🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Carbuncle is a common surgical emergency, commonly occurring on the face and fingertips. Due to its small initial size, deep root, and hard base resembling a nail, it is named carbuncle.
[Pathogenesis]
Often caused by unclean skin, punctures from iron or wood, followed by improper pricking or squeezing, allowing fire toxins to invade through gaps, accumulating heat in the skin. Or, indulgence in fatty and rich foods, excessive alcohol intake, leading to internal heat accumulation in zang-fu organs, resulting in toxin eruption from within. If toxins are rampant, they spread through meridians and attack internal organs, indicating critical condition.
[Pattern Differentiation]
Initially appears like a grain of millet, color yellow or purple, or develops blisters or pustules, hard base like a nail, mild tingling and itching, slight pain. Subsequently, redness, swelling, and burning sensation increase, pain intensifies, often accompanied by chills and fever. If high fever, restlessness, dizziness, vomiting, impaired consciousness appear, it indicates internal invasion of carbuncle, known as "carbuncle spreading poison." If occurring on limbs with red lines ascending, it is called "red thread carbuncle."
[Treatment]
1. Acupuncture
Treatment principle: Mainly select points on the Governor Vessel. Use draining method with filiform needles, or use three-edged needle to bleed.
Prescription: Shenzhu (GV12), Lingtai (GV10), Hegu (LI4), Weizhong (BL40)
Explanation: This prescription selects Governor Vessel points primarily because the Governor Vessel governs all yang meridians. Draining Shenzhu and Lingtai clears yang pathogens and fire toxins. These two points are also empirically effective for treating carbuncles. Hegu, the Yuan point of the Hand Yangming Meridian, benefits from the fact that Yangming meridian has abundant qi and blood; draining it eliminates fire toxins, especially suitable for facial and lip carbuncles. Selecting the Xi point Weizhong allows bleeding to clear blood heat.
This condition may also be treated according to the affected meridian. For example, carbuncles on the face along the Hand Yangming Meridian are supplemented with Shangyang (LI1), Quchi (LI11); those on the index finger use Quchi (LI11), Yingxiang (LI20); those on the face along the Foot Shaoyang Meridian use Yanglingquan (GB34), Zutongyin (GB44); those on the little toe or second toe use Yanglingquan (GB34), Tinghui (GB2). For red thread carbuncle, puncture along the red line from distal to proximal.
2. Picking Therapy
Method: Find papular protrusions along both sides of the spine in the back, use a thick needle to pick them daily.