Moxibustion mentioned in Shanghan Lun
Shanghan Lun is known as Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases in English. The book could be the next important book after Huang Di Nei Jing. There are a few lines in Shanghan Lun where moxibustion is mentioned. When you practice moxibustion in clinical settings, it can be worth reading them to avoid malpractice in moxibustion treatments .
Zhang, Zhongjing wrote Shanghan Lun during Han Dynasty in ancient China. He developed six-stage pattern differentiations. It is said that these can be used for cold damage and various diseases.
Moxibustion malpractice cases in Shanghan Lun
Here are two lines in the book that describe moxibustion or fire.
Line 120
In Taiyang disease, the fire warming method is used. However, it fails to promote sweating. The patient will undoubtedly become restless. If it is not resolved in the meridian, the patient will certainly have a bloody bowel movement. It is called a fire pathogen.
Line 121
When there is a floating pulse and heat, moxibustion is applied. However, this is the excess. The excess is mistaken for deficiency. As a result, the fire will undoubtedly cause a dry throat and bloody sputum.
According to Neijing, a hollow pulse needs moxibustion. Moxibustion needs to be applied when yang qi is deficient. Naturally, fire causes blood to flow. In the first line, fire results in a bloody bowel movement. In the second line, fire causes bloody sputum. These are good examples of moxibustion malpractice.
The principle of Taiyang disease is a floating pulse, stiffness, pain in the head and nape, and aversion to cold.
In the first line, sweating is not promoted, and the stagnated heat is not released through sweating. Moreover, the heat becomes more intense due to the fire heating method, and it gets deeper into the interior, resulting in a bloody bowel movement.