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Numbness and tingling of the skin

肌肤麻木 〔肌膚麻木〕jī fū má mù

Loss of normal sensation in the skin. Numbness and tingling are attributable to wind-damp pestilential qì, phlegm-damp obstruction, qì-blood vacuity, or blood stasis.

Patterns

Wind-damp pestilential qì (风湿疠气 fēng shī lì qì) numbness is attributed to pestilential qì (wind, dampness, worms) or contact with clothing or belongings or affected people. It is characterized by localized insensitivity to heat, cold, or pain sometimes with red or white macules. Signs include loss of hair, scaling, and in some cases withering of the flesh, loss of eyebrows, and collapse of the nose. See pestilential wind (leprosy).

Medicinal therapy: Dispel wind, transform dampness, quicken the blood, and kill worms. Alternate Safeguard Unlimited Efficacy Elixir (保安万灵丹 bǎo ān wàn líng dān) and Wondrous Response Wind-Dispersing Powder (神应消风散 shén yìng xiāo fēng sǎn).

Phlegm-damp obstruction (痰湿阻滞 tán shī zǔ zhì) numbness is associated with heaviness in local joints and heaviness of the limbs reducing agility, a soggy moderate pulse, and a white slimy tongue fur.

Medicinal therapy: Transform phlegm and eliminate dampness; free the channels and quicken the network vessels. An appropriate formula is Two Matured Ingredients Decoction (二陈汤 èr chén tāng) minus mume (Mume Fructus, 乌梅 wū méi) and fresh ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, 生姜 shēng jiāng), and with the addition of loofah (Luffae Fructus Retinervus, 丝瓜络 sī guā luò)), tangerine pith (Citri Fructus Fasciculus Vascularis, 橘络 jú luò), liquidambar fruit (Liquidambaris Fructus, 路路通 lù lù tōng), and unripe bitter orange (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus, 枳实 zhǐ shí).

Qì-blood vacuity (气血虚弱 qì xuè xū ruò) numbness is characterized by its episodic nature and its tendency to be exacerbated by exertion and relieved by rest. It is also associated with coolness in the local area and can be relieved by warmth. There may be periodic sensations of ants crawling through the flesh or even stabbing pain. It usually occurs in menopausal women on the insides of the upper limbs and may be associated with menstrual irregularities or flooding and spotting. The tongue is pale and the pulse is fine and forceless.

Medicinal therapy: Supplement qì and nourish the blood; warm yáng and free the network vessels. An appropriate formula is Astragalus and Cinnamon Twig Five Agents Decoction (黄芪桂枝五物汤 huáng qí guì zhī wǔ wù tāng).

Blood stasis (血瘀 xuè yū) numbness usually occurs in the lumbus or outside of the thighs and arises through impact.

Medicinal therapy: Quicken the blood and transform stasis; free the channels and network vessels. An appropriate formula is House of Blood Stasis-Expelling Decoction (血府逐瘀汤 xuè fǔ zhú yū tāng).

See also insensitivity of the skin.

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