↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: Brown patches with clear borders; chest or rib-side distension; irritability or mood swings; frequent sighing; menstrual irregularities with breast tenderness.
Tongue: Normal or slightly dark body, red/slightly purple sides, thin white coating. Pulse: Wiry, like a guitar string.
Treatment principle: Smooth Liver-Qi, relieve stagnation, harmonize Liver and Spleen.
2. Spleen Deficiency with Dampness
Clinical manifestations: Dull, poorly-defined brown patches; loose stools or diarrhea; abdominal bloating after eating; heaviness of the body and limbs; fatigue; a sticky or greasy sensation in the mouth.
Tongue: Pale, swollen with teeth marks, white greasy coating, moist. Pulse: Soggy and slow, possibly slippery.
Treatment principle: Strengthen Spleen-Qi, drain Dampness, clear the muddy complexion.
Note: moxa applicable. 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: Dark brown or blackish patches, often irregular in shape; dizziness and ringing in the ears; soreness and weakness of the lower back and knees; dry eyes, dry mouth, night sweats; heat in the palms, soles, and chest.
Tongue: Red, thin body with cracks, little or no coating, dry surface. Pulse: Fine, rapid, wiry.
Treatment principle: Nourish Kidney-Yin, supplement Liver Yin, benefit Essence, clear deficiency Heat.
Clinical manifestations: Deeper brown or purplish patches with a dusky complexion; stabbing pain in a fixed location; dark, clotted menstrual blood and very painful periods; purple or dark lips.
Tongue: Dark purple body with scattered stasis spots, distended sublingual veins, thin white coat. Pulse: Wiry and choppy, like a knife scraping bamboo.
Treatment principle: Invigorate Blood and dispel stasis, nourish Blood, regulate menstruation.
Note: no moxa. Matches
Liver-Blood stasis — purple/dark lips and a dark purple tongue with stasis spots are the same discoloration markers named there.
5. Qi and Blood Deficiency
Clinical manifestations: Large, poorly-defined brown patches; a pale or sallow complexion; persistent fatigue and weakness; dizziness or lightheadedness; poor appetite; pale lips and nail beds.
Tongue: Pale body, may be thin or show teeth marks, thin white coating. Pulse: Fine and weak, often deep.
Treatment principle: Tonify Qi, nourish Blood, strengthen the Spleen.
Note: moxa applicable on the Tonify points. No deck on this site combines Qi and Blood deficiency into one slide, so no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: Greyish-brown patches with poorly defined borders; cold hands and feet; early-morning diarrhea; chronic loose stools with undigested food; a sore, cold lower back; swelling of the legs and ankles.
Tongue: Pale, swollen, puffy with teeth marks, white slippery coating. Pulse: Deep, weak, slow, especially feeble in the rear and right middle positions.
Treatment principle: Tonify Kidney-Yang, warm Spleen and Stomach Yang, promote urination and reduce edema.