A patient came to see a doctor because of poor sleep and spots on his face. I looked at her tongue, asked about her illness, and finally diagnosed that she was caused by excessive moisture in her body. Subsequently, a dampness-removing medicine was prescribed. A week later, the patient came back and said that he slept much better and his face was much better.
So, how to judge the moisture in the body by the tongue picture? This has to start with what is "wet". Traditional Chinese medicine believes that dampness is one of the six evils, and all exogenous evils with adhesion and viscosity are called dampness. Damp evil invades the human body, often manifested as heavy limbs, abdominal distension and discomfort. Damp pathogen rarely exists alone in clinic, and it is mixed with other pathogens for a long time to cause disease. Such as cold dampness, summer dampness, damp heat, phlegm dampness and so on. The clinical symptoms of dampness staying in a certain viscera are different.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that tongue coating is steamed by the qi of spleen and stomach. Normal tongue coating is thin and white. If the tongue coating is white and thick and greasy, it means that the body is wet and cold. That is, the cold and wet constitution mentioned by Chinese medicine, such people will show cold hands and feet, diarrhea, abdominal pain and other symptoms. Especially when cold and dampness invade the spleen and stomach, you can take malt hawthorn drink at this time: take fried malt 10g, fried hawthorn 3g and brown sugar 15g. Stir-fry malt and hawthorn with 1 bowl of water for 15 minutes, and add brown sugar to the juice to taste. People who pay attention to cold and wet constitution should pay attention to keep warm, avoid cold, eat more mutton and yam in winter, replenish the spleen and stomach, and disperse the cold.
If the tongue coating is yellow and thick, that is, the coating is yellow and greasy, indicating that there is damp heat in the body. Especially for people with damp-heat in the spleen and stomach, such people often show bitter taste, astringent urine, fullness in the stomach, nausea and anorexia, loose stool and so on. The "three highs" people in modern society also belong to the hot and humid people, usually showing yellow greasy fur. This kind of people are suitable to take three kinds of tea: 6 grams of radish seed, 6 grams of cassia seed and 6 grams of medlar as tea substitutes, which can reduce stomach qi and clear away damp heat.
The more serious tongue picture is also a manifestation of damp-heat in the body, that is, a prickly tongue (the nipple of the tongue increases and bulges to form a sharp point like a thorn), indicating that damp-heat toxins in the body are rich. Clinically, it can be seen in patients with herpes zoster and genital herpes. These patients have too much toxic heat in their bodies, which is heavier than normal heat, and need to go to the hospital for targeted treatment.
The holistic concept is the fundamental thinking of TCM, and small tongue can also reflect the physique of human body. Seeing the tongue picture is not only a diagnosis and treatment method of traditional Chinese medicine, but also a wonderful way to guide health care in daily life.