↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: A dry mouth and throat, especially in the evening; night sweats; heat in the palms, soles and chest; thirst for sips; restlessness; insomnia; flushed cheekbones; a thin body.
Tongue: Red, thin, cracks, minimal coating. Pulse: Fine and rapid.
Treatment principle: Nourishes Kidney Yin, replenishes the body's foundational moisture and cools internal Heat.
Note: no moxa (Yin deficiency with heat signs).
2. Body Fluids Deficiency
Clinical manifestations: Severely dry mouth and cracked lips; intense thirst; dry skin lacking luster; scanty, dark urine; dry, hard stools or constipation.
Tongue: Red, dry, thin with cracks, minimal coating. Pulse: Fine, rapid, possibly choppy.
Treatment principle: Generates fluids and moistens dryness, replenishing natural moisture directly.
Note: no moxa. This site's decks have no Body-Fluids-Deficiency slide — no pattern link is given here.
3. Qi and Yin Deficiency
Clinical manifestations: Persistent dry mouth without a strong thirst drive; crushing fatigue; shortness of breath worsening with exertion; a weak voice, reluctance to speak; poor appetite; dry stools; night sweats.
Tongue: Red or pale-red, thin or absent coating, possibly cracked. Pulse: Fine, weak, possibly rapid.
Treatment principle: Tonifies Qi and Yin simultaneously to restore both vital energy and moistening capacity.
Note: moxa is appropriate. No combined Qi-and-Yin-deficiency slide exists on this site's decks — no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: Evening dryness worsening; heat sensations in the palms, soles and chest; night sweats; a malar flush in the afternoon; restlessness; difficulty sleeping; a burning mouth or eyes.
Tongue: Red, thin, dry with cracks, minimal coating. Pulse: Fine, rapid, weak at the left rear position.
Treatment principle: Nourishes Yin to cool unchecked warmth and prevents Heat from consuming fluids.
Note: no moxa. Linked to this site's own Kidney-Yin-deficiency-Empty-Heat-blazing slide.
Clinical manifestations: Fixed, stabbing joint or limb pain; a dark purple or dusky tongue with stasis spots; dark purplish lips and nails; dry, rough, scaly skin; pain worse at night.
Tongue: Purple or dusky with stasis spots, distended sublingual veins, thin white or dry coat. Pulse: Choppy, or wiry if Qi stagnation is present.
Treatment principle: Invigorates Blood, disperses stasis and nourishes the underlying Blood deficiency.
Note: no moxa. Linked to this site's own Liver-Blood-stasis slide per the discoloration-marker rule.