Jaundice disease, the urine color does not change, a tendency to spontaneous diarrhea, abdominal distension and fullness with panting—heat must not be eliminated, for if heat is eliminated, there will inevitably be hiccup. For hiccup, Minor Pinellia Decoction is prescribed.

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In jaundice disease, the urine should be reddish, but here it is not reddish and is pale, with a tendency to spontaneous diarrhea. Although there is abdominal distension and fullness with panting, this indicates dampness excess without heat, a case of yin jaundice. Heat must absolutely not be eliminated. If heat is eliminated with cooling purgatives, the stomach will inevitably become cold and cause hiccup. For hiccup, Minor Pinellia Decoction is prescribed to stop the hiccup.

bubble_chart Collected Annotations

• Li Wen said: The urine color not changing and a tendency to spontaneous diarrhea indicate there is no interior excess. Abdominal distension and fullness with panting is due to spleen qi deficiency and dysfunction of lung qi! Using bitter-cold medicinals to attack the interior and eliminate heat will cause stomach cold and deficiency rising of qi, leading to hiccup. Minor Pinellia Decoction is suitable to disperse counterflow and stop hiccup.
• Gao Shi-shi said: The urine color not changing means it is not reddish; a tendency to spontaneous diarrhea does not mean diarrhea. Although abdominal distension and fullness with panting may resemble interior excess, cold formulas to eliminate heat, such as Rhubarb and Niter Decoction, must not be used. If cold formulas are used to eliminate heat, hiccup will inevitably occur—hiccup, hiccup. Pinellia and Fresh Ginger Rhizome are acrid-warm and dissipate cold, so for hiccup, Minor Pinellia Decoction should be prescribed.

bubble_chart Formula

Minor Pinellia Decoction formula (see phlegm-fluid retention section)