Vomiting

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Ted J. Kaptchuk, OMD, in The Web That Has No Weaver gives several TCM Roots

that can manifest as vomiting. These are:

 

External Cold Wind Invading Stomach. This one has an acute onset, nausea,

fever and chills, head and body ache, distention in chest and abdomen, white

tongue coating, and tight pulse.

 

External Heat or Summer Heat Invading Stomach. This is another acute onset

one with nausea, fever, thirst, irritability, and diarrhea. The tongue

tissue often will be red with yellow top coat. The pulse will be rapid and

wiry or rapid and soggy. (A rapid pulse usually indicates a Heat condtion,

a slow pulse a Cold condition though there are exceptions.)

 

Mucus (Phlegm) Obstructing Stomach. The chest is " uncomfortable " , there is

no desire to drink, and vertigo may be present. The tongue coating is

greasy and white. (A greasy tongue coating frequently is a sign of Dampness

accumulation and/or Phlegm accumulation and may indicate problems in the

Spleen and/or Kidney, the two systems most involved in moving water in the

body.) The pulse may be slippery.

 

Liver Invading Stomach. Food particles appear in vomitus, there is a sour

taste in the mouth, and the chest and flanks are distended. The tongue

coating will tend to be thin and white (unless there are mixed Roots). The

pulse will tend to be wiry. The Liver is particularly prone to Qi

Stagnation problems, and in turn, the Liver affects Qi flow all over the

body. The correct flow of energy in the Stomach meridian is downward. When

something reverses this normal flow - like Liver Invading Stomach - you do

get things like food particles in the vomit, belching, acid reflux, etc. The

proper flow (downward) of Stomach Qi is no longer carrying digestion

downward.

 

Heat Generating Liver Wind Which Invades Stomach. This is a more serious

condition than Liver Invading Stomach. In Liver Invading Stomach, this is a

branch pattern of Qi Stagnation and Qi flow problems. On the other hand,

Liver Wind (from whatever cause - Heat, Liver Blood Deficiency, or Liver Yin

Deficiency) can have some major serious manifestations - like stroke,

convulsions, coma, dangerously high fever, etc. When Heat Generates Liver

Wind, the manifestations can be especially nasty. Some of the possible

symptoms are projectile vomiting, high fever, headache, stiff neck,

convulsions, and tetany. The tongue will be red or scarlet; the pulse wiry

and rapid. When Heat Generates Liver Wind, you want to get the person to a

doctor as soon as possible. Heat Generating Liver Wind is more common in

children than in adults, and often is a complication of febrile diseases.

Some of the febrile diseases can be relatively mild - like measles. I said

" relatively " because some cases of measles can be very dangerous and fatal.

On the other hand, Heat Generating Wind can also correspond to encephalitis

and meningitis. When you study Virulent Heat Evils and its four levels,

you'll learn that the Blood level is the final and most serious level. In

Heat Generating Wind, the Wind Heat or other Heat has penetrated to the

Blood level which in turn generates Liver Wind. As I said, in cases of Heat

Generates Wind, you want to get the person to a doctor as soon as possible.

However, considering the seriousness of some febrile diseases, especially

encephalitis and meningitis, this is one that I personally would want *both*

Western medicine and TCM treating. They both can do different things that

either alone cannot do. One of the acupuncture points used to treat Heat

Generating Wind is a point discussed in a previous post today - Liver 3.

This is one of the points I recommend that beginners memorize because it

does get used in so many conditions. Liver 2 is also recommended for Heat

Generating Liver Wind because it is very strong in clearing Heat. Maciocia

lists other points on page 221 of Foundations.

 

Deficient Stomach Yin. This one is marked by occasional vomiting, dry

mouth, hunger but no desire to eat, and the other Yin Deficiency symptoms.

The tongue may be red (though in cases of mutiple Roots, it may be normal

colored. One of the key symptoms of Stomach Yin Deficiency is the tongue

coating will be absent - either all over the tongue or in patches. The

pulse tends to be thin and rapid.

 

Deficient Spleen and Stomach Qi. The person will vomit if s/he overeats in

the slightest. Vomiting also may be unpredictable and chronic. There will

be fatigue (Qi Deficiency always manifests as fatigue.) The stools will tend

to be watery. The face is pale. The tongue color is pale, and the tongue

coating is thinner than normal. The pulse is empty.

 

Stagnant Food Collecting. There will be a feeling of relief after vomiting

sour, rotten food. The abdomen is full, sore, and distended after eating.

There is constipation and/or diarrhea. The tongue coating will be greasy.

The pulse tends to be slippery and full. There is a class of herbs

specifically for Food Stagnation.

 

Worms Disturbing Stomach. You can sometimes see worms in the vomit. Or,

the person may vomit clear fluid, saliva, or yellow-green water after

eating. The abdomen may be sore though discomfort is occasional. When a

person has worms, this is one of the patterns where you may see Heat in the

upper body and cold in the lower. (There are other patterns that can

produce the sensation of upper body heat and lower body cold, but worms is

one of the patterns you want to suspect the possibility of and rule in or

out when there's upper body Heat and lower body Cold.

 

This information taken from Web, pp. 284 - 285.

 

Victoria

 

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