Source: Xiao’er Yaozheng Zhijue (Key to Differentiation and Therapeutics of Children’s Diseases).
 
Ingredients:
No.1 Huoxiang (Herba Agastachis) 21 g
No.2 Zhiziren (Fructus Gardeniae) 3 g
No.3 Shigao (Gypsum Fibrosum) 15 g
No.4 Gancao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) 90 g
No.5 Fangfeng (Radix Ledebouriellae) 120 g

Administration:
Grind the above drugs into coarse powder, take 5g each time and decoct it in water for oral administration.

Actions:
Purging latent fire in the spleen and stomach.
  
Clinical Application:
This recipe is indicated for latent fire syndrome in the spleen and stomach marked by aphthae, foul breath, excessive thirst, inclination to hunger, dryness of the mouth and lips, as well as unusual movement of the tongue seen in children which is indicative of excessive heat in the spleen, red tongue, and rapid pulse. It can be used to deal with stomatocace, angular stomatitis and glossitis that pertain to latent fire in the spleen meridians. If body fluid is impaired, manifesting cracked lips and dryness of the tongue, Shanyao (Rhizoma Dioscoreae) and Shihu (Herba Dendrobii) can be added to nourish the spleen and promote the production of body fluid. If the latent fire causes oral ulceration, swelling and pain, Lianqiao (Fructus Forsythiae) and Baihuasheshecao (Herba Oldenlandiae Diffusae) can be added to relieve carbuncles.

Elucidation:
The syndrome is due to latent fire invading the mouth and lips and should be treated by purging heat from the spleen. Ingredient No. 3, cold in property, acts as monarch drug to purge latent fire in the spleen and stomach. Ingredient No. 2 helps bring about the effect of the monarch drug and induce heat out through urination, while No. 5 is meant to dispel the latent fire from the spleen. Both are used as minister drug.

Ingredient No. 1 is used as adjuvant drug for its effect of regulating the spleen, promoting the function of the middle energizer, and reinforcing the effect of No. 5. Acting as guiding drug, No. 4 is supposed to regulate the middle energizer, and coordinate the effect of various ingredients in the recipe. All the drugs together can produce the desirable effects of clearing away heat without retaining pathogenic factors, dispersing without inducing heat, and opposing to and complementing each other.

Cautions:
This recipe should not be applied to children suffering from congenital deficiency and cerebral dysgenesis, manifesting pale tongue and unusual movement of the tongue. Nor should it be applied to those with heat due to deficiency of stomach-yin.