Traditional Chinese Medicine on "Fire"
Fire deficiency generally refers to a pathological phenomenon caused by yin deficiency leading to upward surge of fire. Yin deficiency may involve partial deficiency of the five zang organs’ yin or depletion of essence, blood, and body fluids. When yin is deficient, yang becomes relatively excessive, easily causing fire to rise upward. Thus, although symptoms of fire rising appear, they are actually caused by yin deficiency. Clinical manifestations include dry throat and pain, flushed cheeks and red lips, restlessness, insomnia, and fine rapid pulse.
Stomach fire, in contrast to fire deficiency, is a type of real fire. It refers to a pathological condition where excessive stomach heat transforms into fire. If stomach fire is rampant, it can ascend along the Foot Yangming Stomach Channel, clinically presenting as swollen gums, bad breath, and symptoms like irritability, hunger, and constipation.
Liver fire is another type of real fire, referring to a pathological state of liver hyperactivity. It results from impaired liver function in regulating qi, leading to stagnation transforming into fire, or pre-existing liver heat. Emotional overstimulation also contributes. Clinically, it often presents with red eyes, irritability, headache, rib pain, bitter taste in mouth, hemoptysis, hematemesis, and wiry rapid pulse.
Deficiency of Life Gate Fire refers to a pathological condition of kidney yang deficiency. Since kidney yin and yang depend on each other, deficiency of Life Gate Fire usually stems from depleted original qi or loss of kidney essence. Clinically, it manifests as lower jiao coldness, such as mental fatigue, lower back soreness, cold limbs, impotence, spermatorrhea, clear and copious urination, early morning diarrhea, and edema.
Lowering fire therapy is a method used to treat excessive heat and upward fire. Since fire has both deficiency and excess types, treatment differs accordingly. (1) Lowering deficiency fire involves using herbs that nourish yin and reduce fire to treat symptoms such as sore throat, hemoptysis, facial flushing, irritability, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, red tongue, dry mouth, and fine rapid pulse. Commonly used herbs include Scrophulariae Radix (Xuan Shen), Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata (Sheng Di Huang), and Moutan Cortex (Dan Pi). (2) Lowering excess fire involves using herbs that clear and purge fire to treat conditions like red eyes and headaches due to liver fire or toothache and constipation due to stomach fire. Commonly used herbs include Gentianae Radix (Long Dan Cao), Scutellariae Baicalensis Radix (Huang Qin), Rheum Palmatum Rhizome (Da Huang), and Gypsum Fibrosum (Sheng Shi Gao). (Rong Xiaoxiang)