yīn qīng fèi tāng) plus abalone shell (Haliotidis Concha, 石决明 shí jué míng) and fetid cassia (Cassiae Semen, 决明子 jué míng zǐ).