Wind-cold fettering the exterior

Also wind-cold exterior pattern. A disease pattern arising when wind and cold affect the exterior, giving rise to headache, generalized pain, and aversion to wind. Other signs include absence of sweating, absence of thirst, glossy white tongue fur, and a tight floating pulse. This pattern is one form a common cold can take. Given the close connection between defense qì and lung qì, wind-cold giving rise to exterior patterns can also affect the lung and cause lung signs such as nasal congestion, sore throat, and cough with expectoration of clear thin phlegm. This pattern is called wind-cold fettering the lung.

Medicinal therapy: Resolve the exterior with warmth and acridity; disperse wind-cold; diffuse lung qì. Use Ephedra Decoction (麻黄汤 má huáng tāng) and its variations for cough, rapid breathing, and absence of sweating, and Tea-Blended Chuanxiong Powder (川芎茶调散 chuān xiōng chá tiáo sǎn) for especially severe headache.

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on GB, LU, and LI. Select GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LU-7 (Broken Sequence, 列缺 liè quē), and TB-5 (Outer Pass, 外关 wài guān); needle with drainage and add moxa.

Point selection according to signs: For headache, add GV-20 (Hundred Convergences, 百会 bǎi huì) and Greater yáng (tài yáng) (太阳 tài yáng). For generalized pain, add BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù) and BL-12 (Wind Gate, 风门 fēng mén), and cup BL-11 (Great Shuttle, 大杼 dà zhù); alternatively, apply push-cupping from GV-14 (Great Hammer, 大椎 dà zhuī) to the lumbus, and run back to BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù), keeping the cup there for 20 minutes. For absence of sweating, add KI-7 (Recover Flow, 复溜 fù liū) and BL-11 (Great Shuttle, 大杼 dà zhù).

See also wind-cold fettering the lung.