Dysentery is an acute intestinal infectious disease caused by infection with Shigella bacteria. Clinically, it is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, an urgent need to defecate with a feeling of incomplete evacuation, and bloody mucopurulent stools. If the infection is severe and the onset is abrupt, accompanied by sudden high fever, unconsciousness, and convulsions, it is known as pestilent dysentery. At the onset of dysentery, abdominal pain is seen first, followed by dysentery, occurring several to dozens of times a day. It is more common in the summer and autumn seasons. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, dysentery falls under the category of "dysentery with stagnation." This condition is often caused by damp-heat evils that injure the spleen and stomach, leading to the spleen's failure to transform and transport properly, and the stomach's failure to digest and guide downward, further complicated by accumulation and stagnation, which ferments in the intestines and results in the disease.
Damp-Heat Dysentery: Dysentery with red and white pus and blood, more red than white, abdominal pain, an urgent need to defecate with a feeling of incomplete evacuation, anal burning pain, and short, red urine; the tongue coating is yellow and greasy, and the pulse is slippery and rapid.
Cold-Damp Dysentery: The dysentery is not refreshing, with more white than red, or dysentery with white mucous, abdominal bloating and pain, preference for warmth and pressure, and aversion to cold; the tongue coating is white and greasy, and the pulse is moist and rapid.
Epidemic Poison Dysentery: The onset is abrupt, with severe abdominal pain, dysentery with bright purple pus and blood, high fever, delirium, restlessness, and thirst; the tongue is red and dry, the coating is yellow and dry, and the pulse is slippery and rapid.
Anorectic Dysentery: Dysentery with red and white pus and blood, nausea and vomiting, inability to eat; the tongue coating is greasy, and the pulse is moist and rapid.
Resting Dysentery: Dysentery that comes and goes, with a prolonged course, during episodes there is red and white mucous, abdominal pain, and fatigue; the tongue is pale, the coating is greasy, and the pulse is thin and weak.
It is recommended to perform moxibustion once a day, targeting 2 to 3 acupoints each time, with each acupoint being treated for 30 to 40 minutes. Rotate the points treated, with a 10-day period constituting one course of treatment, and then rest for 2 to 3 days before continuing with the next course. (If time permits and there is a need, more acupoints can be treated with moxibustion. The specific duration should be adjusted according to one's own physical needs.)
1. During the acute phase of the disease, diet should be strictly controlled or fasting, and bed-side isolation should be practiced. Pay attention to dietary hygiene and avoid eating unclean or spoiled food. 2. During the dysentery outbreak season, it is appropriate to consume raw garlic cloves or eat garlic cloves in dishes, and also drinking soup made from green beans can play a role in preventing infection. 3. Chronic dysentery is prone to relapses and is difficult to cure. It can be treated in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine enemas. A compound of traditional Chinese medicine can use 6 grams of Coptis chinensis, 10 grams of Phellodendron amurense, 15 grams of Pulsatilla chinensis, 10 grams of Rheum palmatum, and 15 grams of Paeonia lactiflora, decocted into 100 milliliters, for retention enema.