"Sigh, I can’t eat hot pot anymore."
Sun Qing sighed helplessly.
Song Sisi and Lin Xiaoyu hurriedly asked, "Oh my god, what happened? How did it suddenly get this bad?"
Sun Qing recounted the situation with a heavy sigh. "It started around last month. The acne on my face just suddenly exploded."
"At first, it was just a few scattered closed codones on my forehead. I thought it was just my skin being sensitive to the changing season, so I just applied so acne cream I bought online."
"But I never expected that not only would it not get better, it would actually get worse—large patches of red, swollen pimples started appearing on my cheeks and chin. They felt hard to the touch, and so would form whiteheads or leak pus."
"The worst part was that it was painful and itchy. Even wearing a mask was irritating from the friction."
"During that ti, I barely dared to go outside. I had to use so much skin-smoothing on my selfies that you couldn’t even see my face clearly. I always kept my head down when I went out, terrified that people would stare at my face. I beca super sensitive about it all."
"Even when the weather was great, I didn’t even want to look in a mirror. If I absolutely had to, I’d have to put on a thick layer of foundation to cover the acne scars first."
As Sun Qing spoke, her eyes started to redden a little.
She continued, "This actually isn’t the first ti I’ve had acne. I had a bout of it in high school, and I used so Western topical ointnts back then. It got better for a while, but then it kept coming back off and on due to the stress of applying to college. It wasn’t until I got to university and my routine beca more regular that the acne finally cald down."
"But I don’t know what happened this ti. It just suddenly ’erupted,’ and it’s much more severe than before. The red, swollen pimples are in clusters, and I’m even getting them on the sides of my nose. My skin feels rough and uneven, and there are so many closed codones that haven’t surfaced yet. It feels like a bunch of tiny granules are stuffed in my pores."
"I heard from a colleague that ’internal regulation’ is really important, so I bought several kinds of anti-acne tea and drank them every day. I did that for almost a month, but not only did the acne not improve, my stomach started to feel a bit upset. I even lost a few pounds, but my face is still the sa."
Sun Qing shook her head helplessly. "I also tried focusing on my skincare, switching to ’acne-specific’ toners, lotions, and serums. But when I applied them, my face would sting and burn, and the redness and swelling just got worse."
Sun Qing finally concluded, "In the winter, I really love eating hot pot, and I eat a lot of spicy food. I suspect that’s the reason, so until my face clears up, I’m absolutely not eating anything spicy again!"
After hearing all this, Song Sisi was both annoyed and anxious. She couldn’t help but say, "With a condition like this, why didn’t you go see Li Xu? He’s a Divine Physician!"
Lin Xiaoyu added from the side, "Yeah, Doctor Li is so amazing! Why were you just randomly trying different treatnts on your own? Look what you’ve done to yourself!"
Sun Qing was a bit stunned. "Huh? This is a costic issue, isn’t it? Can Doctor Li treat that?"
She really hadn’t connected it with Traditional Chinese dicine. In her mind, acne was a skin problem, sothing you should see a dermatologist or an aesthetician for.
Having been around Li Xu and picked up so knowledge of Chinese dicine, Song Sisi said decisively, "Who says this is a costic issue? With how bad it is, there’s definitely sothing wrong internally. My Li Xu is the best at treating difficult and complex conditions. Hurry up and eat. As soon as we’re done, we’re going to see him!"
Lin Xiaoyu laughed. "Ooh, Sisi, since when did Doctor Li beco ’yours’? Are you two living together?"
Song Sisi’s face imdiately turned red.
She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, we’re talking about Xiao Qing’s acne problem right now. What are you getting at?"
Lin Xiaoyu played along. "Right, right. Xiao Qing, let’s not delay. Doctor Li will definitely have a solution."
Persuaded by Song Sisi and Lin Xiaoyu, Sun Qing followed them, hastily finishing their light, vegetarian lunch. Then, they all went to Li’s Traditional Chinese dicine Clinic together.
Upon arriving at the clinic, Sun Qing sat nervously on a chair, covering her face with a handkerchief.
When Li Xu saw Sun Qing’s face, his brow furrowed slightly, but his expression remained gentle.
