Sticky stools according to Chinese Medicine

Sticky stools can be the consequence of several so-called “patterns of disharmony” in Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicine sees the body as a system, not a sum of isolated parts. A "pattern" is when the system's harmony is disrupted, leading to symptoms or signs that something is wrong (like sticky stools here). It is similar to the concept of disease in Western Medicine but not quite: a Western disease can often be explained by several Chinese patterns and vice-versa.

A pattern often manifests itself in a combination of symptoms that, at first glance, do not seem necessarily related to each others. For instance here sticky stools is often associated with lassitude, shortness of breath and loose stools in the pattern “Summer Heat with Dampness”.

Once identified, patterns are treated using medicinal herbs, acupuncture, and other therapies. In the case of sticky stools we’ve identified that a herbal formula called Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San can help treat the patterns behind the symptom.