All pulses are floating and rapid, indicating fever with chills and aversion to cold. If there is a painful area but normal eating and drinking, it suggests the accumulation of pus.

bubble_chart Note

When all pulses are floating and rapid, it means that the pulses at the cun, guan, and chi positions are all floating and rapid. Floating indicates wind, while rapid indicates heat. When wind and heat are obstructed and stagnate on the surface, it leads to fever with chills and aversion to cold. If there is a hidden painful area but normal eating and drinking, it is not a sign of an exterior pathogen but rather an indication of internal abscess with pus accumulation. From this, we understand that floating and rapid pulses should not always be attributed to wind and heat.

bubble_chart Collected Commentary

• Wang Kentang said: "In the human body, where there is swelling and pain, there is no place that one does not feel. What this passage refers to must be an internal abscess, hence it mentions the accumulation of pus. For example, stomach abscess, lung abscess, and intestinal abscess each have their own distinguishing features. However, the pulse of a stomach abscess often shows a strong renying pulse, which is often mistaken for cold-damage disease. Therefore, it is important to carefully examine it."
• Cheng Yinggao said: "The pulse and symptoms resemble cold-damage disease. If one does not consider the presence of a painful area and normal eating and drinking, and mistakenly uses pungent and warm dispersing methods to assist the yang heat, or mistakenly uses cold and cool methods to clear heat obstruction and pathogenic qi, the harm will be profound."
• Zhang Lu said: "If there is swelling and redness, it is due to heat obstructing the meridians and collaterals. If there is no swelling, the pathogen must be lingering in the internal organs, leading to the formation of abscesses and pus either internally or externally."