Treatment Based on Syndrome Differentiation:
1. Wind-Heat and Phlegm-Toxin Syndrome
Main Symptoms: It is often seen in the neck carbuncle, manifested by local tumefaction and pain, no change in the skin color at the initial stage, felt burning sensation by touch, and accompanied by aversion to cold, fever, headache, dry mouth, sore throat, thin and whitish or thin and yellowish tongue coating, superficial and rapid pulse.
Therapeutic Methods: Disperse wind, clear away heat, dissolve phlegm and diminish tumefaction.

2. Liver-Stagnation and Phlegm-Fire Syndrome
Main Symptoms: It is often seen in the axillary carbuncle, manifested by sudden local tumefaction, burning pain, and accompanied by fever, headache, bittertaste in the mouth, dry throat, distending pain in the hypochondrium, reddened tongue, yellowish coating, wiry and rapid pulse.
Therapeutic Methods: Clear the liver, relieve stagnation, diminish tumefaction and dissolve toxin.

3. Damp-Heat Accumulation Syndrome
Main Symptoms: It is often seen in Weizhong toxin, and hip and abdominal carbuncle, manifested by local tumefaction and pain, thin pus after ulceration, light red color in the wound, and lingering suppurative fluid, and accompanied by fever, aching sensation in the body and limbs, poor appetite loose stool, scanty urine, reddened tongue, yellowish and greasy coating, slippery and rapid pulse.
Therapeutic Methods Clear away heat, remove dampness, dissolve toxins and diminish tumefaction.

Cautions:
External carbuncle is a commonly encountered clinical disease and is often caused by infection due to injury in the four limbs. Therefore, it is necessary to intensify protection in work and treat traumatic injury promptly for decreasing the recurrent rate of this disease. The neck carbuncle is related to pathogenic wind and heat. In the treatment, it is advisable not to overuse the herbal drugs in bitter and cold nature, in order to avoid a rigor status caused by failure of external elimination of pathogenic factors, if hindered by cold herbs. After a suppurative mass is formed, the duration of illness can linger. Sometimes, it is needed to use herbal drugs that can warm the meridians and disperse cold, for obtaining complete cure after local suppuration. For severe condition, it is advisable to use antibiotics in combination.