Sharing Dr. Wu Mingjie’s 40-Year Clinical Formula Experience in Pediatric TCM​ — The “Middle-Harmonizing, Light-Clearing, Venting” Basic Formula

​A “commonly used basic formula for middle-harmonizing, light-clearing, and venting” in pediatrics, with category-based modifications for common clinical conditions, making it easy for TCM apprentices to select and use quickly in practice.

1. Basic Formula (Universal Foundation)

For any pediatric condition, start with this formula, then adjust according to syndrome differentiation.

Basic herbs (6–7 ingredients):​

  • Malt sprout 6 g (principal herb)

  • Hyacinth bean flower 3 g

  • Honey-fried licorice 3 g

  • Cicada slough 3 g

  • Lotus seed (heart removed) 3 g

👉 Formula Principle Overview:​

Strengthen the spleen as foundation | Light-clear and venting | Calm the heart, protect the middle

2. Common Syndrome Modification Templates

① Wind-Heat Invasion / Early Stage of Warm-Wind Disease​

Symptoms: Low-grade fever, slight cough, red throat, nasal congestion, generally good spirits.

Add:​

  • Honeysuckle 3 g

  • Forsythia 3 g

  • Peppermint (added last) 3 g

    Reduce:​

  • If no restlessness, reduce cicada slough dosage.

    👉 Approach:​

    Gently vent the exterior without harming the spleen-stomach.

② Wind-Cold Invasion (with food stagnation or dampness)​

Symptoms: Aversion to cold, clear nasal discharge, cough, poor appetite, loose stools.

Add:​

  • Tangerine peel 3 g

  • Fresh ginger 3 g

  • Perilla leaf 3 g

    👉 Approach:​

    Release the exterior while protecting the middle, preventing “damage to the spleen after sweating.”

③ Cough (commonly after infection or chronic cough)​

A. Wind-Heat Cough​

  • Add: Platycodon 3 g, Apricot seed 3 g, Mulberry leaf 3 g

  • If sore throat is obvious: add Scrophularia 3 g

    B. Phlegm-Damp Cough​

  • Add: Poria 3 g, Pinellia 3 g

  • If phlegm is profuse and thin-white: increase tangerine peel slightly.

    👉 Approach:​

    Cough is often related to impaired spleen function; without regulating the spleen, cough is hard to resolve.

④ Food Stagnation / Poor Appetite / Abdominal Distension​

Symptoms: Loss of appetite, abdominal distension, bad breath, sour-smelling stool.

Add:​

  • Hawthorn 3 g

  • Barley sprout 6 g

  • Medicated leaven 3 g

    Reduce:​

  • Lotus seed can be temporarily reduced or used less.

    👉 Approach:​

    With malt sprout as the core, eliminate while supplementing.

⑤ Diarrhea (non-severe cases)​

A. Food-Damage Diarrhea​

  • Add: Hawthorn 3 g, Medicated leaven 3 g

  • Remove: Exterior-releasing herbs

    B. Spleen-Deficiency Diarrhea​

  • Add: Chinese yam, Poria

  • Slightly increase lotus seed.

    👉 Approach:​

    “Diarrhea always involves the spleen”—this formula is already appropriate.

⑥ Night Crying / Easy Startling / Sleep Disturbance​

Symptoms: Night crying, easy waking, irritability, normal during the day.

Add:​

  • Uncaria 3 g

  • Floating wheat 3 g

  • Stir-fried sour jujube seed 3 g

  • Pearl powder 1 g (taken in water)

    👉 Approach:​

    Liver often excessive, heart easily disturbed; focus on clearing, not heavy sedation.

⑦ Incomplete Rash Eruption / Skin Itching​

Symptoms: Pale rash, faint appearance, itching.

Add:​

  • Burdock seed 3 g

  • Schizonepeta 3 g

    👉 Approach:​

    With cicada slough as the main herb, help the rash “gently emerge.”

⑧ Post-Illness Recovery / Constitutionally Weak, Prone to Colds​

Symptoms: Frequent colds, pale complexion, poor appetite.

Add:​

  • Pseudostellaria 3 g

  • Astragalus 3 g

    Remove:​

  • Exterior-releasing herbs

    👉 Approach:​

    This formula is already mildly tonifying, ideal as a “recovery formula.”

3. Three “Bottom-Line Principles” for Clinical Use

1️⃣ Whatever the disease, first support the spleen-stomach​

→ Malt sprout and hyacinth bean flower are almost never removed.

2️⃣ Avoid bitter-cold and heavy-sedative herbs in children​

→ Clear heat gently, calm the mind without suppression.

3️⃣ Use fewer, more precise herbs​

→ 6–9 ingredients are usually sufficient.

4. Summary

This formula is not “for treating a specific disease,” but a “modifiable platform suited to children’s constitution.”

We use it often because it does not deviate, yet supports the whole picture.

小朋友 张