Heart Fire blazing
Heart Fire blazing
Educational content • Consult qualified TCM practitioners for diagnosis and treatment
Diagnostic Signs
Red tongue with redder tip and swollen red points, yellow coasting and tongue ulcers. There may be a midline crack reaching to the tip.
Overflowing (Hong), Rapid (Shu), Full (Shi), Hasty (Cu)
Key Characteristic Symptoms
Other Associated Symptoms
Diagnostic Considerations
Key characteristic symptoms of this pattern are the red tongue with ulcers (with red rim around them), thirst and palpitations.
Causes & Pathology
Common Causes
The Heart houses the Mind and it can feel the emotional stress such as chronic anxiety, constant worrying and depression. If these emotional problems last a long time, they lead to Qi Stagnation As viscous circle, long term Qi Stagnation worsens mental depression. Both actions give rise to Fire as consequence.
This pattern can also be the result of overconsumption of 'high energy' foods such as spices, red meat or alcohol.
Pathological Mechanism
Different from Heart Yin Deficiency which is an Empty-Heat pattern, the Heart Fire blazing here is a Full-Heat one. The typical manifestation of Full-Heat are thirst, red face, feeling of heat, red tongue and Rapid Overflowing or Hasty Pulse.
The Heart opens to the tongue, therefore Heart Fire give rise to mouth and tongue ulcers, which usually causes a lot of pain. These ulcers normally have a red raised rim. The rim color will be rather white if they are caused by Empty-Heat of Heart Yin Deficiency.
Full Heat in the Heart can also cause bitter taste in the mouth as the Heart governs taste. The symptom happens only when the patients have had a bad sleep the night before. It is different from the bad taste caused by Liver Fire, which occurs every day.
The entire face appears to be red, as apposed to only the cheekbones are red (malar flush) in the case of Empty-Heat of Heart Yin Deficiency. It is because the Full Heat goes upwards and manifests itself on the whole face.
The Heart houses the Mind, which lose its residence in case of Heart Fire. Thus severe mental restlessness occurs. There are also insomnia as the Heart Fire disturbing the Mind at night. The patients may also wake up several times during the night with disturbed dreams.
Treatment Approach
Treatment Principle
Drain the Fire, clear the Heart and calm the Mind.
Recommended Herbal Formulas
Diet & Lifestyle Recommendations
As for recommendation on food: No fruit or vegetable juices. No meat (especially red meat) or maximum 24 oz of meat per day for a couple of weeks. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, nuts, avocados, cheese, hot and greasy foods or any iced or cold drinks directly from the fridge.
It is recommended to take some sort of martial arts as they helps consume excessive energy.
Other therapies such as meditation or cupping cover the upper back is also recommended.
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