↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
1. Phlegm in the Channels, Joints and Muscles
Clinical manifestations: Painless, movable nodule under the skin; flesh-coloured with no redness; firm but not hard; heavy sensation in the limbs; possibly multiple cysts.
Tongue: Pale, slightly swollen, thick white greasy coat. Pulse: Deep and slippery.
Treatment principle: Dries Dampness, transforms Phlegm, regulates Qi and strengthens the Spleen.
Note: Mixed Deficiency/Excess. This site's decks have no Phlegm-in-the-channels slide, confirmed absent many times — no pattern link is given here.
2. Toxic-Heat Stagnation
Clinical manifestations: Red, hot, swollen, painful cyst; pus or cheesy discharge with a foul odour; fever; intense thirst for cold drinks; irritability; constipation or dark scanty urine.
Tongue: Deep red with prickly papillae, thick dry yellow coat. Pulse: Rapid and forceful, often overflowing.
Treatment principle: Clears Heat, resolves toxin, cools the Blood and disperses swelling.
Note: Signs of infection need medical review. no moxa. This site's decks have no standalone Toxic-Heat slide, confirmed absent many times — no pattern link is given here.
3. Blood Stagnation with Heat
Clinical manifestations: Firm, fixed lump that does not move easily; dark or purplish skin over the cyst; tender with a heat sensation; pain worse at night; irritability; thirst without desire to swallow.
Tongue: Reddish-purple with stasis spots, distended sublingual veins, thin dry yellow coat. Pulse: Choppy and rapid, often wiry.
Treatment principle: Invigorates Blood, dispels stasis, clears Heat and softens hardness.
Note: no moxa. This site's decks have no Blood-stasis-with-Heat slide — no pattern link is given here.