General Symptoms and Their Meaning in TCM
| Colors of the Face | Meaning |
| Red (Excess or Xu Heat) | |
| Whole Face | Heat from External Evil or Hyperactivity of Zang Fu (Excess) |
| Cheeks, Tidal Fever, Night Sweats | Internal Heat (Xu) |
| Pale (Cold or Loss of Blood) | |
| Pale White | Yin Excess or Yang Xu |
| Bright White with Puffy and Bloated Appearance | Yang Qi Xu |
| Withered White | Blood Xu |
| Yellow (Damp or Xu) | |
| Body, Face, Eyes, and Skin | Jaundice |
| Bright Orange | Yang Jaundice (Damp Heat) |
| Smoky Dark | Yin Jaundice (Cold Damp or Long Term Stagnation) |
| Pale Yellow (Not Bright) | Blood and Qi Xu |
| Blue (Cold, Pain, Blood Stagnation, Convulsions) | |
| Pale with Blue Tinge and Severe Pain in the Epigastrium and Abdomen | Excess Yin and Cold |
| Bluish Purple Face and Lips with Intermittent Pain Behind the Sternum or Precordial Region | Stagnation of Heart Blood |
| Bluish Purple Face and Lips with High Fever and Violent Movement of Limbs in Children | Infantile Convulsion |
| Dark Gray (Blood Stagnation and Kidney Xu) | |
| Pale and Dark with Lumbar Soreness and Cold Feet | Kidney Yang Xu |
| Dark without Brightness with Scaly Skin | Prolonged Blood Stagnation |
| Appearance | Meaning |
| Overweight with Mental Depression | Qi Xu and Excess Damp Phlegm |
| Loss of Weight in Long Term Illness | Exhaustion of Essential Qi |
| Thin with Dry Skin | Blood Xu |
| Extended Neck | Excess Lung Syndrome with Excess Phlegm |
| Facing Downward | Qi Xu with Shortness of Breath, Dislike of Speaking |
| Violent Movement of Limbs | Wind Diseases, Infantile Convulsions |
| Weakness, Motor Impairment, and Muscular Atrophy of Limbs | Wei Syndromes |
| Pain, Soreness, Heaviness and Numbness in Tendons, Bones and Muscles, with Swelling and Restricted Movement of Joints | Bi Syndromes |
| Numbness or Impaired Movement of Limbs on One Side of the Body | Hemiplegia or Wind Stroke |
| Eyes | Meaning |
| Redness and Swelling | Wind Heat or Liver Fire |
| Yellow Sclera | Jaundice |
| Ulceration or Canthus | Damp Heat |
| Upward, Straight Forward, or Sideways Staring | Liver Wind |
| Nose | Meaning |
| Flapping of Ala Nasi | Heat in the Lungs or Qi Xu of both Lung and Kidney |
| Clear Discharge | Wind Cold |
| Turbid Discharge | Wind Heat |
| Prolonged Turbid Discharge, with Stinking Discharge | Rhinitis or Chronic Sinusitis |
| Ears | Meaning |
| Burnt Black and Dry and Withered Auricles in Severe Illness | Consumption of Kidney essence |
| Purulent Discharge | Damp Heat of Liver and Gall Bladder |
| Gums | Meaning |
| Pale Gums | Blood Xu |
| Redness and Swelling | Stomach Fire |
| Redness and Swelling with Bleeding | Injury of Vessels by Stomach Fire |
| Lips and Mouth | Meaning |
| Pale Lips | Blood Xu |
| Bluish Purple Lips | Retention of Cold or Blood Stagnation |
| Red and Dry Lips | Excess Heat |
| Sudden Collapse with Open Mouth | Xu |
| Sudden Collapse with Lockjaw | Excess |
| Throat | Meaning |
| Redness, Swelling, and Soreness | Lung and Stomach Heat |
| Redness and Swelling with Yellow or White Ulcer Spots | Toxic Heat in Lung and Stomach |
| Bright Red with Mild Soreness | Yin Xu with Hyperactive Fire |
| False Gray and White Membrane over Throat that is Hard to Remove, and Bleeds Following Removal | Diphtheria from Heat in the Lung Consuming Yin. |
| Chills and Fever | Meaning |
| Chills Accompanied by Fever (External Pathogen Fighting with Antipathogenic Qi (Zheng Qi)) | |
| Severe Chills, Mild Fever, Absence of Sweating, Headache, General Aching, and a Superficial Tight Pulse | Wind Cold |
| Mild Chills, Severe Fever, Thirst, Sweating, and a Superficial Rapid Pulse | Wind Heat |
| Alternating Chills and Fever | |
