(264) Q & A: Alternating yellow/clear discharge

[HB KIM]

Q:  Any idea for diagnosis/treatment of alternating thick yellow nasal discharge w. blocked nose (mornings/nights after waking up)clear thin nasal discharge daytime with runny nose and unblockage after movement, but increased sneezing and heavy head.
Symptoms onset after sleeping w. wet hair in combination with chronic sinus-allergies/infection due to mold/dust allergies.

Any idea what would be proper acupuncture treatment? (pt's, tonify/sedate) And which herbs would be beneficial?


A:  TREATMENT

HERBAL FORMULA
You can use two different formulas.

Before Bedtime: Huang Lian Tong Sheng San (=Fang Feng Tong Sheng San + Huang Lian 4g)
Take twice a day (every 4 hours)

During the Daytime: Xiao Qing Long Tang
Take twice a day (every 4 hours)

For example, if your patient's sleep pattern is 10 pm - 6 am:
8 am: Xiao Qing Long Tang
12 am: Xiao Qing Long Tang
4 pm: Huang Lian Tong Sheng San
8 pm: Huang Lian Tong Sheng San

Taking the formulas after a meal/snack is better than before.

When the thick yellow discharge has been removed after using these formulas some time, you can change the formula to strengthen this patients' defensive Qi:
Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang + Chuan Xiong 4g, Fang Feng 4g, Chai Hu 4g, Jing Jie 4g, Zi Su Ye 4g, Bo He 4g

ACUPUNCTURE
Palpate both sides of LU1 to find the more painful side; sedate LU10 and tonify LU5 on the opposite side.  You can add any other symptomatic points yourself, like LI20, Bi Tong or UB7.