↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: Irritability and explosive anger, distending or burning pain along the ribs, dry mouth and throat, a headache at the temples — worse with emotional stress, spicy or greasy food, alcohol, coffee, overwork.
Tongue: Red with redder sides, yellow coating. Pulse: Wiry and rapid, forceful at the left middle position.
Treatment principle: Soothe Liver-Qi stagnation, clear constrained Heat, restore bile's smooth downward flow.
Clinical manifestations: A bitter taste with a sticky, slimy mouth sensation, bloating and upper abdominal fullness, sticky or loose stools, a heavy sluggish body, thirst with little desire to drink.
Tongue: Red, possibly swollen with teeth marks, thick yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Soggy and rapid, often slippery.
Treatment principle: Clear Heat and drain Dampness, regulate Qi, harmonize digestive function.
3. Qi Stagnation in Gallbladder and Stomach with Phlegm Heat
Clinical manifestations: A bitter taste that worsens after greasy or heavy meals, nausea and belching, epigastric fullness and acid reflux, vivid disturbing dreams and restless sleep, being easily startled or anxious, chest tightness with frequent sighing.
Tongue: Red with yellow greasy coating, sides slightly redder. Pulse: Wiry and slippery.
Treatment principle: Regulate Qi, transform Phlegm, clear Gallbladder and Stomach heat, restore downward movement.
Note: Confirmed absent again: this site's own Acid Reflux page leaves the identically-named pattern unlinked for the same reason — no deck slide combines Gallbladder-Stomach Qi stagnation with Phlegm-Heat.
Clinical manifestations: A dry throat especially at night, night sweats, heat in the palms soles and chest, sore weak lower back, tinnitus or diminished hearing, malar flush.
Tongue: Red, thin, dry, little or no coating, possible cracks. Pulse: Fine and rapid, often floating-empty, weak at the rear position.
Treatment principle: Nourish Kidney-Yin to rebuild depleted reserves and gently subdue floating empty-heat.
5. Lung Heat
Clinical manifestations: Cough with thick yellow or greenish phlegm, a sore red swollen throat, fever or a body-heat sensation, thirst with a desire for cold drinks, chest tightness or pain.
Tongue: Red, especially at the tip and edges, yellow dry coating, prickly papillae on the front third. Pulse: Rapid and slippery, possibly overflowing at the right Cun.
Treatment principle: Clear Lung-Heat, restore the Lung's downward Qi, calm the diaphragm.
Note: Confirmed absent again: this pattern has no combined-with-bitter-taste deck slide of its own on this site.