| Alternating Chills and Fever with a Bitter Taste in the Mouth, Thirst, Fullness and Stuffiness in the Chest and Hypochondrium | Intermediate Syndrome |
| Alternating Chills Occurring at Specific Times of the Day | Malaria |
| Fever without Chills | |
| High Fever with Aversion to Heat, Profuse Sweating, Severe Thirst, and a Surging Pulse | Excess Heat in the Interior |
| Fever at a Fixed Hour of the Day | Tidal Fever |
| Tidal Fever in the Afternoon or Evening, with Night Sweating, and a Red Tongue with Little Moisture | Yin Xu |
| Fever more Pronounced in the Afternoon with Constipation, and Fullness and Pain in the Abdomen | Yangming Fu Syndrome |
| Chills without Fever | |
| Chilled Appearance, Cold Limbs, and a Deep, Slow, and Weak Pulse | Interior Cold Xu |
| Perspiration | Meaning |
| Absence of Sweating in Exterior Syndromes | Invasion by Pathogenic Cold |
| Presence of Sweating in Exterior Syndromes | Exterior Xu from Exposure to Wind, or Exterior Heat from Invasion of Pathogenic Wind Heat |
| Night Sweating (May also have Tidal Fever, and a Red Tongue with Little Coat | Yin Xu with Hyperactivity of Yang Heat |
| Spontaneous Sweating (May also have Chills, Listlessness, and Lassitude) | Qi and Yang Xu |
| Profuse Sweating with High Fever, Mental Restlessness, Thirst for Cold Drinks, and a Surging Pulse | Excess Interior Heat |
| Profuse Sweating with Listlessness, Feeble Energy, Cold Limbs, and a Deep Thready Pulse in a Severe Case | Total Exhaustion of Yang Qi |
| Appetite, Eating, and Taste | Meaning |
| Poor Appetite in a Prolonged Illness with Emaciation, Loose Stools, Lassitude, and a Pale Tongue with Thin White Coat | Spleen and Stomach Weakness |
| Poor Appetite with Stuffiness in the Chest, Fullness in the Abdomen, and a Thick Sticky Tongue Coat | Stagnation of Qi of the Spleen and Stomach Caused by Retention of Food or Dampness |
| Excessive Appetite and Easily Hungry in a Skinny Patient | Excess Stomach Fire |
| Hunger with no Desire to Eat, or Eating Small Amounts of Food | Impairment of Stomach Yin, Producing Internal Xu Heat |
| Lack of Thirst During an Illness | Body Fluids are not Consumed (Usually present in a Cold Syndrome, or where Heat is not Noticeable) |
| Presence of Thirst During an Illness | Consumption of Body Fluid or Retention of Phlegm Damp in the Interior Preventing Fluid from Ascending |
| Bitter Taste in the Mouth | Liver and Gallbladder Fire |
| Sweet Taste in the Mouth | Damp Heat in the Spleen and Stomach |
| Sour Regurgitation | Retention of Heat in the Liver and Stomach |
| Tastelessness | Spleen Xu |
| Defecation and Urination | Meaning |
| Constipation from Dryness of the Stool | Accumulation of Heat or Consumption of Body Fluids |
| Loose Stools | Spleen Xu, or Damp Retention in the Spleen |
| Watery Stool with Undigested Food | Spleen and Kidney Yang Xu |
| Bloody Stool with Mucus and Tenesmus | Damp Heat in the Intestines and Stagnation of Qi in the Intestinal Tract |
| Yellow Urine | Heat Syndrome |
| Clear and Profuse Urine | Absence of Pathogenic Heat, or Cold Syndrome |
| Turbid Urine | Damp Heat Pouring Downward, or Downward Leakage of Turbid Essence. |
| Red Urine | Injury of Vessels by Heat |
| Clear Urine with Increased Volume | Infirmity of Kidney Qi, and Bladder Dysfunction in Controlling Urine |
| Scanty, Yellow Urine, with Urgent and Painful Urination | Downward Movement of Damp Heat in to the Bladder |
| Dribbling Urination or Retention of Urine in Severe Cases | Exhausted Kidney Qi (Xu) or Stagnant Bladder Qi (Excess) due to the Downward Infusion of Damp Heat, Stagnant Blood, or Stones. |
| Pain | Meaning |
| Severe Distention and Mild Pain Moving from Place to Place, Often Occurring in the Chest, Epigastric, Hypochondriac, and Abdomen | Qi Stagnation |
