Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels
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: Anxiety Breast pain Irritability Restlessness Breast lumps and eleven other symptoms
Pulse type(s): Choppy (Se), Wiry (Xian)
Tongue color: Bluish-Purple
Treatment
Common formulas: Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan
Pathology
Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels 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 Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels gives rise to such diverse symptoms as irregular menstruation, brown vaginal discharge, dark clots in menstrual blood and painful period (as well as twelve others).
To diagnose a pattern, analyzing a patient's pulse as well as their tongue is common practice. In the case of Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels patients tend to exhibit choppy (Se) or wiry (Xian) pulses as well as a bluish-purple tongue.
Patterns aren't exactly the Chinese Medicine equivalent to Western diseases, they're rather the underlying causes behind diseases or health conditions. Here Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels is thought to sometimes induce conditions such as infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease or retained placenta (as well as eleven others).
Diagnosing Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels
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): Choppy (Se) or wiry (Xian)
Tongue color: Bluish-Purple
Main symptoms: Anxiety Breast pain Irritability Restlessness Breast lumps Painful period Umbilical pain Lochia retention Abdominal masses Breast distention Tendency to worry Dark colored blood Lower abdominal pain Irregular menstruation Brown vaginal discharge Dark clots in menstrual blood
Treating Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels
Herbal formulas used to treat Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels
Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan
Source date: 220 AD
Number of ingredients: 5 herbs
Key actions: Promotes Blood and lymphatic circulation, thus eleminates Blood Stagnation. Softens and resolves hard lumps such as cysts and fibroids.
Formula summary
Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan is a 5-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 220 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that invigorate Blood and dispel Blood Stagnation.
Besides Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels, Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan is also used to treat Blood Stagnation or Qi And Blood Stagnation.
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 Blood Stagnation in the Directing and Penetrating Vessels, 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.
Infertility Pelvic inflammatory disease Retained placenta Dysmenorrhea Postpartum bleeding Cervical erosion Polycystic ovaries Endometriosis Ectopic plancenta Prostatic hypertrophy Intestinal polyps Cystic acne Amenorrhoea Restless fetus