During the winter season when cold waves invade, who is most susceptible to injury? The first to be affected are those with yang deficiency. Individuals with yang deficiency have insufficient yang energy, making them particularly vulnerable to cold pathogens. Therefore, today we will discuss the manifestations of yang deficiency in various organs!
First, Heart Yang Deficiency
First, let’s look at the upper jiao, which includes the heart and lungs. We will start with heart yang deficiency.
Individuals with heart yang deficiency have insufficient yang energy in the heart, lacking the power to promote and warm the body, which can lead to the following symptoms:
Palpitations, shortness of breath, chest tightness, or chest pain that worsens in cold conditions. Spontaneous sweating, aversion to cold, cold limbs, fatigue, pale complexion, or cyanosis of the lips, a pale and swollen or purplish tongue, white and slippery coating, and weak or irregular pulse.
These symptoms are prone to occur in cold weather, and when cold pathogens attack, problems are more likely to arise. Therefore, some elderly individuals with heart yang deficiency may experience sudden heart pain or heart attacks while exercising outdoors in winter, leading to hospitalization for emergency treatment.
Once, a young man named Wang Mengying was working when his boss suddenly collapsed from heart pain. Wang diagnosed it as heart yang deficiency and used a piece of gan jiang (dried ginger) he carried to brew a remedy, saving his boss’s life, and they became lifelong friends.
Thus, during winter, individuals with insufficient heart yang should take precautions. If they experience cold pain in the heart, it is important to pay attention.
Second, Lung Yang Deficiency
Next, let’s examine the lungs in the upper jiao, which can also experience yang deficiency.
Lung yang deficiency is often seen in the elderly or those with chronic illnesses, and individuals with yang deficiency can also have lung yang deficiency. This is often caused by prolonged coughing, wheezing, or asthma, which depletes lung qi, or by taking cold and cooling medicines that harm the lungs, combined with cold pathogens damaging the lungs, leading to lung yang deficiency.
Individuals with lung yang deficiency will exhibit the following symptoms:
Expectoration of clear, thin phlegm in large amounts, cold limbs, spontaneous sweating. Coldness in the back, susceptibility to wind and cold, or asthma upon slight exertion, or shortness of breath, or catching colds. Generally, they feel fatigued, short of breath, dizzy, and have no thirst. The tongue is pale, with a white and moist coating, and the pulse is slow or weak. These symptoms become significantly worse in the cold winter season.
In terms of specific diseases, this can lead to lung atrophy, asthma, lung distension, and wind-cold colds.
Such individuals with lung yang deficiency are more common in Northeast China, where many patients in TCM clinics during winter suffer from respiratory diseases caused by lung yang deficiency.
Therefore, for this group, it is essential to adopt a warming and tonifying approach for the lungs, ideally starting in summer for better results. Our TCM sanfu plaster is quite effective for this condition.
Third, Spleen Yang Deficiency
Now let’s look at yang deficiency in the middle jiao, primarily involving the liver and spleen.
First, regarding spleen yang deficiency, the symptoms include:
Aversion to cold, cold limbs, reduced appetite, cold pain in the abdomen that prefers warmth and pressure, loose stools, or watery diarrhea with undigested food, or chronic diarrhea, pale complexion, fatigue, a bland mouth, preference for warm drinks, or vomiting clear saliva, or edema, difficulty urinating, or excessive clear and thin vaginal discharge in women, pale and swollen tongue or with tooth marks, white and slippery coating, and a thin, slow, or weak pulse.
These conditions become more pronounced as the weather gets colder. Whenever cold pathogens invade, it is very easy to experience vomiting and diarrhea, abdominal pain, and gastric pain. Moreover, individuals with spleen yang deficiency often feel significant discomfort after consuming cold foods.
Thus, spleen yang deficiency may be the most commonly encountered condition in daily life. For such individuals, it is crucial to pay attention to nourishment, especially in terms of diet, ideally focusing on warming foods and avoiding cold items to gradually restore health.
Fourth, Liver Yang Deficiency
Next, let’s examine liver yang deficiency. There are not many discussions on liver yang deficiency, but all organs have both yin and yang, and the liver is no exception.
Individuals with liver yang deficiency exhibit insufficient liver growth function, leading to stagnation of liver qi, resulting in blocked meridians, which can cause abdominal pain, lower back pain, male hernias, and lower abdominal pain in females.
When the fascia fails to warm, it leads to pain and stiffness in the limbs, which is also a manifestation of internal wind from the liver. Additionally, when liver blood fails to warm, it causes blood stagnation and internal dampness, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, insomnia with vivid dreams, and nighttime agitation.
I once studied cases of nighttime agitation, where patients exhibited restlessness and mental unease at night but were normal during the day. After diagnosing it as liver yang deficiency, physicians successfully treated them with formulas like Wu Zhu Yu Tang (Evodia Decoction).
Fifth, Kidney Yang Deficiency
Finally, in the lower jiao, kidney yang deficiency is well-known.
Individuals with kidney yang deficiency have insufficient fire at the gate of life, leading to the following symptoms:
Fatigue, lack of energy, low vitality, easy fatigue; aversion to cold, cold limbs (in severe cases, even in summer); a heavy body; soreness in the lower back and knees, cold pain in the lower back, weakness in the muscles and bones; clear and prolonged urination, dribbling after urination, low urine output or frequent nighttime urination; decreased hearing or tinnitus; memory loss, excessive sleepiness, vivid dreams, spontaneous sweating; prone to lower back pain, joint pain, etc.; susceptible to osteoporosis, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, etc.; shortness of breath, wheezing, and phlegm; early morning diarrhea or constipation; body swelling, especially in the lower body; hair loss or premature graying; a body that is either overweight or underweight; and a pale, dull, or dark complexion.
Individuals with kidney yang deficiency feel these symptoms more acutely in winter; some may feel extremely drowsy during the day and experience increased nighttime urination, which are manifestations of kidney yang deficiency. When cold pathogens attack, problems are more likely to arise.
In summary, I have broadly discussed the manifestations of yang deficiency in various organs, so you can have a general understanding. Our overall yang deficiency in the body will specifically reflect in various organs, sometimes with a focus on certain areas. Therefore, when regulating, it is necessary to adjust according to the responses of each organ.
TCM has a wealth of specific formulas that correspond to these conditions, and we will discuss them more in the future. The articles I previously wrote on warming yang are linked below for your reference.
If you are unable to determine where the problem lies, we can also think in reverse: in fact, warming yang overall is very beneficial for the yang deficiency in various organs.
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