| Headache with Distending Sensation in the Head | Upward Disturbance by Fire and Heat |
| Prickling Pain, Sharp and Fixed in Location, Often Occurring in the Chest, Epigastric, Hypochondriac, and Lower Abdominal Regions. | Blood Stagnation |
| Pain with and Heavy Sensation (Weighty Pain), Often Occurring in the Head, Four Limbs and Lumbar Regions | Dampness Blocking Qi and Blood |
| Colicky Pain | Abrupt Obstruction of the Qi by Substantial Pathogenic Factors |
| Pulling Pain which is Spasmodic in Nature and Short in Duration | Liver Wind |
| Burning Pain with a Burning Sensation and a Preference for Coolness, Often Occurring in the Hypochondriac regions on Both Sides, and in the Epigastric Region | Invasion of the Collaterals by Pathogenic Fire and Heat or from Excessive Yang Heat due to Yin Xu |
| Pain with a Cold Sensation and a Preference for Warmth, Often Occurring in the Head, Lumbar, Epigastric, and Abdominal Regions. | Pathogenic Cold Blocking the Collaterals or Lack of Warmth and Nourishment in the Zang Fu and Meridians due to Yang Qi Xu |
| Dull Pain that is not severe, lingers, and lasts for a long time | Xu Cold Syndrome |
| Headaches | 1. Disturbance of the Clear Yang by Pathogenic Factors (Usually Excess) 2. Stagnation of Qi and Blood in Endogenous Diseases Blocking the Meridians and Depriving the Brain of Nourishment 3. Blood and Qi Xu Failing to Nourish the Head, and the Sea of Marrow Becomes Empty. |
| Chest Pain | Pathological Change in the Heart and Lungs |
| Hypochondriac Pain | Obstruction or Undernourishment of the Liver and Gallbladder Meridians |
| Epigastric Pain (Upper, Middle. Lower) | Invasion of the Stomach by Pathogenic Cold, Retention of Food in the Stomach, or Invasion of the Stomach by Liver Qi |
| Abdominal Pain - Upper is SP - Lower is KI, BL, LI, SI, Uterus - Sides are LIV |
Excess Causes: Retention of Cold, Accumulation of Heat, Stagnation of Qi, Stagnation of Blood, Retention of Food or Parasitic Diseases Xu Causes: Qi Xu, Blood, Xu, Deficiency of Cold |
| Lumbago | Obstruction of the Kidney Meridian or Deficiency of the Kidney Failing to Nourish the Lumbar Region |
| Pain in the Limbs (Joints, Muscles, or Meridians) | Retardation of Qi and Blood Circulation due to Invasion of the Exogenous Pathogenic Factors |
| Persistent Pain in a Recent Disease or Pain that is Aggravated by Pressure | Excess Condition |
| Intermittent Pain that is Alleviated by Pressure | Xu Condition |
| Sleep | Meaning |
| Insomnia with Palpitations and Dizziness | Failure of Blood to Nourish the Heart due to Heart and Spleen Xu |
| Insomnia with a Restless Mind, and Dream Disturbed Sleep | Hyperactive Heart Fire |
| Difficulty Falling Asleep due to an Uncomfortable and Empty Sensation in the Stomach or Gastric Discomfort After a Full Meal | Derangement of Stomach Qi Leading to Mental Restlessness |
| Lethargy Accompanied by Dizziness | Phlegm Damp in the Interior |
| Half Asleep with General Lassitude | Heart and Kidney Yang Xu |
| Menses | Meaning |
| Menses of Shortened Cycle, Excessive in Amount, Deep Red in Color, and Thick in Quality | Excess Heat in the Blood |
| Menses that are Light Colored, Profuse in Amount, and Thin in Quality | Failure of Qi to Command Blood |
| Prolonged Cycle with Scanty Purplish Dark Discharge or Clots | Stagnation of Blood due to Cold |
| Thin, Scanty, Light Colored Flow | Blood Xu |
| Irregular Menstrual Cycle | Disharmony of the Flush and Conception Vessels due to Obstruction of Liver Qi |
| Premenstrual or Menstrual Distending Pain in the Breasts and Lower Abdomen which Intensifies on Pressure During Menses | Stagnation of Blood due to Cold |
| Dull Pain in the Lower Abdomen During or After Menses which is Alleviated by Pressure | Qi and Blood Xu |
