TCM pattern · Yin deficiency
Lung Yin Deficiency
肺阴虚 Fei Yin Xu Lung system
The Lung has lost its moisture. A dry cough that drags on for weeks, a dry tickly throat, a hoarse voice, little or sticky phlegm, and in a worn-down person, night sweats and afternoon warmth. It often follows a long illness, a dry climate, or years of smoking.
A Lung with enough yin is a wet sponge: soft and quiet. A dry sponge is stiff and scratchy, and every breath rubs. The cough is the rubbing.
How to recognize Lung Yin Deficiency
The signs that point most strongly to this pattern:
- Dry cough with little or no phlegm, lasting weeks
- Dry, tickly, or sore throat, hoarse voice
- Sticky phlegm that is hard to bring up, sometimes streaked with blood
- Dry mouth, wanting small sips
- Afternoon warmth, red cheeks, night sweats
Also common
- Thin build, recent weight loss
- Tired in the afternoon
- Dry skin
- Breathless on effort
- Worse in dry, heated indoor air
- Tongue
- Red, dry, with little coat, especially at the front.
- Pulse
- Thin and rapid.
Formulas for Lung Yin Deficiency
Herbs that matter most for Lung Yin Deficiency
- Mai Dong Mai Dong Ophiopogon Root Tuber Ophiopogon moistens the Lung and the throat.
- Bei Sha Shen Glehnia Root Glehnia moistens the Lung and clears mild heat.
- Bai He Lily Bulb Lily bulb moistens the Lung and calms the mind.
- Yu Zhu Fragrant Solomonseal Rhizome Solomon's seal moistens without clogging.
- Chuan Bei Mu Sichuan Fritillary Bulb Fritillary bulb moistens and settles a dry cough.
- Wu Wei Zi Chinese Magnoliavine Fruit Schisandra holds the Lung qi in to stop a lingering cough.
- Sang Ye Mulberry Leaf Mulberry leaf for a dry cough with a little heat.
How Lung Yin Deficiency differs from its look-alikes
- Lung Qi Deficiency Lung qi deficiency is weak rather than dry: a feeble cough, a quiet voice, catching every cold, daytime sweating, a pale tongue. Lung yin deficiency is dry and warm with a red tongue.
- Kidney Yin Deficiency When the sore back, ringing ears, and night dry mouth sit under the cough, the Kidney is part of it, and the formula shifts to Mai Wei Di Huang Wan.
- Phlegm Heat Phlegm heat is wet and loud: yellow thick phlegm, a rattling chest, a thick yellow coat. Lung yin deficiency has almost no phlegm and a bare tongue.
What drains into Lung Yin Deficiency
- A hot or dry illness that burned the Lung fluids
- Smoking
- A dry climate or heated indoor air
- Overuse of the voice
- Long Kidney yin deficiency reaching the Lung
- Chronic lung disease
Food and habits that help Lung Yin Deficiency
- Pears, lily bulb, white fungus, honey, almonds, and warm water. All moisten the Lung.
- A humidifier in dry heated rooms.
- No smoking, and no spicy or fried food while the cough is dry.
- Rest the voice.
- Steam from a bowl of hot water with a towel over the head, for a few minutes a day.
What should change as Lung Yin Deficiency improves
- The tickle and the dry throat ease within two weeks.
- The cough softens and phlegm, if any, loosens over a month.
- Night sweats and afternoon warmth fade with the Lung yin.
- A cough that changes to yellow phlegm or fever is a fresh infection and needs a different formula.
Conditions where Lung Yin Deficiency shows up
Sources
- Maciocia, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 3rd edition Lung yin deficiency.
- Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition Sha Shen Mai Dong Tang, Bai He Gu Jin Tang.
Important Note
A pattern is a picture, not a diagnosis. Most people carry two patterns at once, and the signs here are the classic ones, not a checklist. Use this page to recognize yourself, read a formula label with understanding, and ask a qualified practitioner a sharper question.