A feeling of stuffiness (pi) indicates an Empty condition together with some Dampness or Heat.
Contrary to the feelings of fullness and distension, the feeling of stuffiness is entirely subjective
as the patient's abdomen will feel soft on palpation.
Reaction to Pressure
If an abdominal pain is eased by pressing the area of pain this indicates an Empty condition. If it
is aggravated by pressure this indicates a Full condition. The "Prescriptions of the Golden Chest"
says: "If an abdominal pain improves with pressure it indicates Deficiency, if it is aggravated by
pressure it indicates Excess."1(388)
When diagnosing abdominal pain it is very important to check whether pressure alleviates or
aggravates the pain as this test is very reliable. The following case history is a useful example.
Case History 16.1
Abdominal Pain: Deficiency-Female, Age 35
A 35-year-old woman had been suffering from abdominal pain for 2 years. The pain was on the
right side of the lower abdomen and was not related to the menstrual cycle. Although the pain
was quite severe, she liked to press the area of pain and this afforded some relief. Her tongue
was quite Purple and her pulse was very Fine, rather Deep and generally Weak.
As her tongue was definitely Purple and the pain was severe, indicating a Full condition, I
adopted the treatment principle of moving Blood and eliminating stasis and used a variation of
Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang Lower Abdomen Eliminating Stasis Decoction, adding strong "breaking
Blood" herbs such as Ze Lan Herba Lycopi lucidi. Although this provided some relief, it did not
eliminate the pain completely and also made her feel rather tired. I therefore asked Professor
Meng Jing Hua, one of my teachers from the Nanjing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine,
to examine her on the occasion of his visit to Britain. He attached much more importance to the
finding that her pain was alleviated by pressure or, at least, that she liked to press the area of
pain. He also pointed out that her pulse was Fine and Weak. He therefore adopted the treatment
principle of primarily tonifying and suggested a prescription that tonified Qi and Blood and only
mildly moved Blood. This produced much better results in relieving the pain and she gained
much more energy.
Reaction to Food or Drink
Abdominal pain which improves with warm drinks, or is aggravated by ice-cold drinks, indicates
a Cold condition. If it improves by drinking cold drinks, it is due to a Hot condition.