↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: Distending pain radiating to the ribs, worse with stress, anger or frustration; frequent belching; acid reflux; irritability; sighing.
Tongue: Normal or slightly red with redder sides, thin white coat. Pulse: Wiry, like a taut guitar string.
Treatment principle: Smooths Liver Qi, regulates the Middle Burner and relieves the distending diaphragm pain.
Note: no moxa.
Clinical manifestations: Sudden sharp or cramping pain like a tight knot, triggered by cold exposure; a cold sensation in the stomach with cold hands and feet; nausea or clear watery vomiting.
Tongue: Pale, moist, thin white slippery coat. Pulse: Tight, often slow.
Treatment principle: Warms the interior, disperses Cold and regulates Qi to stop the cramping.
Note: moxa on REN-12 is appropriate.
Clinical manifestations: Distending, pressure-like pain in the diaphragm and upper abdomen; bloating after eating; sour, rotten-smelling belching; loss of appetite.
Tongue: Normal body, thick greasy curd-like coat, thickest centrally. Pulse: Slippery and full.
Treatment principle: Promotes digestion, resolves food stagnation and guides Stomach Qi downward.
Note: no moxa.
Clinical manifestations: Burning-quality pain; bitter or sticky taste; nausea after eating; heavy sensation in the limbs.
Tongue: Red, possibly swollen with prickles, thick yellow greasy coat. Pulse: Slippery and rapid.
Treatment principle: Clears Heat, transforms Dampness and restores the descent of Stomach Qi.
Note: no moxa. Linked to this site's own Damp-Heat-in-the-Stomach slide.
5. Phlegm-Dampness in the Middle Burner
Clinical manifestations: A dull, oppressive ache or pressure in the diaphragm; bloating after eating; a heavy sensation in the body and limbs; copious mucus with a sticky taste; poor appetite without thirst; loose, sticky stools.
Tongue: Pale, swollen with scalloped edges, thick white greasy wet coat. Pulse: Slippery and soggy.
Treatment principle: Dries Dampness, transforms Phlegm and regulates Qi in the Middle Burner.
Note: This site's decks have no Phlegm-Dampness-in-the-Middle-Burner slide — no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: Fixed, stabbing pain that does not change location, worse at night, aggravated by pressure; a dark facial complexion and lips.
Tongue: Purple or dusky, stasis spots, distended dark sublingual veins. Pulse: Choppy or wiry.
Treatment principle: Invigorates Blood, dispels stasis and moves Qi to relieve the fixed pain.
Note: no moxa. Linked to this site's own Liver-Blood-stasis slide per the discoloration-marker rule.