Thyroid nodules belong to the category of “gall disease” in Chinese medicine, and can be treated by internal and external treatments.
1. Internal treatment: Chinese medicine believes that galls are divided into qi depression and phlegm obstruction, phlegm knotting and blood stasis, exuberant liver fire, and heart and liver yin deficiency, etc. Patients should follow the doctor’s instructions to identify and treat the symptoms.
The treatment for patients with qi depression and phlegm obstruction is to regulate qi, eliminate galls and transform phlegm, and the formula is to use the Four Seas Shuyu Pill with additions and subtractions. For patients with phlegm stagnation and blood stasis, the treatment is to regulate qi and activate blood, eliminate phlegm and galls, and the formula is Seaweed Yuhu Tang with additions and subtractions.
The treatment for patients with exuberant liver fire is to clear the liver and remove the fire, disperse the knots and eliminate the galls, using Gardenia Liver Clearing Soup with Scrofula Pill with additions and subtractions. The patient with deficiency of heart and liver yin is treated by nourishing yin and lowering fire, softening liver and tranquilizing heart, and the formula is added and reduced by Tianwang Xinxindan or Consistent Decoction.
2. External treatment: according to the patient’s condition and different types of symptoms, use Yang and condensation ointment or Gui Musk San and other drugs to apply externally.
The use of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of thyroid nodules should be standardized under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.