Fire
occurs in summer, but may be seen in other seasons.
Fire and heat are caused by excessive yang; yet fire
and mild heat vary in degree. Of the two, first is the
most severe.
Heat is an exogenous pathogenic factor
that can be classified into various types, such as wind-heat
and damp-heat, whereas fire is a pathogenic
factor internally produced. The symptoms seen
in such cases are a flaming-up of heart fire, hyperactivity
of liver fire and excessive stomach fire.
Fire has four major properties and specific
pathological influences:
- Fire is a yang pathogenic factor.
Its central characteristic is its capacity to "flare
up". Consequently, diseases due to pathogenic
fire tend to display symptoms such as high fever,
an aversion to heat, restlessness, thirst, perspiration,
and a bounding and rapid pulse, mouth and tongue ulcers,
swollen painful gums, headache, congested eyes.
- Pathogenic fire often impairs body fluids
and qi. Pathogenic fire tends to consume
body fluids and vital essence, leading to an insufficiency
of the former. Apart from a high fever, thirst, a
dryness sensation in the mouth and throat, concentrated
urine and constipation may occur.
- Pathogenic fire can stir up wind and cause
blood disturbances. Excessive fire affects
the liver yin and deprives the tendons of nourishment.
The symptoms are high fever, coma and delirium, convulsions,
upward staring of the eyes, neck rigidity and opisthotonus,
insomnia, mania. Accelerated blood circulation
is a characteristic feature of diseases due to pathogenic
fire giving rise to rapid pulse. In severe
cases, blood is forced out of the vessels leading
to epistaxis, bloody stool, hemetemesis, haematuria,
uterine bleeding.
- Pathogenic fire predisposes the individual
to carbuncles, furuncles, boils and ulcers when
it attacks the blood. In addition, ulcers and painful
local red swellings are also clinically diagnosed
as yang and fire syndromes.
