↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: Distension or bloating along the ribs and flanks; frequent sighing; irritability or mood swings; poor appetite with abdominal bloating.
Tongue: Normal or slightly dark body, red or slightly purple sides, thin white coat. Pulse: Wiry, most prominent at the left middle position.
Treatment principle: Smooth Liver-Qi, relieve rib-side distension, move stagnant Qi.
2. Spleen Deficiency with Dampness
Clinical manifestations: Abdominal bloating, worse after eating; loose or unformed stools; heaviness of the body and limbs; fatigue and lack of energy; poor appetite or lack of taste; a sticky or greasy sensation in the mouth.
Tongue: Pale, swollen body with teeth marks, white greasy coating, moist surface. Pulse: Soggy and slow, soft and weak, possibly slippery.
Treatment principle: Strengthen the Spleen, tonify Qi, drain Dampness, transform fluids.
Note: moxa applicable on the Tonify-Spleen points. This pattern has no explicit Cold marker, so it is not linked to this site's \"Cold-Dampness invading the Spleen\" slide — no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: A bitter taste in the mouth; nausea and an aversion to greasy food; dark yellow, scanty urine; right-sided rib distension or pain.
Tongue: Red body with redder sides, thick yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Wiry, slippery, rapid.
Treatment principle: Drain Damp-Heat from the Liver and Gallbladder, clear Heat.
4. Phlegm-Dampness in the Middle-Burner
Clinical manifestations: A feeling of heaviness and fullness in the upper abdomen, especially after eating; loose, sticky stools and excessive phlegm or mucus; drowsiness, mental fogginess, and a heavy sensation in the limbs.
Tongue: Pale, swollen body with teeth marks, thick white greasy coating that is excessively moist. Pulse: Slippery, often soggy, especially in the right middle position.
Treatment principle: Dry Dampness, transform Phlegm, regulate Qi, harmonize the Middle Burner.
Note: no moxa. No deck on this site has a Phlegm-Dampness-in-the-Middle-Burner category, so no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: Fixed, stabbing pain in the hypochondrium; purple or dark lips and nails; dark complexion or dry, scaly skin; palpable lumps or masses in the abdomen.
Tongue: Dark purple body with purple spots on the sides, distended sublingual veins, thin white coat. Pulse: Wiry and choppy, especially at the left middle position.
Treatment principle: Invigorate Blood, eliminate stasis, move Qi, alleviate pain.
Note: no moxa. Matches
Liver-Blood stasis — purple lips/nails and a dark complexion are the same discoloration markers named there.