Chinese Medicine

Upset stomach is closely associated with tongue symptoms, according to Chinese medicine theory. Chinese medicine thinks that Tongue connects lung, heart, liver, spleen, kidney and other organs with meridian, in which tongue is viewed as the flame of the heart and tongue coating as the root of stomach Qi. So if upset stomach happens, it will directly reveal on the tongue.

Symptoms of upset stomach

When it comes to the symptoms of upset stomach, it includes occasional heartburn, bloated stomach, stomach pains and a taste of bile in the mouth etc.

In addition, sometimes upset stomach can be accompanied with other symptoms such as constipation, irregular bowel movements and so on.

Upset stomach and tongue symptoms

What symptoms would be presented on tongue when upset stomach occurs very frequently or persist for some time? According to clinical observation, tongue symptoms do change according to the stomach disorders. Since tongue symptoms is closely associated with upset stomach, the examination of tongue symptoms can provide us a very useful guidance and reference for the treatment of upset stomach.

Clinically when upset stomach occurs, the pathological changes of tongue coating often reflect in the thickness, humidity and color.

Thickness of tongue coating and upset stomach

1. Thick tongue coating is the evidence for syndrome of excess, which can be divided into white thickness, yellow thickness, greasy thickness and dry thickness. Thick tongue coating can be seen very often in gastritis, digestive tract disorders.
2. Thin tongue coating is generally normal, which also indicates mild diseases if any. Thin tongue coating can be divided into white thin, yellow thin, greasy thin, moist thin and thin with little saliva.
3. Clean tongue coating is with clean coating, through which tongue quality can be seen clearly. Clean coating accompanied with red tongue indicates deficiency of stomach Yin or spleen Yin. It also indicates mild diseases if any.
4. Geographic tongue refers to red patches on the surface of the tongue bordered by grayish white, which indicates deficiency of stomach Yin and vapidity of the stomach. Geographic tongue with red tongue quality indicates Yin deficiency with heat, while pale tongue with glossy spots indicates deficiency for both of Yin and Yang. Geographic tongue can be seen in repeated bleeding of ulcers, advanced gastrointestinal cancer, chronic diseases and syndrome of deficiency with declined body functions and resistance.
5. Fissured tongue coating refers to many cracks or deep fissures in the central part of the tongue, which generally indicates deficiency of stomach Yin or both of stomach and spleen.

Humidity of tongue coating and upset stomach

1. Greasy tongue coating refers to much saliva and moisture in coating. Greasy tongue is caused by retention of dampness-turbidity, which is associated with decreased gastrointestinal motility and poor gastrointestinal secretion, such as indigestion, pyloric obstruction, vomiting, and constipation and so on. Commonly seen greasy coating includes sticky greasy, slippery greasy, white greasy, yellow greasy, gray greasy, thin greasy, thick greasy, turbid greasy and rotten greasy coatings.
2. Dry tongue coating refers to obviously less saliva and moisture in coating, which follows very often high fever, diarrhea, and frequent vomiting. Dry tongue usually indicates deficient fluid in stomach.

Color of tongue coating and upset stomach

1. White tongue coating usually is the evidence of cold, which can be divided into thin white, greasy white, slippery white and dry white coatings. White tongue is associated with mild diseases if any, which can be seen very often in upset stomach symptoms such as chronic ulcers and chronic gastritis.
2. Yellow tongue coating usually is the evidence of heat, which can be divided into thin yellow, thick yellow, greasy yellow, dry yellow, pale yellow, deep yellow, rough yellow and scorched yellow coatings. Yellow tongue coating indicates syndrome of excess and heat. Yellow tongue can be seen in various acute inflammations of gastrointestinal tract, chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer in active stage. In addition, it can also be seen in gastric retention, constipation, digestive disorders, and after major gastrointestinal surgery.
3. Rotten tongue coating refers to many scattered white rotten patches on tongue surface, which mostly is associated with infection of oral albicans Candida or accompanied with deep fungal infection. Rotten coating accompanied with read glossy tongue quality indicates deficiency of stomach Qi, which usually reveals a critical condition and a significant decrease of immune function.

Color of tongue and upset stomach

The pathological changes of tongue quality refer to the changes in color of the tongue mucosa, which can be divided into pale white, crimson and blue clinically.

1. Pale tongue quality refers to lighter color compared with the normal pink or even pale white in critical conditions. Pale tongue quality indicates deficiency of Yang deficiency or deficiency of both of blood and Qi, which can be seen after bleeding in the digestive tract, or gastrointestinal tract bleeding secondary to chronic anemia, as well as advanced malignant tumors in digestive tract.
2. Crimson tongue quality refers to more red than normal. Red tongue quality indicates heat and deficiency of Yin, while crimson tongue quality indicates excessive heat, which can be seen very often in the digestive tract diseases, such as acute inflammation in gastrointestinal tract, active ulcer disease, gastric cancer and stomach bleeding in compensatory stage.
3. Blue tongue quality is the evidence of blood stasis, as well as can be seen sporadically in critical conditions of Yang deficiency, extreme cold and excessive heat. Blue tongue quality can be seen in digestive tract diseases, such as repeated bleeding in chronic peptic ulcer and tumor.

Upset stomach is closely associated with tongue symptoms. So clinically if we pay enough attention to tongue diagnosis, it will tell us a lot of information what is happening inside the upset stomach.