The internal therapeutic methods for diseases of the throat include dispelling wind to relieve exterior syndrome, clearing away heat and removing toxin, normalizing diaphragm and relaxing bowels, removing blood stasis and pus, nourishing yin and body fluid, warming and invigorating primordial qi, removing depression to regulate qi and eliminating masses, dispelling phlegm to benefit throat, etc. As for the concrete content, please refer to the specific discussions of the each chapter.

The therapeutic methods for diseases of the throat mainly include the following 13 methods:

The commonly-used patent drugs include Lupao Powder, Universal Swelling-relieving Powder, Yin-nourishing and Granulation-promoting Powder, Bingpeng Powder (Powder of Borneol and Borax), etc. The selected drugs fall into the following four types.

(1)Mineral drugs: Like Pengsha ( Borax ), Xuanmingfen ( Natrii Sulfas   Exsiccatus ), Xionghuang (Realgar) and Shushigao ( prepared Gypsum Fibrosum ).

(2)Vegetable  drugs:  Like  Puhuang  ( Pollen Typhae ), Huangbai ( Cortex Phellodendri ), Qingdai (Indigo Naturalis ), Bohe ( Herba Menthae ), Baizhi (Radix Angelicae Dahuricae ) , Gancao ( Radix Glycyrrhizae ) and Dahuang (Radix et Rhizoma Rhei ) .

(3)Resinous drugs: A special kind of vegetable drugs like Bingpian (Borneolum), Xuejie ( Resina Draconis ) and Ercha (Catechu).

(4)Animal drugs: Shexiang (Moschus, artificial), Zhechong (Eupolyphagaseu Steleophaga) and Baijiangcan ( Bombyx Batryticatus ).

Use insufflation on the basis of syndrome differentiation. The drugs are often self-prepared. Pay attention to the following three points.

(1)Select the drugs carefully and pay attention to the species and quality of the drugs.

(2)Process the drugs like cutting them into pieces or grinding them into powder. After sieving the drugs with a sifter with 80 to 90 meshes. Then formulate a prescription and grind the drugs again by hand.

(3)When grinding the drugs, pay attention to the order of grinding them besides handling the amount. Generally speaking, grind the hard and dry mineral drugs first. Then add the chitinous drugs. Next, add vegetable roots, stems and leaves. Finally, add animal drugs. As for resinous drugs like Bingpian (Borneolum), grind them into fine powder separately because of their viscocity. In the end, add the fine powder to the powder of other drugs and grind the two together, the finer the better. Grinding drugs should be free from causing any sound. In addition, the finished powder should pass through the sifter with more than 120 meshes. In this way, the body can absorb the powder easily.

Suck the drug or pill and swallow the saliva gradually. For instance, sucking drug Guangui ( Cortex Cinnamomi) can lead deficient fire to the lower part to cure chronic pharyngitis due to hyperactivity of asthenic fire; sucking Niuhuang Oinhua Pill (Sucking Pill of Calculus Bovis) can treat acute pharyngolaryngeal inflammation.

Rinse the throat with medicinal liquid, for instance,the mouth-rinsing prescriptions for pharyngitis, tonsillitis and periodontitis.

While the decoction is hot, collect the vapour with a mantle-shaped object and breathe it into the mouth and pharyngolaryngx. This can cure pharyngolaryngeal and tracheal diseases.  Or make the medicinal liquid into vapour directly with an ultrasonic nebulizer for spray inhalation.

Fumigate the patient''s nostrils with the smoke generated by burning the drug or the tissue paper soaked in the drug. This can open orifices and resolve phlegm. For instance, use the medicinal thread of croton oil to treat acute laryngeal infection.

This is a method to cure peritonsillar abscess and the abscess of other pharyngeal parts. During the operation, prevent the pus from flowing into air passage in case suffocation should occur.

Use a goose feather dipped in tung oil to stir the throat. This can induce vomiting to treat acute laryngeal infection.

Make the powder into paste with sesame oil, or honey, etc. Apply the paste on the skin of the neck to cure pharyngolaryngeal diseases, for instance, Qingfu Powder, Chonghe Paste, etc.

Puncture Renying (ST9)and Shuitu (ST10) to treat laryngitis; needle Shaoshang (LUll) and Shangyang (LI1) to treat pharyngolaryngeal diseases with red swelling. In both cases, a bit of bloodletting can clear away heat and purge fire.

 

Use a small soldering iron to cauterize the affected part. This is often used to treat chronic tonsillitis.

Dip the edge of a china spoon into oil or water to scrape the patient's skin until it becomes purplish red patches. Or lift and knead the patient's skin with two fingers to make the skin purplish red. The method dredges meridians and collaterals and dispels pathogenic heat. It is mostly used to cure pharyngolaryngeal pain and red swelling.

There are many forms of Qingna. The one one person operates, the one two or more than two people operate. The one more than two people operate is also called "Qinna". The Qingna curing pharyngolaryngeal diseases relieves pharyngolaryngeal pain so that the patient can swallow drugs; some forms of Qingna promote qi flow to dredge collaterals, remove phlegm to induce resuscitation so that the patient's symptoms of laryngeal obstruction and dyspnea can be relieved. In the past, the application of tracheotomy was not popular. This method showed some better effects. At present, it still has a positive practical value.

The massage treating diseases of the throat is also called Tuina. At present, the more commonly-used method in clinic is cricothyroid articulation massage.