Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang can be used to treat coughs caused by external wind and evil heat that congests the lungs; Xiao Chai Hu Tang is not usually used to treat coughs. The medication should be used as prescribed by the doctor. Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang is composed of almonds, licorice, ephedra and gypsum. It has the efficacy of clearing the lungs and calming asthma, and is pungent and cool and cathartic. It can be used in cases of exogenous wind-evil infection and the congestion of the lungs by evil heat. Symptoms include unresolved body heat, nasal irritation, shortness of breath, cough, sweating or no sweating, and thirst. This formula should not be used for people with wind-cold cough and asthma. Xiao Chai Hu Tang is composed of Chai Hu, Scutellaria baicalensis, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng, Radix et Rhizoma Pinelliae, Radix et Rhizoma Ginger and Fructus Jujubae. It is effective in relieving Shaoyang (treating exogenous fever with the evil between half-expression and half-li). It is used in treating typhoid fever and Shaoyang (one of the six meridians of typhoid fever, which is between the surface and the inside). Symptoms include alternating fever and cold (fear of cold), dizziness, lack of desire to eat, upset and nausea, fullness in the chest, bitterness in the mouth and dryness in the throat, as well as jaundice, malaria and other diseases. Therefore Xiao Chai Hu Tang is not used in the treatment of cough. Xiao Chai Hu Tang should be used with caution in cases of Yin deficiency and blood deficiency. The above prescriptions should be used under the guidance of a doctor to identify the symptoms of cough, and the cough should be actively consulted by a doctor for guidance on the use of medication.