Yin and 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?
Diagnosis
Common symptoms: Fatigue Dry stools Mouth sores Irritability Forgetfulness and four other symptoms
Pulse type(s): Fine (Xi), Rapid (Shu)
Tongue coating: Partial absence of coating
Tongue color: Red
Treatment
Common formulas: Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan
Pathology
Yin and Blood Deficiency 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 Yin and Blood Deficiency gives rise to such diverse symptoms as irritability, palpitations with anxiety, fatigue and insomnia with very restless sleep (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 Yin and Blood Deficiency 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 Yin and Blood Deficiency is thought to sometimes induce conditions such as perimenopausal syndrome, aphthous ulcers or cardiac disease (as well as two others).
Diagnosing Yin and 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) or rapid (Shu)
Tongue coating: Partial absence of coating
Tongue color: Red
Main symptoms: Fatigue Dry stools Mouth sores Irritability Forgetfulness Palpitations with anxiety Insomnia with very restless sleep Spontaneous and nocturnal emissions Inability to think or concentrate for even short periods of time
Treating Yin and Blood Deficiency
Herbal formulas used to treat Yin and Blood Deficiency
Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan
Source date: 16th century
Number of ingredients: 14 herbs
Key actions: Enriches the Yin. Nourishes the Blood. Clears Heat. Calms the Mind.
Formula summary
Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan is a 14-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 16th century, it belongs to the category of formulas that nourish the Heart and calm the Mind.
Besides Yin and Blood Deficiency, Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan is also used to treat Heart Yin Deficiency or Heart and Kidney Yin Deficiency.
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 Yin and Blood Deficiency, 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.
Perimenopausal syndrome Aphthous ulcers Cardiac disease Nervous exhaustion Chronic urticaria