The Symptoms & Signs of Blood Deficiency

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" Swallow complexion, pale lips, dizziness, poor memory, numbness, blurred

vision, insomnia, Pale and slightly dry tongue, Choppy or Fine pulse. "

(Maciocia, The Foundations of , p. 193.)

 

Qi Deficiency can and Yang Deficiency will result in a pale tongue color.

The difference between these and Blood Deficiency is that in Blood

Deficiency the tongue also will be dry. It may appear shriveled.

 

The skin also can take on a prune-like look.

 

" Once Blood becomes deficient, it affects particularly the Liver and Heart.

The above symptoms are mixed symptoms of Liver (numbness, blurred vision,

dizziness) and Heart Blood deficiency (swallow complexion, poor memory,

insomnia, Pale tongue). " Note: The Liver " opens into " the eyes, and the

Heart opens into the tongue.

 

Actually, insomnia can be linked to Liver Blood Deficiency without Heart

Blood Deficiency. In addition to the usual Blood Deficiency symptom of

insomnia characterized by trouble falling asleep, there may be sensations of

" floating " or falling as the person falls asleep. Liver Blood Deficiency

also can be characterized by vague and not-so-vague feelings of fear at

night prior to falling asleep. This can be a person who puts off going to

bed as long as possible because of this fear. Needless to say, this doesn't

help the Liver Blood Deficiency since lying down is critical to regenerating

the Blood.

 

The Chinese concept is that Shen (Spirit/ Mind) dwells in the Heart, and Hun

(the Ethereal Soul) resides in the Liver. Both Shen and Hun required a

physical matrix of Blood in order to stay anchored. " The Ethereal Soul is

said to influence the capacity of planning our life and find a sense of

direction in life. " (p. 81.) People who are Liver Blood Deficient

frequently will have trouble finding a direction in life. These are

people who never quite seem to find themselves - at least not until the

Liver Blood Deficiency is corrected. They lack " resoluteness. " They tend

to drift.

 

" In addition to the above symptoms, others are possible mostly in the

gynaecological and mental-emotional sphere; for instance, amenorrhea or

scanty periods and depression ,anxiety or lack of spirit of initiative.

 

" In severe and long-standing cases, deficiency of Blood can further lead to

pronounced dryness as Blood is part of Yin. This manifest with a

particularly dry tongue, dry skin, dry hair, and withered nails. In even

more severe cases, the long-standing dryness of the Blood can give rise to

interior Liver-Wind which, combined with dryness, can cause some skin

diseases characterized by dry and itchy skin. " (p. 193)

 

Liver Blood Deficiency can trigger Interior Wind. We're talking numbness of

the limbs, tics, shaking of head, and tremors of the limbs here. (p.222)

Maciocia explains that the numbness (in these cases) is coming from there

not being enough Blood to nourish the muscles and sinews properly. He adds

that the tremors are very fine, not convulsions like you see in the cases of

Extreme Heat or Liver Yang rising causing Interior Wind. (Whenever there

are tics, spasms, shaking, suspect Liver Blood Deficiency and Interior

Wind.)

 

Physical loss of Blood can trigger Blood Deficiency. This includes

accidents as well as women's monthly periods. Because of menstruation,

women tend to be more prone to Blood Deficiency than men are. But men can

suffer from Blood Deficiency - especially as they grow older.

 

Spleen Deficiency is the number one non-Blood-loss cause of Blood

Deficiency. This is because the Spleen plays such an important role in the

production of Blood. If the Spleen is too weak to extract the finest

Essence from food, it doesn't get sent up to the Heart to make Blood. Spleen

Deficiency is very common in the U.S. because of the junk diets, eating on

the run, eating when stressed, eating at irregular times, etc.

 

In addition, certain Kidney imbalances also can trigger Blood Deficiency.

In some cases the problem is in the Heart. The 3 most important Organs in

TCM in the production of Blood are the Spleen, the Kidneys, and the Heart

(where the Blood is " turned red " , the final step.) In addition, Lung

Deficiency can play a role in Blood Deficiency. If the Lungs are weak, the

Blood doesn't get sent to the Heart in sufficient amounts for the Heart to

" turn it red. "

 

Western-defined cases of anemia are not necessarily cases of Blood

Deficiency. Some of them are, but not all of them are. Likewise, some

cases of excessive red blood cells (but again, not all) are cases of Blood

Deficiency. Blood Deficiency can be not only a matter of quantity but

quality. TCM pays more attention to function than to anatomy. Are the

tissues and body being properly nourished and moistened and is there enough

of a physical matrix for Shen (and Hun)?

 

It is possible (and fairly common) for Western blood tests to be normal, but

the person suffers from TCM Blood Deficiency. The TCM concept of Blood is

not the same as the Western definition of blood.

 

Victoria

 

 

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