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).