Date of Visit: April 25, 2026

Patient: Fei Di

Chief Complaint: Severe acid reflux during sleep at night for the past two days, with stomach acid rising and vomiting of sour fluid at midnight. Symptoms are typical of stomach qi rising counterflow and hyperactivity of stomach acid.

Prescribed Formula:

Concha Arcae (Wa Leng Zi) 15g
Fructus Evodiae (Wu Zhu Yu) 6g
Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Hou Po) 6g
Semen Euryales (Qian Shi) 6g
Flos Lablab Album (Bian Dou Hua) 6g

Usage: Decoct in water for oral administration. One dose per day for seven consecutive days.

I. Clinical Medication Rationale: The Deep Reason for Using Concha Arcae Instead of Endoconcha Sepiae

In the long-term clinical management of chronic conditions like gastritis, gastric ulcers, and stubborn hyperacidity, I have, in recent years, engaged in ongoing academic exchange for over four decades with Dr. Hu Weimin, a renowned veteran TCM physician from Chaozhou. We adhere to the Chaoshan folk medicine characteristics of being cost-effective, simple, proven, and efficacious, delving deeply into Fengyang folk remedies and ancient methods.

Traditionally, Endoconcha Sepiae (Hai Piao Xiao) is commonly used for treating acid reflux. However, in the past two years, capital interest groups have maliciously hoarded and speculated on medicinal materials, causing the price of Endoconcha Sepiae to continuously rise. Future market estimates project prices reaching 50-100 RMB per kilogram, significantly increasing the long-term medication burden for grassroots patients with gastric disorders.

The wholesale price of Concha Arcae (Wa Leng Zi) is 6 RMB per kilogram. Concha Arcae shares similar medicinal properties with Endoconcha Sepiae, both entering the stomach meridian. It excels at inhibiting acid to relieve pain, astringing and protecting the stomach, and softening hardness to harmonize the stomach. It is definitively effective for chronic stomach issues, gastric mucosa damage, and acid reflux. Moreover, it has ample sources, is affordable, is not subject to capital speculation, and can completely and stably replace Endoconcha Sepiae.

Chaoshan Fengyang folk medicine inherits the wisdom of millennium-old formulas, skillfully using local shell-based medicinals, wild herbs, and indigenous medicinal roots. The medicinal properties align with the constitutions of the Chaoshan people in Lingnan, being inexpensive, targeted, and yielding more stable efficacy.

Verified through years of clinical practice: For longstanding chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers, and recurrent hyperacidity, mild cases can see symptom relief or elimination with five doses of Chinese medicine (60-100 RMB), while stubborn chronic conditions may require ten doses (120-200 RMB). The treatment seeks the root cause, regulating and harmonizing the spleen-stomach qi dynamic, making relapse less likely after recovery.

II. Chaoshan Fengyang Daoist TCM: Rejecting Price Gouging, Upholding the Essence of Benevolence

Looking back at the COVID-19 pandemic period from 2020-2022, history is strikingly similar.

At that time, interest groups massively speculated on heat-clearing medicinals like Flos Lonicerae Japonicae (Jin Yin Hua) and Fructus Forsythiae (Lian Qiao), driving prices up to 300 RMB per catty, profiteering from national misfortune.

We, the Chaoshan Fengyang Daoist TCM practitioners, keep our country in mind and uphold the bottom line of medical ethics, absolutely refusing to profit from the pandemic.

We flexibly used local, low-cost herbs as substitutes: Using Radix Ilicis Asprellae (Gang Mei Gen) 30g + Radix Scutellariae (Huang Qin) 8g to replace Flos Lonicerae Japonicae and Fructus Forsythiae. For wind-heat sore throat, tonsillitis, COVID-19 secondary lung infection, and viral-bacterial combined acute conditions, their power to clear heat, resolve toxicity, soothe the throat, and reduce swelling surpasses that of expensive cold-cooling medicinals.

During the pandemic, we insisted on controlling the cost per dose of Chinese medicine to around 10 RMB, benefiting rural common people.

A physician's heart is benevolent, with responsibility to home and country. During the three pandemic years, I personally funded and donated 10,000 doses of public welfare Chinese medicine annually, incurring a cost of 60,000 RMB, equivalent to 9,000 USD—nearly half a month's personal income. All were sent to remote villages lacking medicine and medical care, using the power of local herbs to protect the health and safety of the local people.

III. Fengyang Daoist TCM | Integrating Chaoshan Cultural Heritage, Inheriting the Great Path of Ancient Medicine

Fengyang Daoist TCM is deeply rooted in Chaoshan local culture, thoroughly integrated with Gongfu tea ceremony and folk health preservation, establishing the Fengyang Three-T System:

Tui Na: Fengyang therapeutic massage and acupressure
Tai Chi: Fengyang Tai Chi internal soft-style boxing
Tea culture: Chaoshan medicinal herb health-preserving tea

We adhere to the core concept of ancient Chinese medicine: "30% treatment, 70% nourishment." We do not rely on potent or expensive medicinals, focusing instead on regulating qi dynamics, fortifying the spleen and securing the root, and constitutional conditioning.

Using Chaoshan as a base for inheritance and training, we systematically cultivate Fengyang Daoist TCM talents, supplying them nationwide and overseas. Leveraging the Belt and Road development framework, based on building a Healthy China, and adapting to the profound changes of the century, we use the strength of folk medicine to contribute to building a global community of health for all, practicing the Chinese Dream.

Just as the slogan of the 2025 International Teochew Federation Convention in Chaozhou stated: "Roots and bonds foster kinship; family and nation thrive."

The roots of Chaoshan Chinese medicine endure eternally; the ancient Fengyang formulas are passed down like a torch. With affordable, good medicine, genuine medical skill, and a sense of responsibility to home and country, we safeguard public health, allowing authentic folk ancient Chinese medicine to benefit tens of thousands of households and advance towards the world.

Medical Case Record | Midnight Acid Reflux and Vomiting Treated with Cost-Effective Prescription from Chaoshan Fengyang Daoist TCM