Excess-Heat
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: Fever Thirst Flushed face Irritability Constipation and four other symptoms
Pulse type(s): Rapid (Shu), Tight (Jin), Full (Shi)
Tongue coating: Yellow coating
Tongue color: Reddish-Purple
Pathology
Excess-Heat 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 Excess-Heat gives rise to such diverse symptoms as fever, flushed face, red skin rashes and blotches dotted over the skin (as well as five others).
To diagnose a pattern, analyzing a patient's pulse as well as their tongue is common practice. In the case of Excess-Heat patients tend to exhibit rapid (Shu), tight (Jin) or full (Shi) pulses as well as a reddish-purple tongue with yellow coating.
Patterns aren't exactly the Chinese Medicine equivalent to Western diseases, they're rather the underlying causes behind diseases or health conditions. Here Excess-Heat is thought to sometimes induce conditions such as lupus.
Diagnosing Excess-Heat
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): Rapid (Shu), tight (Jin) or full (Shi)
Tongue coating: Yellow coating
Tongue color: Reddish-Purple
Main symptoms: Fever Thirst Flushed face Irritability Constipation Red skin rashes Arthritic symptoms Scanty and dark urine Blotches dotted over the skin
Treating Excess-Heat
Herbal formulas used to treat Excess-Heat
Xi Jiao Di Huang Tang
Source date: 650 AD
Number of ingredients: 4 herbs
Key actions: Treats severe fevers and Heat in the Blood system. Removes Blood Stagnation.
Formula summary
Xi Jiao Di Huang Tang is a 4-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 650 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that clear nutritive-level Heat.
Besides Excess-Heat, Xi Jiao Di Huang Tang is also used to treat Heat victorious agitating Blood or Loss of Blood.
Special highlight: the link between lupus and Excess-Heat
Water Buffalo Horns (Shui Niu Jiao) is the key herb for Xi Jiao Di Huang Tang, a formula used for lupus caused by Excess-Heat
Typical symptoms for lupus caused by Excess-Heat: Fever Thirst Flushed face Irritability Constipation Red skin rashes Arthritic symptoms Scanty and dark urine Blotches dotted over the skin
Recommended herbal formula: Xi Jiao Di Huang Tang
The treatment principle for this pattern is to cool Blood, relieve toxicity, clear Heat, and generate Fluids.
Read more about lupus