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MENTAL MODEL · M3284

Damp Phlegm / Shi Tan

Damp Phlegm / Shi Tan
BehaviorHigh supportOrganizational Behavior
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Updated 2026-08-04

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A Chinese medicine pattern of phlegm that is plentiful, white, slippery, and easily expectorated, often with chest oppression, heaviness in the body, a greasy tongue coating, and a slippery pulse. It arises when a weak spleen fails to transform fluids, which gather as dampness and then condense into phlegm lodging in the lung collaterals or the limbs. Treatment strengthens the spleen and dries dampness; clearing the lungs with cold herbs would further injure spleen yang.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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- Mud model: read copious thin phlegm as soil holding far too much water. - Drying rule: strengthen the spleen and dry dampness rather than clear with cold herbs. - Source rule: treat the spleen as the origin, not just the lung as the site.

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The spleen governs fluid transformation; when it is deficient, fluids accumulate as dampness and thicken into phlegm. Strengthening the spleen restores fluid handling, so new phlegm stops forming, while drying agents remove what has already gathered.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    baike.baidu.comhttps://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B9%BF%E7%97%B0ZH · Explicit
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