Ma Huang Tang contains ma huang, gui zhi, xing ren, zhi gan cao and is used to open the surface and sweat pathogenic cold from the body’s exterior. When the surface at the body’s exterior is pathologically closed due to pathogenic cold constricting the pores and hindering the defensive wei qi, the fluids that would otherwise sweat through the surface, removing the pathogenic cold is obstructed – and there is an inability to sweat. There is repletion at the surface leading to pain and a tight, floating pulse. The therapeutic strategy is to use the principle of warming with an acrid flavor to open the pores and warm up the surface yang to boost the wei and initiate the sweating process.
The actual presenting signs and symptoms may be variable in individuals but they should be caused by the pattern of excess wind cold at the surface in what is classically referred to as a Greater Yang Cold Damage Disease, Taiyang Shanghan Bing.
Case study
A 10 yo regularly suffered from nasal catarrh when he caught a cold; his nose became so stuffed that he could only breathe through his mouth. The problem worsened at night and prevented him from sleeping well. He also suffered from headaches and feared getting chilled, but did not cough. His pulse was buoyant and powerful.
In accordance with the symptoms, I gave him Ma Huang Tang, 麻黃湯; after only 10 mins the nasal stuffiness began to disappear. In only 3 days, the flu symptoms from which he frequently suffered vanished.
(Case 54: 30 Years of Kanpo: Selected Case Studies of an Herbal Doctor by Keisetsu Otsuka)
graph TD
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classDef header fill:#f4f4f4,stroke:#333333,stroke-width:2px,font-weight:bold,font-family:Georgia;
classDef caveat fill:#fff5f5,stroke:#cc0000,stroke-width:1px,font-family:Georgia,font-size:13px;
%% Diagram Structure
A["EXOGENOUS PATHOGENIC COLD<br/>(Exterior Environmental Factor)"] --> B["TAIYANG EXTERIOR EXCESS PATTERN<br/>(麻黃湯 Ma Huang Tang Indication)"]
B --> C["LUNG QI LOCKED"]
B --> D["WEI QI TIGHTLY BOUND"]
B --> E["YING QI OBSTRUCTED"]
C --> F["Wheezing, Cough &<br/>Dyspnea"]
D --> G["Anhidrosis (No Sweat)<br/>& Severe Fever"]
E --> H["Severe Generalized Body Aches<br/>& Floating-Tight Pulse"]
G --> I["CRITICAL CAVEAT:<br/>If any sweating is present,<br/>Ma Huang Tang is strictly contraindicated."]
%% Apply Styles
class A,B header;
class I caveat;