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Sluggish tongue

舌謇 〔舌謇〕shé jiǎn

Also difficult speech. A condition in which the tongue is curled and shrunken, cannot move freely, and makes speech indistinct. A sluggish tongue is attributed to spleen-stomach accumulated heat scorching the fluids or to phlegm obstructing the orifices of the heart in wind stroke or summerheat tetany.

Medicinal therapy: Treat spleen-stomach accumulated heat by clearing heat and engendering liquid, using Red-Abducting Powder (导赤散 dǎo chì sǎn) plus coptis (Coptidis Rhizoma, 黄连 huáng lián), ophiopogon (Ophiopogonis Radix, 麦门冬 mài mén dōng), and scrophularia (Scrophulariae Radix, 玄参 xuán shēn). Treat phlegm obstructing the orifices of the heart by sweeping phlegm and opening the orifices using Gallbladder-Warming Decoction (温胆汤 wēn dǎn tāng) plus acorus (Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma, 石菖蒲 shí chāng pú), bile arisaema (Arisaema cum Bile, 胆星 dǎn xīng), scorpion (Scorpio, 全蝎 quán xiē), and bamboo sugar (Bambusae Concretio Silicea, 天竹黄 tiān zhú huáng).

See tongue examination.

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