What are the causes of a thick, white tongue coating?
Is your tongue coating thick? Is it white? So, what are the causes of a thick, white tongue coating? This article is sure to resolve your concerns.
Causes of a thick, white tongue coating:
I. Thickness: There are thin, thick, scanty, and no coating.
1. A thin coating often indicates the early stage of an illness, where the pathogen is on the surface and the condition is relatively mild. A thick coating usually suggests a more severe pathogen that has penetrated deeper into the body; it may indicate gastrointestinal stagnation, or phlegm-dampness.
2. The thicker the coating, the more severe the pathogen and the more serious the condition. However, the formation of the tongue coating reflects the presence of stomach Qi. Even if the coating is thick, it indicates that stomach Qi is still present.
3. A scanty coating often suggests a deficiency of the body's vital energy (Zheng Qi). No coating indicates a severe deficiency of stomach Qi, lacking the vitality for generation.
4. Irregular peeling of the coating on the tongue surface, where the peeled area is smooth and uncoated, is called a "peeled coating" (Hua Boo Tai). This often signifies a deficiency of stomach Qi and Yin. If it is accompanied by a greasy coating, it indicates that phlegm-dampness has not transformed and vital energy is already damaged.
II. Color: There are white, yellow, gray, and black coatings.
1. White coating is the most common in clinical practice. Other colored coatings can be considered as transformations from a white coating. Generally, a white coating relates to the Lungs and indicates exterior or cold syndromes. However, it can also be seen in interior or heat syndromes. For example, a thin, moist, white coating indicates wind-cold; a thin, dry, white coating indicates wind-heat; and a thick, greasy, white coating can be seen in interior cold-damp syndromes.
2. Yellow coating can be light yellow, tender yellow, deep yellow, or scorched yellow. Generally, the darker the yellow, the more severe the heat pathogen. Light yellow indicates mild heat; tender yellow indicates more severe heat; deep yellow indicates even more severe heat; scorched yellow indicates heat binding; yellow and dry indicates heat injury to body fluids; and yellow and greasy indicates damp-heat.
3. Gray-black coating mainly indicates heat syndromes, but can also be seen in cold-dampness or deficient-cold syndromes. A gray-black, dry coating indicates excessive heat damaging body fluids. A gray-black, moist coating often belongs to Yang deficiency with excessive cold. Gray-black coating is often seen in more severe stages of illness.
A reminder from Traditional Chinese Medicine: A white tongue coating is also called a cold syndrome, often seen in the early stages of a common cold. It is advisable to choose a diet with warming properties and avoid cold things.