Influenza is an acute, usually self-limited febrile illness that occurs in outbreaks of varying severity almost every win-ter. The causative virus is transmitted by the respiratory mute; however, systemic symptoms are out of proportion to those in the respiratory tract. Infection with influenza virus can produce several other clinical syndromes common with in-fection with respiratory viruses, such as common colds, pharyngitis, croup, tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, or pneu-monia. Conversely, infections with other respiratory viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, or adenovirus, may produce sporadic cases indistinguishable from those of typ-ical influenza. In addition to enormous morbidity and loss of time from school and work, influenza epidemics are associated with substantial mortality caused in large part by pulmonary complications.
Diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine
This disease is called "Liu Xing Xing Gan Mao" in tradi-tional Chinese medicine.
1. A large number of patients are affected within a short period with clinical features of fever, headache and myalgia.
2. Clinical features.
(1) The onset of the disease is abrupt, with marked gen-eral toxemic symptoms such as chill, fever, headache, myal-gia, weakness, etc.
(2) Symptoms referable to the respiratory tract such as stuffy nose, rhinorrhea, sore throat and dry cough are usually mild. In some cases, symptoms of the digestive tract such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diar-rhea may be present.
(3) High fever, chest pain, cough, bloody sputum, dys-pnea and even coma may occur in severe cases.
(4) Physical examination reveals acutely ill complexion and malar flush with congestion of conjunctival and nasopha-ryngeal mucosa. In patients with influenzal pneumonia or sec-ondary bacterial pneumonia, the respiratory sounds are dimin-ished. Diffuse moist rales may be heard over the lung fields.
Differentiation and Treatment of Common Syndromes in Traditional Chinese Medicine
1. Wind-cold Syndrome:
Clinical manifestations: Severe aversion .to cold, slight fever, absence of sweat, headache, aching pain of extremities, stuffy nose with nasal discharge, cough with thin sputum, thin and whitish coating of tongue, floating and tight pulse.
Therapeutic method: Relieving exterior syndrome with the drugs pungent in flavor and warm in property, ventilating the lung and expelling pathogenic cold.
Recipe: Modified Antiphlogistic Powder of Schizonepeta and Ledebouriella.
Ingredients:
Herba Schizonepetae 10g
Radix Ledebouriellae 10g
Rhizoma Seu Radix Notopterygii 10g
Radix Bupleuri 10g
Radix Peucedani 10g
Folium Perillae 10g
Radix Platycodi 10g
Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens 3 pieces
Administration: All the above drugs are to be decocted in water for oral administration.
