Yangming disease, with a flushed face and red complexion, should not be purged, as it will inevitably lead to fever and a yellow complexion; there will also be difficulty in urination.

bubble_chart Note

• In Yangming meridian disease, the face should be red, indicating that pathogenic heat is still stagnating in the meridian and has not yet entered the interior to form a substantial condition. Therefore, even if there is no bowel movement, it should not be purged.
• If purged, the pathogenic heat stagnating in the meridian will not be resolved, leading to fever and a yellow complexion; there will also be difficulty in urination.
• If there is internal dryness and smooth urination, it will transform into dryness, and there will be no jaundice, but the stool will definitely be hard.

bubble_chart Collected Annotations

• Fang You-zhi said: "合 (he), means 'should'. 赤 (chi), is the color of heat. Stomach heat rising causes the face to turn red. Purging will deplete fluids, leading to fever and a yellow complexion, due to difficulty in urination."
• Cheng Zhi said: "This means that heat in the Yangming meridian should not be purged. Heat in the meridian indicates that Yang qi is stagnating in the exterior. Purging will not disperse the heat in the meridian, leading to fever and a yellow complexion, due to difficulty in urination."
• Cheng Yingmao said: "Heat obstructed between the skin and muscles causes fever and difficulty in urination, leading to stagnation and jaundice."