maybe you don’t have so much knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and haven’t seriously seen any traditional Chinese medicine doctor, but you can know whether there is spleen dampness and spleen deficiency in your body through the following simple self-test. Because the five manifestations listed below are typical symptoms unique to people with spleen dampness.
come and test your “spleen dampness”?
1. When washing in the morning, look at the complexion and tongue coating – eyelids are swollen in the morning. Is there a lower pouch? When looking in the mirror, do you find that the tongue is fat or there are obvious tooth marks on the edge of the tongue? Is your tongue thick and greasy?
TCM comments: the most accurate way to confirm whether the spleen is wet is to look at the shape of the tongue. Healthy people can form the habit of regularly observing their tongue image. By comparing some pictures of tongue diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine, they can find clues of their health problems. In summer, people with wet spleen often feel sticky in their mouth, dark and yellow.
2. When eating, look at your appetite – when it’s time to eat, you don’t feel hungry and don’t want to eat anything? Do you feel bloated in your stomach when you eat something? In the process of eating, there is a faint sense of nausea, as if the things you eat go up?
comments on traditional Chinese medicine: the five elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine believes that the spleen has the characteristics of “soil”. Soil is easy to absorb water, so moisture entering the body is most likely to hurt the spleen. Self check the spleen and stomach function, you can find out whether your spleen is wet. The main function of the spleen is to digest and absorb all kinds of food and water we eat in the body, convert these substances into nutrients that can be used by the human body, and provide energy for cell metabolism. Most people have decreased appetite and digestive function in the hot and humid environment in summer. But there are also some people whose appetite is not affected and have a strong sense of hunger, but they will feel full immediately after eating. This is not only a manifestation of strong stomach and weak spleen, but also a sign of wet spleen.
3. When working, look at your mental state – do you feel chest tightness? Do you want to take a long breath? Feel heavy limbs or body, and even feel sore all over? The body is very tired and lazy to move? When moving, the joints are tight and seem inflexible? Feeling dizzy and not fresh? Sleepy, sometimes memory loss?
comments on traditional Chinese medicine: the ancients said “spleen qi deficiency, Lung Qi first”, indicating that the functions of spleen and lung are interrelated and affect each other. To a certain extent, lung qi deficiency and shortness of breath are easy to occur.
4. Feel your posture – your diet and rest are the same as before, but your weight has increased significantly? Stiff joints and aching all over when you get up? Lower limb edema?
TCM comments: people with heavy moisture may also significantly increase their weight in the short term, and show signs of obesity. More serious people will have problems such as lower limb edema.
5. When going to the toilet, look at the stool – the stool is thin and shapeless? The stool is basically shaped but soft, and some will stick to the toilet after defecation, which is difficult to flush down? Always have the feeling of endless defecation?
TCM comments: one of the most convenient ways to confirm whether the spleen is wet is to look at the stool. Normal stool is a banana like strip with moderate softness and hardness. If the shape is soft, rotten and greasy like over cooked bananas, it is the manifestation of spleen dampness, indicating abnormal digestive function of the body. When there is too much moisture in the body, urination is often manifested as little urine, or even little urine or unclean urine. Some women have a lot of moisture, too.
which symptoms are easily confused with spleen dampness
spleen dampness can be divided into cold dampness and damp heat. Among them, cold dampness and stagnation of the spleen refers to the cold dampness syndrome characterized by excessive cold dampness, stagnation of the spleen yang, loss of temperature and transportation of the spleen, and mainly manifested by stupidity, abdominal distention, loose stools and body weight. Its clinical manifestations are abdominal distension, greasy mouth, stupidity, nausea, light mouth, no thirst, abdominal pain, loose stools, heavy head and body sleepiness, or short urination, limb swelling, or yellow body and eyes, dark complexion, or women have a large amount of leucorrhea, light fat tongue, white smooth or greasy tongue coating, slow or thin pulse. The damp heat accumulation in the spleen refers to the damp heat syndrome characterized by the accumulation of damp heat, the healthy movement of the spleen, abdominal distension, stupidity, fever, heavy body and loose stools. Its clinical manifestations are abdominal distension, nausea, nausea, greasy mouth, thirst, loose stools, short yellow urine, heavy limbs, or body heat, sweat, heat, bright yellow face, or itchy skin and red tongue.