Symptoms of spleen and stomach disharmony, heart deficiency and excessive fire

If the spleen and stomach are not in harmony and the heart is weak and the fire is excessive, it is easy to have symptoms such as dry mouth, sore throat, dry stool, constipation, etc. Some people also often suffer from insomnia, night sweats, dizziness, and tinnitus. When facing such symptoms, you should pay attention to scientific conditioning to reduce fire.

1. Etiology and pathogenesis

The main function of Yin, in addition to nourishing and moistening the organs and tissues, is to restrain Yang to prevent it from being exposed. Yang energy is characterized by heat, movement, and rising, while Yin energy is characterized by cold, stillness, and descending. If the Yin is deficient and unable to restrain the Yang, the body will experience a state of deficiency-heat with Yang being excessive, the so-called "Yin deficiency causes internal heat." The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine states: "After the age of forty, the yin energy is halved." As we age, or after a fever, or through excessive sexual intercourse, our true yin is easily depleted.

Yin deficiency and hyperactivity of fire is a type of virtual fire, which is mostly caused by deficiency of essence and blood, severe damage to yin fluid, yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity, which will lead to endogenous virtual heat and virtual fire. Generally, internal heat due to yin deficiency is often accompanied by systemic signs of deficiency-heat. However, when Yin is deficient and fire is excessive, the clinical symptoms of heat are often concentrated in a certain part of the body. For example, toothache, sore throat, dry mouth and lips, bone steaming and hot flashes, red cheeks, dry and hard stools, and short and red urine caused by yin deficiency are all caused by the ascending of virtual fire.

2. Clinical manifestations

The syndrome of Yin deficiency and excess of fire can be focused on different organs. Clinically, it is mainly characterized by diseases of the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. The main symptoms are dry throat and mouth, irritability, hot flashes, a red tongue with cracks, no or little coating, and a thin and rapid pulse. Or there may be frequent dreams at night, palpitations, a tearing tongue, short and dark urine (heart fire); or headache, flushed face, dry and painful eyes, bitter taste in the mouth, dry and hard stools, and a wiry pulse (liver fire); or a dry cough with little sputum and blood in the sputum (lung fire); or hot flashes due to bone steaming, red cheeks and rising fire, accompanied by dizziness, sore waist and fatigue, etc. Men may have spermatorrhea or even an erection, and women may have intercourse in their dreams (kidney fire). The fire of each organ can appear alternately.

3. Treatment based on syndrome differentiation

Symptoms: Hot flashes in the afternoon, or fever at night, unwillingness to wear clothes due to fever, heat in the palms and soles of feet, or hot flashes due to bone steaming, irritability, insomnia, frequent dreams, red cheeks, night sweats, body temperature higher than normal; dry mouth and throat, dry and hard stools, less yellow urine, dry and red tongue or cracked tongue, no or little tongue coating, and thready and rapid pulse. Or accompanied by recurrent oral ulcers, pain, dizziness, back pain and fatigue, etc. Treatment principle: nourish yin and relieve fire. Main recipe: Huanglian donkey-hide gelatin soup. Prescription: Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, donkey-hide gelatin (melted and taken with water), white peony root, and raw egg yolk. Decoction in water, remove the dregs, add gelatin thoroughly, then add egg yolk and mix. Take in 3 doses, one dose per day.

If the heart fire is excessive and ulcers appear in the mouth and tongue, add lotus seed core, bamboo leaves, and wick; if the yin deficiency is severe, add raw rehmannia, ophiopogon japonicus, and glossy privet fruit; if there is also qi deficiency, add astragalus, pseudostellaria, or American ginseng and stew them separately; if the urine is short, red, and difficult, add Imperata root and plantain; if there is also stomach yin deficiency, add dendrobium, polygonatum, and water chestnut juice (mixed for consumption); if there is insomnia, add polygala tenuifolia and julibrissin.