Because he used to have an uncle who also had dysentery, it was never completely cured, and every year during those days he would relapse, forming a chronic recurrent dysentery.

The young man thought that the traditional Chinese medicine was so powerful this time, and that eating the medicine would surely eradicate it. He continued to take five more doses, but just as he was finishing them, he started to have diarrhea again, thinking it was not cured before, so he bought another five doses and took them. The more he took, the worse the diarrhea became.

In the end, he had no choice but to seek an old Chinese doctor for treatment. The diarrhea this time was caused by spleen-stomach yang deficiency and he couldn’t continue taking cold-natured, bitter-cold medicine. This was a case of overcorrection; taking too much cold medicine injured the spleen’s Yang Qi. The current diarrhea was not acute dysentery but a manifestation of spleen yang deficiency, spleen Qi deficiency, and cold-damp sinking down. He was then given warm-natured, yang-natured medicine which slowly improved his condition.

Speaking of this, one has to mention one point, when Yang prevails, Yin becomes diseased, and when Yang prevails, it becomes hot.

What does it mean?

Using yang-natured medicine excessively damages the Yin fluids.

I have a friend, much older than Dean Zhang, an old Chinese doctor. Previously, a woman sought his treatment, her vaginal discharge was clear and profuse, just like running water, causing her to constantly need liners, and from the waist down to the legs, it was as cold as being soaked in cold water.

The Western doctor diagnosed it as pelvic inflammatory disease, but my friend thought it was a case of yang deficiency with water-damp sinking down, so he prescribed warming yang and diuretic medicine, and after a week, she left.

After finishing the medicine, she felt some improvement, and on her own initiative continued taking it. By the third week, her husband came to my friend, saying she inexplicably argued with him every day after taking the medicine. Upon inquiry, it turned out that from the second week on, she felt dry mouth, and by the third week, she was constantly irritated and wanting to argue, unable to argue with colleagues at work, she could only argue with family.

When I heard about this, I immediately understood. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Why?

"Too much yang?" the young woman asked subconsciously.

"Yes, too much yang."

Lu Xuan nodded and said, "Previously, the medicine prescribed was yang-heat type. Overusing it harms Yin. When Yin is insufficient, it causes irritability, restlessness, and insomnia.

In fact, it’s the same with diet. When we go to a restaurant, many places serve a cup of chrysanthemum tea, which is Yin-natured and cooling. Can everyone drink it?"

"Probably not," the young woman hesitated to say.

"Not probably, but definitely not."

Lu Xuan shook his head and said, "Who shouldn’t drink chrysanthemum tea? How should chrysanthemum tea be consumed to be the healthiest? Why does clearing heat sometimes lead to more heat?"

If you have excess Yang heat and it’s hot weather, a little of this Yin-natured, cooling chrysanthemum tea is fine.

But drinking it all year round, over time, will harm your Yang Qi, leading to new Yin-Yang imbalance.

Some elderly people feel they have excess heat, recurrent mouth ulcers, constant thirst, and a dry throat, so they take medicines to clear heat and end up feeling even drier.

The mouth ulcers recur—what’s going on here?

In fact, elderly people often have both Yin and Yang deficiency. This feeling of excess heat is due to Yin deficiency and subsequent false fire, not true excess fire at all. The medicines used to clear heat are addressing true excess fire.

Instead, their Yang Qi becomes even more deficient. When Yang Qi is insufficient, it cannot generate Yin fluids.

The generation of Yin fluids in our body relies on Yang Qi as the driving force to move it, so the more heat-clearing medicine taken, the more the Yin fluids become deficient, and the false fire becomes more exuberant. That’s why the elderly feel more heat the more they take heat-clearing medicines.

So, any medicine should not be overused, either extreme leads to harm. Grasping the right dosage is an extremely difficult task, not something any doctor can handle easily.

Moreover, it requires the cooperation of the patient."