Moxibustion Treatment

Early stage: Mild fever with slight chills, cough, expectoration of mucoid sputum or mucopurulent sputum, with the amount of sputum gradually increasing, chest pain that is especially severe when coughing, difficulty breathing, dry mouth and nasal passages; the tongue coating is thin or thin and white, and the pulse is floating, rapid, and slippery.

Abscess formation stage: The fever becomes more severe, with chills that lead to intense heat without chills, sweating, irritability, coughing with shortness of breath, fullness and pain in the chest, difficulty turning over, coughing up turbid sputum that appears yellow-green, a sensation of a fishy taste in the throat, and dry mouth and throat; the tongue coating is yellow and greasy, and the pulse is slippery and rapid.

Rupture and pus discharge stage: Sudden coughing up of a large amount of blood-tinged sputum, or sputum that resembles rice porridge, with an unusually foul smell, sometimes accompanied by hemoptysis, feeling of fullness and pain in the chest, even to the point of gasping for breath and being unable to lie flat, still with fever and a flushed face, thirsty and desiring to drink; the tongue is red, the coating is yellow and greasy, and the pulse is slippery, rapid, and forceful.

Recovery stage: The fever subsides, coughing is reduced, the expectoration of purulent and bloody sputum gradually decreases, the foul smell lessens, the sputum becomes clearer and thinner, or there may be a feeling of hidden pain in the chest and hypochondria, difficulty in lying down for long periods, shortness of breath and fatigue, spontaneous sweating, night sweats, low-grade fever, tidal fever in the afternoon, irritability, dry mouth and throat, a dull complexion, and a thin and weary appearance; the tongue is red or pale red, the coating is thin, and the pulse is fine or thin and rapid but weak.