As for medication, many patients suffering from chronic constipation take laxatives, most of
them based on Senna fruits (Cassia angustifolia). These contain anthraquinones which stimulate
the bowel peristalsis. From a Chinese perspective, these purgatives are somewhat similar to Da
Huang Rhizoma Rhei (which also contains anthraquinones) and are really indicated only in Full
conditions. They are therefore not suitable for long-term use as a laxative for chronic
constipation. Their long-term use will tend to weaken the Spleen. Thus, if a patient has been
resorting to such laxatives for many years, their use should be given up gradually as the herbal
decoction based on differentiation of patterns takes effect.
Painful-Urination Syndrome, called Lin in Chinese, refers to a condition of urinary dysfunction
characterized by frequency, scanty urine, pain, urgency and difficulty. Some doctors aptly
describe this condition as: "The patient wants to urinate but the urine does not flow freely and he
or she has distension and pain; when the patient does not want to urinate, there is some
dribbling." The term Lin has been used in Chinese medicine since the time of the "Yellow
Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" (c. 100 BC). It first appears in the "Simple Questions",
chapter 71:
Diseases [of a particular time of year] will be characterized by a hot sensation,
oedema of the face and eyes, sleepiness, nasal discharge, epistaxis, sneezing,
yawning, vomiting, dark or bloody urine and painful-urination syndrome.1(413)The "Prescriptions of the Golden Chest" in chapter 11 calls this condition Lin Bi, i.e. obstructive
urinary dysfunction: "... Heat in the Lower Burner causes blood in the urine and obstructive
urinary dysfunction ..."2(414)
Over the centuries, Painful-Urination Syndrome has been classified in various ways. The
"Classic of the Secret Transmission" by Hua Tuo (Han dynasty) in chapter 44 distinguishes eight
types of Painful-Urination Syndrome: Cold, Hot, Qi, Fatigue, Sticky, Sand, Deficient and Excess
types.3(415)
The "General Treatise on the Aetiology and Symptomatology of Diseases" by Chao Yuan Fang