Gān of the spleen

Also gān accumulation. One of the five gān; a condition in infants characterized by a yellow facial complexion, emaciation, ability to take food with rapid hungering, stool sometimes hard sometimes thin, unquiet sleep, copious sweating, grinding of the teeth, and a tendency to lie face downward. Spleen gān is attributed to enduring food accumulation and stagnation, giving rise to spleen-stomach vacuity and malnutrition stemming from breast-feeding difficulties; hence the alternate name gān accumulation.

Medicinal therapy: In the early stages, it can be treated by regulating the spleen and stomach using formulas such as Harmony-Preserving Pill (保和丸 bǎo hé wán). In advanced stages, there are pronounced signs of gan accumulation such as withered-yellow facial complexion, congestion and oppression in the chest and diaphragm, distension and enlargement of the abdomen, reduced suckling, persistent diarrhea with sour-smelling stool, lassitude of spirit and lack of strength, laziness to speak and reduced physical movement. This can be treated by dispersing gan (accumulation) and fortifying the spleen using formulas such as Chubby Child Pill (肥儿丸 féi ér wán) and Ginseng, Poria, and White Atractylodes Powder (参苓白朮散 shēn líng bái zhú sǎn).