The bare basics of tongue diagnosis in TCM

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The tongue is a very key diagnosis tool in TCM. When a TCM healer looks at the

tongue, s/he's considering a lot more than a Western doctor is.

 

Here are some of the bare basics of tongue diagnosis to get you started. This is

highly simplified, but everyone has to start somewhere.

 

A normal tongue is pinkish in color with thin, white coating.

 

A pale tongue indicates Cold or a Blood Deficiency. If the pale tongue is moist

or wet, it's probably Cold. If the pale tongue is dry, it's probably Blood

Deficiency.

 

Red tongues usually indicate Heat. So do yellow coatings.

 

A wet (not just moist, but wet, you sometimes can see bubbles and water droplets

on the tongue) can indicate Dampness accumulating in the body. A " greasy " tongue

covering can indicate not only Dampness but Phlegm forming in the body. (Phlegm

is a special case of Dampness; Dampness that is starting to congeal.) If the

tongue appears swollen, this too can be an indication of Dampness accumulating.

 

A purple-colored tongue is Qi Stagnation and/or Blood Stasis. If it's a

reddish-purple color, that's Stagnation/Stasis with Heat. If it's a

bluish-purple color, that's Stagnation/Stasis with Cold.

 

Main ideas to asborb at this time: Pale = Cold or Blood Deficiency; Red = Heat;

Purple = Stagnation/Stasis; Wet or greasy coating = Dampness.

 

Start checking your own tongue and those of family and friends. Don't extend the

tongue for more than 10 or 15 seconds because this can change the color of the

tongue, especially the tip. If you need to take another look, put your tongue

back in your mouth and rest it for a few seconds and then stick it out again.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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