Spleen Blood Deficiency
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? The Spleen in Chinese Medicine The concept of Blood The concept of Deficiency
Key attributes
Chinese name: 脾血虚 Pinyin name: Pí Xuè Xū
Pattern nature: Empty
Pattern hierarchy: Specific pattern under Blood Deficiency
Common combinations: Spleen and Heart Blood Deficiency Spleen and Liver Blood Deficiency
Causes
Precursor patterns: Liver Blood Deficiency Spleen Qi Deficiency Spleen Yang Deficiency and three other possible precursors
Common causes: 1. Diet lacking in Blood-nourishing foods, 2. Emotional stress, 3. Damp environment
Diagnosis
Common symptoms: Fatigue Insomnia Lassitude Thin body Weak Limbs and seven other symptoms
Pulse type(s): Fine (Xi)
Tongue description: Pale, Thin and slightly dry
Treatment
Treatment principle: Tonify Spleen Qi, nourish Blood.
Common formulas: Gui Pi Tang
Pathology
"Spleen Blood Deficiency" is often excluded as a pattern from the literature because it's technically Spleen Qi Deficiency that leads to Blood Deficiency.
As such it presents all the symptoms of of Spleen Qi Deficiency such as poor appetite, slight abdominal distension after eating, fatigue, lassitude, dull-pale complexion, weakness of the limbs and loose stools. On top of those, there are symptoms of Blood Deficiency such as scanty or no periods, a thin tongue and a Choppy or Fine pulse.
There is some depression and insomnia as the Blood Deficiency may affect the Heart (where the Mind resides).
Also a key difference from pure Spleen Qi Deficiency is that the body is likely to be thin due to the Blood Deficiency as opposed to tending to obesity in Spleen Qi Deficiency alone.
Causes
Precursor patterns: Spleen Blood Deficiency can derive from Liver Blood Deficiency Spleen Qi Deficiency Spleen Yang Deficiency Heart Blood Deficiency Lung Qi Deficiency Spleen Qi Sinking
Diet lacking in Blood-nourishing foods: Blood-nourishing foods are mainly grains and meats. A diet that lacks those leads to Spleen Blood Deficiency because the Spleen is the precursor of Blood. It transforms Food-Qi into Blood with the help of the Lungs and the Heart.
Emotional stress: 'Pensiveness" (thinking too much, brooding, thinking about the past) makes Qi stagnate, which affects the Spleen because of its strong connection with Qi. Similarly Worry ‘knots’ Qi, which also makes it stagnate and also affects the Spleen.
Damp environment: "The Spleen loathes Dampness": prolonged exposure to dampness (either from weather or from the place of living) weakens the Spleen and may lead to this pattern.
Diagnosing Spleen Blood Deficiency
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)
Tongue description: Pale, Thin and slightly dry
Main symptoms: Fatigue Insomnia Lassitude Thin body Weak Limbs Depression Amenorrhea Loose stools Poor appetite Scanty periods Pale complexion Slight abdominal distention after eating
Diagnosis commentary: The key symptoms here are the fatigue, the slight abdominal distension after eating, the scanty periods and the Pale tongue. The first three symptoms are enough in and of themselves to diagnose Spleen Blood Deficiency.
Treating Spleen Blood Deficiency
Treatment principle
Tonify Spleen Qi, nourish Blood.
Herbal formulas used to treat Spleen Blood Deficiency
Gui Pi Tang
Source date: 1529 AD
Number of ingredients: 12 herbs
Key actions: Tonifies and nourish Qi and Blood. Tonifies Heart and Spleen.
Formula summary
Gui Pi Tang is a 12-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 1529 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that tonify Qi and Blood.
Besides Spleen Blood Deficiency, Gui Pi Tang is also used to treat Qi Deficiency or Blood Deficiency.
Diet recommendations
A key change one can make to avoid or treat Spleen Blood Deficiency is to incorporate a lot of grains and meat in their diet since those are Blood-forming foods.
It's also important to get rid of poor dietary habits that might lead to Spleen Qi Deficiency, a precursor to Spleen Blood Deficiency. Habits such as the excessive consumption of cold and raw foods (like salads or cold drinks), eating at irregular times or eating chronically too much or too little.
Consequence patterns
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Phlegm and/or Dampness
Spleen Blood Deficiency often leads to a generalized Blood Deficiency because it implies a Grain-Qi (Gu Qi) Deficiency. When there is not enough Grain Qi, Blood production is severely impaired body-wide since Blood is produced from Grain Qi. This situation is much more common in women than men.
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Spleen Yang Deficiency
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Spleen Qi Sinking
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Heart Qi Deficiency
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Lung Qi Deficiency
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Kidney Yang Deficiency
If left untreated Spleen Blood Deficiency can lead to Liver Blood Deficiency
Spleen Qi and Blood Deficiency are the common precursors of Pericardium Blood Deficiency.