{ "slug": "spleen-dampness", "name": "Dampness in the Spleen", "pinyin": "Pi Xu Shi Sheng", "chinese": "脾虚湿盛", "organ": "Spleen", "nature": "mixed", "family": "dampness", "summary": "A weak Spleen has let dampness pile up. Everything is heavy and sticky: a heavy head and limbs, a full bloated stomach, nausea, no appetite, loose sticky stools, puffy ankles, and a thick greasy white coat on the tongue. The tiredness of being waterlogged.", "picture": "A sponge that cannot wring itself out. The body is damp the way a basement is damp: nothing is wet exactly, but everything is heavy, slow, and a little foul.", "signs": { "key": [ "Heavy head, heavy limbs, a foggy feeling", "Bloating and fullness after meals", "Nausea, a sticky mouth, no appetite", "Loose, sticky stools", "A thick greasy white tongue coat" ], "common": [ "Puffy ankles or face", "Soft weight gain", "Worse in damp weather", "Thin discharge", "No thirst" ], "tongue": "Pale and swollen with a thick white greasy coat.", "pulse": "Soft and slippery." }, "causes": [ "Sweet, greasy, dairy-heavy, and raw food", "Iced drinks", "Damp living conditions", "Sitting all day", "Spleen qi deficiency that let the damp settle" ], "tell_apart": [ { "slug": "spleen-qi-deficiency", "how": "Plain qi deficiency is tired and loose-stooled with a thin coat. Dampness adds the heaviness, nausea, and thick greasy coat." }, { "slug": "phlegm-damp", "how": "When the damp thickens into phlegm, it shows in the chest and head: a wet cough, dizziness, a lump in the chest. Dampness stays in the gut and limbs." } ], "formulas": [ { "slug": "ping-wei-san", "role": "primary", "when": "Heavy, bloated, nauseous, with a thick greasy coat and no real weakness. Dries and moves.", "pinyin": "Ping Wei San", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/ping-wei-san", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/ping-wei-san" } }, { "slug": "shen-ling-bai-zhu-san", "role": "with weakness", "when": "Damp with real Spleen weakness and chronic loose stools. Tonifies and leaches.", "pinyin": "Shen Ling Bai Zhu San", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/shen-ling-bai-zhu-san", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/shen-ling-bai-zhu-san" } }, { "slug": "liu-jun-zi-tang", "role": "with nausea", "when": "Weak digestion with nausea and phlegm.", "pinyin": "Liu Jun Zi Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/liu-jun-zi-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/liu-jun-zi-tang" } }, { "slug": "xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang", "role": "with bloating", "when": "Weak, damp, and bloated with pain.", "pinyin": "Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang" } } ], "herbs": [ { "pinyin": "Cang Zhu", "role": "Grey atractylodes dries damp and wakes the Spleen.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-swordlike-atractylodes", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-swordlike-atractylodes", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-swordlike-atractylodes" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Zhu", "role": "White atractylodes strengthens the Spleen and dries damp.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes" } }, { "pinyin": "Fu Ling", "role": "Poria drains damp through the urine.", "herb_slug": "indian-bread", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/indian-bread", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/indian-bread" } }, { "pinyin": "Yi Yi Ren", "role": "Job's tears leach damp and firm the stool.", "herb_slug": "seed-of-jobstears", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/seed-of-jobstears", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/seed-of-jobstears" } }, { "pinyin": "Chen Pi", "role": "Tangerine peel moves qi and dries damp.", "herb_slug": "dried-tangerine-peel", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/dried-tangerine-peel", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/dried-tangerine-peel" } }, { "pinyin": "Sha Ren", "role": "Amomum wakes the Spleen and stops bloating.", "herb_slug": "villous-amomum-fruit", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/villous-amomum-fruit", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/villous-amomum-fruit" } }, { "pinyin": "Huo Xiang", "role": "Patchouli clears damp and settles nausea.", "herb_slug": "all-grass-of-wrinkled-gianthyssop", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/all-grass-of-wrinkled-gianthyssop", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/all-grass-of-wrinkled-gianthyssop" } } ], "conditions": [ "abdominal-distension", "nausea", "indigestion", "diarrhea", "edema", "obesity", "poor-appetite", "phlegm-accumulation" ], "habits": [ "Cut sugar, dairy, greasy food, and iced drinks. They are the damp.", "Warm, dry, cooked food: rice, barley, Job's tears, ginger, cardamom.", "Move every day; damp settles in a body that sits.", "Dry out the house if it is damp.", "Stop eating when seventy percent full." ], "watch": [ "The heavy head and bloating ease within one to two weeks.", "The thick greasy coat thins; that is the gauge.", "Stools firm and the puffiness drains over a month." ], "sources": [ { "title": "Maciocia, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 3rd edition", "note": "Spleen deficiency with dampness." }, { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Ping Wei San, Shen Ling Bai Zhu San." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/spleen-dampness", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/spleen-dampness", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/patterns" } }