The daughter of Yue Tan, just one year old, suddenly developed panting and coughing accompanied by whole-body fever. Yue Tan assumed it was a common cold and dismissed it as minor, but her condition worsened the next day. When I came to examine her younger brother’s illness, they requested me to check on her as well.
Observing her flushed face, feverish body, and raspy sawing sound in her throat, I initially diagnosed phlegm obstruction. This likely occurred because the wet nurse allowed breastfeeding during sleep while the child also had accumulated heat in the diaphragm area. The combination caused milk stagnation transforming into phlegm. I prescribed two or three Baiyu Pills (White Jade Pills). Yue Tan administered them, and while the fever slightly subsided, abdominal bloating emerged with persistent panting and coughing.
Upon re-examination request, I initially thought she had recovered. However, upon closer inspection, her eyes appeared dull and unfocused with lifeless energy, and the throat noise remained unchanged. Yue Tan worried: “She looks beyond saving.” I countered: “How could this be?”
Examining the superficial veins on her index finger (a diagnostic method in pediatric TCM), I noticed red lines extending past Fengguan (Wind Pass). Palpating her diaphragm area revealed gurgling fluid sounds in the chest. Suddenly realizing my earlier misdiagnosis, I exclaimed: “What I previously thought was phlegm is actually retained water!”
I immediately asked: “Does she have scanty urination and puffy eyelids? Does her cough trigger vomiting?” The wet nurse confirmed all symptoms. I prescribed Wuling Ganlu Yin (Five-Ingredient Poria Decoction with Sweet Dew) to be consumed as tea.
The next day when Yue Tan invited me to the city, he reported she had urinated over ten times with reduced abdominal swelling and regained vitality. I advised another dose, and within two days she fully recovered.
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