Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire
The information provided here is not a replacement for a doctor. You shouldn't use it for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a professional TCM practitioner.
At a glance
Preliminary reading: What is a pattern?
Diagnosis
Common symptoms: Wheezing Dry throat Night sweats Hot palms and soles Coughing with blood-streaked sputum
Pulse type(s): Fine (Xi), Rapid (Shu)
Tongue coating: Partial absence of coating
Tongue color: Red
Treatment
Common formulas: Bai He Gu Jin Tang
Pathology
Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire is a pattern of disharmony in Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Medicine views the human body as a complex system that tends toward harmony. A pattern of disharmony is a disorder that prevents that harmony from occurring.
Patterns give rise to symptoms that may at first glance seem unrelated from a Western standpoint but that actually make a lot of sense when one understands Chinese Medicine theory. For instance here Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire gives rise to such diverse symptoms as coughing with blood-streaked sputum, wheezing, dry throat and hot palms and soles.
To diagnose a pattern, analyzing a patient's pulse as well as their tongue is common practice. In the case of Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire patients tend to exhibit fine (Xi) or rapid (Shu) pulses as well as a red tongue with partial absence of coating.
Patterns aren't exactly the Chinese Medicine equivalent to Western diseases, they're rather the underlying causes behind diseases or health conditions. Here Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire is thought to sometimes induce conditions such as chronic bronchitis, chronic pharyngitis or spontaneous pneumothorax (as well as four others).
Diagnosing Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire
Diagnosing a pattern in Chinese Medicine is no easy feat and should be left to professional practitioners. In particular one has to know how to differentiate between different types of pulses and tongue coatings, shapes and colors as well as learn to read from a long list of seemingly unrelated symptoms.
Pulse type(s): Fine (Xi) or rapid (Shu)
Tongue coating: Partial absence of coating
Tongue color: Red
Main symptoms: Wheezing Dry throat Night sweats Hot palms and soles Coughing with blood-streaked sputum
Treating Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire
Herbal formulas used to treat Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire
Bai He Gu Jin Tang
Source date: 1573 AD
Number of ingredients: 10 herbs
Key actions: Nourishes Lung and Kidney Yin. Lubricates the Lung and clears phlegm.
Formula summary
Bai He Gu Jin Tang is a 10-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 1573 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that nourish Yin and tonify.
Besides Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire, Bai He Gu Jin Tang is also used to treat Body Fluids Deficiency or Lung Dryness.
Related conditions
Please keep in mind that a Western Medicine condition can be caused by several Chinese Medicine patterns of disharmony and vice versa. As such a patient suffering from one of the conditions below will not necessarily be suffering from Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire, it is just one pattern that's commonly associated with the condition. Click on a condition to learn what other patterns it's associated with.
Chronic bronchitis Chronic pharyngitis Spontaneous pneumothorax Corpulmonale Silicosis Pulmonary tuberculosis Asthma