How does TCM examine tongue coating?

Regarding medical treatment, we generally distinguish between Chinese medicine and Western medicine. Chinese medicine is more traditional, and for Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine looks at the tongue, also called tongue diagnosis, which basically checks the tongue coating and tongue quality during diagnosis. Traditional Chinese medicine can determine which part of the human body has problems or is sick based on the different colors of the tongue coating and the tongue texture.

1. Tongue quality. The color of a normal person's tongue is light red and moist, with moderate depth. There are about five colors of pathological tongue, namely pale tongue, red tongue, crimson tongue, purple tongue and blue tongue.

Pale tongue: The tongue color is lighter than light red, which is mostly a sign of Qi and blood deficiency and insufficient Yang Qi. A pale and thin tongue is mostly due to insufficient Qi and blood, while a pale and plump and tender tongue is mostly due to deficiency of Yang Qi.

Red tongue: The tongue color is darker than that of normal people, which is usually a sign of heat syndrome. When heat is excessive, qi and blood are blocked, so it appears red. There is a distinction between deficiency and excess, and it can be seen in both excess heat syndrome and deficiency heat syndrome. A bright red tongue with yellow coating indicates excess heat syndrome, while a bright red tongue with little or no coating indicates deficiency heat syndrome. A red tongue in different parts may indicate heat syndrome of different internal organs. For example, a red tongue tip indicates heart fire ascending, red tongue edges indicate liver and gallbladder heat, and a dry and red tongue center indicates stomach yin deficiency.

Crimson tongue: A dark red tongue is called a crimson tongue, which usually indicates excessive heat and yin deficiency. A red tongue in exogenous febrile diseases is often a sign of heat entering the blood and is common in febrile diseases. Internal injuries and miscellaneous diseases

Red tongue: mostly caused by yin deficiency and excessive fire. If only the tip of the tongue is red, it is mostly a sign of heart fire ascending; if the tongue is red and shiny without any coating like a mirror, it means that the stomach yin has been lost.

Purple tongue: The main diseases can be cold or hot. A light purple tongue indicates a cold syndrome; a bluish purple tongue with spots indicates blood stasis syndrome; a crimson purple tongue indicates a heat syndrome. Green tongue: also known as buffalo tongue, it is mainly used to treat cold syndrome and blood stasis syndrome.

2. Tongue coating. The tongue coating is caused by the rising of stomach qi. A normal person has a thin layer of white fur, which is neither dry nor wet, neither slippery nor dry. This is a sign of normal stomach qi. If the internal organs are diseased, the stomach qi will carry the pathogenic qi upwards and the color of the tongue coating will change. Observing abnormal changes in the tongue coating is an important part of tongue diagnosis. The common tongue coating in clinical practice can be roughly divided into four types: white coating, yellow coating, gray coating, and black coating:

White tongue coating: generally common in superficial symptoms and cold syndrome. But sometimes it is also seen in heat syndrome. If the tongue coating is thin, white and moist, it is mostly caused by exogenous wind-cold, and the disease is still on the surface; if the tongue is pale with white coating, it is mostly a cold symptom; if the white coating is covered like powder, it is powdery coating, which is mostly caused by exogenous foul and unhealthy qi, and a sign of internal toxic heat, which is common in plague and also seen in internal abscesses.

Yellow tongue coating: mainly indicates heat syndrome and internal syndrome. Generally speaking, the yellower the tongue coating is, the more severe the heat evil is; light yellow indicates mild heat, dark yellow indicates severe heat, and burnt yellow indicates heat accumulation. Yellow and slippery tongue coating is mostly caused by damp heat; thin, yellow and dry tongue coating indicates that evil heat damages body fluid; if the tongue coating is yellow and dry with black thorns or cracks in it, it is mostly caused by deep heat and depletion of qi and yin.

Gray tongue coating: Gray tongue coating is light black in color and indicates internal symptoms. Gray tongue coating indicates both cold and heat, and the cold and heat can be distinguished mainly by the moisture and dryness of the tongue coating. If the tongue coating is gray and moist, it indicates cold, while if it is gray and dry, it indicates heat.

Black tongue coating: Black tongue coating is mostly a sign of internal symptoms. It is used to treat extreme heat and severe cold. It is more common when the condition is severe. If the tongue coating is black and smooth and the tongue is pale white, it is mostly a sign of extreme cold; if the tongue coating is black, dry and less moist, or even has prickles, it is mostly a sign of extreme heat damaging the yin and depletion of yin fluid. In short, the moistness and dryness of the tongue coating is the key to distinguish whether the black tongue coating is mainly caused by heat or cold.

my country's traditional Chinese medicine culture is profound and extensive. Without three to five years of in-depth study, you probably won't even understand the basics. Many times people like to choose traditional Chinese medicine treatment because, although it is more traditional, it causes the least harm to the body.