🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Gastric disease patients who carefully observe their own tongue coating often notice unusual features: unusually thick and greasy coatings, black coating, yellow coating, or patchy loss of coating. Indeed, changes in tongue coating can reflect patterns of disease, especially certain gastrointestinal disorders.
Thick coating with bad breath: If someone consistently has a very thick tongue coating and halitosis, it generally indicates minor gastric issues. If no other discomfort is present, one can begin by adjusting diet and lifestyle. With proper adjustment, abnormal coating and bad breath may resolve spontaneously.
Black, sticky coating: If only this abnormal coating is observed, with normal pale red edges and tip of the tongue and no other noticeable discomfort, it may be due to "coloring" effect. Such cases are not pathological and do not require concern. However, gastric disease patients with severe conditions should be vigilant if they notice black coating. If the edges and tip of the tongue appear deep red, even bluish-purple, it indicates worsening condition, and prompt medical attention is advised.
Geographic tongue: Irregular, map-like patches on the tongue surface—some areas with thin coating, others completely smooth—are called "geographic tongue." If no discomfort is present, this is usually physiological and requires no treatment. However, if long-term gastric or other chronic illness patients who previously never exhibited such tongue appearance suddenly develop geographic tongue, it likely indicates yin deficiency and warrants timely medical consultation.
Fissured tongue: Some individuals have many cracks on the tongue surface, mostly lacking coating, known as "fissured tongue." If no discomfort is present, this is physiological and requires no treatment. However, if fissured tongue appears after serious illness, with red tongue and no coating, and accompanied by discomfort, it also indicates yin deficiency and requires medication.
Tooth-marks on tongue edges: Some individuals are overweight, with enlarged tongue and tooth marks on the edges, thin white coating. If no significant discomfort is present, this is due to obesity. TCM theory holds that "overweight people often have phlegm-dampness," meaning their spleen and stomach digestion is relatively weak, prone to digestive and absorption difficulties. These individuals should eat less greasy, hard-to-digest food, more vegetables, fruits, and light meals, and engage in regular exercise. If the coating is white, thick, and greasy, with tooth marks on the edges, poor appetite, abdominal distension, and loose stools, it indicates excessive phlegm-dampness, requiring dietary adjustments and medication.
Red tongue, thick coating, constipation: If someone hasn't defecated for several days, has halitosis, thick coating, red edges and tip of the tongue, and yellow urine, this indicates excessive stomach fire. Excessive internal heat in the stomach forces turbid qi upward, scorching the mouth and tongue, causing halitosis and yellow coating; heat injures body fluids, drying the intestines, leading to constipation. At this stage, one may take herbs like rhubarb, coptis, scutellaria, and gardenia to clear heat and reduce fire. Diet should avoid alcohol and spicy, hot foods such as chili peppers and lamb; instead, consume more vegetables, fruits, and light meals, drink plenty of water.