He first had Sun Qing sit down, then gestured for her to stick out her tongue.
Sun Qing did as she was told and stuck out her tongue. Li Xu carefully observed her tongue coating and then took her pulse.
Next, Li Xu asked Sun Qing detailed questions about her recent sleep, diet, and bowel movents, as well as her lifestyle habits before and after the acne breakout.
After listening to Sun Qing’s description, Li Xu had already made a diagnosis in his mind.
"This is ’Wind-Heat in the Lung ridian, complicated by Damp-Turbidity.’"
Li Xu began to speak, his tone certain. "The forehead corresponds to the Heart, the cheeks to the Lungs, and the chin to the Kidneys. Most of the red, swollen pimples on your face are on your cheeks and chin, which indicates Heat in the Lung ridian. On top of that, your previous misuse of cooling teas and excessive consumption of spicy and raw, cold foods has impaired your Spleen and Stomach’s transport and transformation functions. The Dampness can’t be expelled, so the Heat and Dampness stagnate in the skin, forming acne."
Li Xu asked further, "Do you usually stay up late? And is your diet irregular, with a preference for spicy and sweet foods?"
Sun Qing nodded hastily and said, embarrassed, "Doctor Li, you’re spot on. During the New Year, I ate spicy food almost every day and had hot pot often. After starting work again, I had to rush a project report, so I was frequently staying up past midnight. My takeout orders were mostly heavy-flavored things like fried chicken and mala tang..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, clearly aware that her lifestyle habits were problematic.
"Doctor Li, is there any dicine that can clear up the acne quickly?"
Sun Qing asked hastily.
After all, the acne on her face was so unbearable that she felt like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
Li Xu smiled and said gently, "Acne is a sign that ’waste’ inside your body isn’t being expelled. It’s an external manifestation of an internal problem. How could there be a ’quick’ fix? Everything requires a gradual process that addresses both internal and external factors."
He paused for a mont before continuing, "However, I can prescribe a formula for you called ’Clearing Upper Wind Soup.’ This formula is specifically designed to clear Wind-Heat from the Upper Jiao, expel Wind, and resolve Dampness. Based on your current symptoms, this formula is a perfect match."
...
Acne, commonly known as "pimples," is a chronic inflammatory skin disease centered around the hair follicles and sebaceous glands.
It is most common in young n and won and tends to appear on the face, chest, and back—areas rich in sebaceous glands.
Clinically, acne is characterized by various types of skin lesions, including codones, papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts. It is prone to recurrent flare-ups and can severely affect a patient’s appearance and ntal well-being.
Its pathogenesis is primarily related to multiple factors, including increased sebum production due to elevated androgen levels, the proliferation of *Propionibacterium acnes*, abnormal keratinization of the pilosebaceous ducts, and genetic predisposition.
Because the initial lesions can be squeezed to express a whitish-yellow, spine-like lipid plug, the condition is also colloquially called "powder thorn."
According to traditional Chinese dicine theory, the occurrence of acne is mostly caused by Heat in the Lung, Stomach, and Blood ascending to steam the head and face.
The *Orthodox Manual of External dicine* clearly records: "Lung Wind, acne, and rosacea are three nas for the sa type of condition. Acne pertains to the Lungs, rosacea to the Spleen, but all are caused by the stagnation of Blood-Heat that fails to disperse."
Similarly, the *Golden Mirror of the dical Tradition* also ntions: "This condition arises from Blood-Heat in the Lung ridian."
These treatises all emphasize the key role of Fire-Heat in the Lungs and Stomach and the stagnation of Blood-Heat in the pathogenesis of acne.
Currently, the treatnt of acne in Chinese dicine primarily involves thods such as clearing Lung-Heat, draining Stomach-Fire, and cooling the Blood to resolve toxins.
"Clearing Upper Wind Soup" is one such classic formula. It originates from the fifth volu of *Ten Thousand Illnesses Return to Spring* by the top imperial physician Gong Tingxian and is specifically used to treat various symptoms caused by flourishing Fire in the Upper Jiao and the stagnation of Wind-Heat and Damp-Toxin in the skin.
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