{ "slug": "stomach-fire", "name": "Stomach Fire", "pinyin": "Wei Huo", "chinese": "胃火", "organ": "Stomach", "nature": "excess", "family": "heat", "summary": "Real, full heat in the Stomach that rises up its channel into the gums and mouth. The gums are red and swollen and bleed easily, the breath is sour or foul, you are hungry and thirsty for cold drinks, and the tongue coat is thick and yellow.", "picture": "The Stomach channel runs straight through the upper gums. When the Stomach is on fire, the gums are the chimney. That is why a gum problem can be a diet problem in disguise.", "signs": { "key": [ "Red, swollen gums that bleed when brushed", "Bad breath, sour or foul", "Toothache that throbs, worse with heat, better with cold", "Big thirst, wanting cold drinks", "Hungry all the time, or hungry soon after eating" ], "common": [ "Mouth sores or ulcers", "Burning in the stomach, acid, or a sour taste", "Constipation with dry stools", "Dark urine", "Red face", "Nausea or vomiting soon after eating", "Restless, hot, hard to cool down" ], "tongue": "Red with a thick yellow coat, sometimes dry.", "pulse": "Rapid and full, or slippery and rapid." }, "causes": [ "Spicy, fried, greasy, and sweet food over months", "Alcohol, especially spirits and daily drinking", "Smoking", "Overeating late at night", "Long-held anger or frustration that turns to heat", "A hot illness that lodged in the Stomach" ], "tell_apart": [ { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "how": "Empty heat is quiet and worse at night: slow gum recession, loose teeth, dry mouth, night sweats, a peeled red tongue. Stomach fire is loud and full: swollen bleeding gums, bad breath, thirst, a thick yellow coat." }, { "slug": "stomach-yin-deficiency", "how": "When the fire has burned the Stomach's fluids, the picture turns dry: a dry mouth with no desire to drink much, no appetite, a peeled tongue. The treatment turns from clearing fire to moistening." }, { "slug": "liver-fire", "how": "Liver fire goes to the head and eyes: red eyes, a splitting headache, rage, a bitter taste. Stomach fire goes to the gums and gut." } ], "formulas": [ { "slug": "qing-wei-san", "role": "primary", "when": "Red, swollen, bleeding gums and toothache with bad breath. The classic formula for Stomach fire in the gums.", "pinyin": "Qing Wei San", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/qing-wei-san", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/qing-wei-san" } }, { "slug": "yu-nu-jian", "role": "with yin deficiency", "when": "Stomach fire sitting on top of a dry, yin-deficient body: toothache and bleeding gums with a thirst, a red tongue with little coat, and tiredness.", "pinyin": "Yu Nu Jian", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/yu-nu-jian", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/yu-nu-jian" } }, { "slug": "huang-lian-jie-du-tang", "role": "stronger", "when": "Heat everywhere, not just the Stomach: fever, irritability, sores, insomnia. Short courses only.", "pinyin": "Huang Lian Jie Du Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/huang-lian-jie-du-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/huang-lian-jie-du-tang" } } ], "herbs": [ { "pinyin": "Huang Lian", "role": "Coptis. The bitterest cold herb in the pharmacy. Puts out Stomach fire.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-chinese-goldthread-2", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-chinese-goldthread-2", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-chinese-goldthread-2" } }, { "pinyin": "Sheng Di Huang", "role": "Raw rehmannia cools the blood and protects the fluids the fire is burning.", "herb_slug": "fresh-rehmannia-root", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fresh-rehmannia-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fresh-rehmannia-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Mu Dan Pi", "role": "Cools the blood and stops the gums bleeding.", "herb_slug": "tree-peony-bark", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/tree-peony-bark", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/tree-peony-bark" } }, { "pinyin": "Sheng Ma", "role": "Lifts the clearing herbs up into the gums and carries the heat out.", "herb_slug": "largetrifoliolious-bugbane-rhizome", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/largetrifoliolious-bugbane-rhizome", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/largetrifoliolious-bugbane-rhizome" } }, { "pinyin": "Shi Gao", "role": "Gypsum. Clears strong Stomach heat and thirst.", "herb_slug": "gypsum", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/gypsum", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/gypsum" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Mu", "role": "Clears heat while moistening what the fire dried.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena" } } ], "conditions": [ "receding-gums", "toothache", "mouth-sores", "oral-ulcers", "constipation", "gastric-ulcer" ], "habits": [ "Stop the fuel first: spicy, fried, and sweet food, and alcohol. The formula cannot outrun the diet.", "Cooling foods help: mung bean soup, bitter greens, cucumber, watermelon, pear, chrysanthemum tea.", "Rinse with strong cooled green tea twice a day. It tightens the gum and quiets the germs.", "A soft brush and small circles. A hard brush on inflamed gums makes the bleeding worse.", "No eating in the two hours before bed." ], "watch": [ "Bleeding and swelling settle within one to two weeks of clearing the fire and cutting the fuel.", "Bad breath fades as the yellow tongue coat thins.", "These formulas are cold. Once the gums are pink and the coat is thin, stop. Taking them for months damages the Spleen.", "If the gums keep receding after the redness is gone, the deeper pattern is probably Kidney yin deficiency, and the formula changes." ], "sources": [ { "title": "Maciocia, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 3rd edition", "note": "Stomach heat and Stomach fire patterns." }, { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Qing Wei San and Yu Nu Jian." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/stomach-fire", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/stomach-fire", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/patterns" } }