The disease belongs to the category of "Jihoubi" (acute inflammation of throat) in TCM. Due to dramatic climatic variations, irregular life and unconsolidating defensive qi, pathogenic wind and heat take advantage of these to invade pharyngolarynx directly through the mouth and nose. Pathogenic factors will injure the lung and stomach internally and accumulate inside the pharyngolarynx, causing pharyngolaryngeal swelling and pain to result in the onset.

This is the way most acute pharyngitis occurs. Because of this, the disease is also called "Fengre Houbi" (pharyngitis due to wind and heat). At the beginning, pathogenic factors lie in the surface, the disease is accordingly milder; if the excessive pathogenic heat spreads to the interior, symptoms of excessive heat of the stomach will arise, causing severer state of illness.