03 The Deficiency of both qi (vital energy) and the blood form

When hepatophilic viruses invade the body as pathogenic diseases, if the patient is weak with inadequate genuine energy[1] (body resistance), these pathogenic factors will stay in the body and will lie concealed or hide in the blood system and attack the internal organs.  The pathogenic factors attack not only the genuine energy but also disturb the qi and blood systems resulting in the deficiency of qi and blood.  Eventually, this will lead to pathological changes caused by the imbalance of qi and blood.

Clinical observation suggested that the deficiency of qi and blood is actually the consequence when the pathogenic factors (viruses) invade the body for the longest time or the result when the internal organs are attacked for a long period of time.  This is especially the situation when the patients are infected at their infants or childhood stage.  The pathological changes are said to be not severe if the patients have the symptoms like the first form “Stagnation of the liver qi and dryness of the lung” form, or the second form “the wetness and heat” affecting the stomach and large intestines.

Wetness-heat is regarded as a pathogenic factor (yin factor) and would harm the yang qi (the functional activity).  Once the pathogenic factors invade into the body, the first organ to settle is the spleenwhere the pathogenic factors in the form of wetness are accumulated.  This will lead to firstly, the dysfunction of the spleen in transporting and transforming nutrients and water and, secondly, the disturbance in descending function of the stomach in sending down food content.  Eventually, the functioning of the spleen and stomach will lose the balance resulting in the deficiency of the spleen.  As the digestive function is decreasing, it may easily lead to malnutrition, anaemia and affect the functioning of the other internal organs.  The body mechanism is weakening.  The production of blood and qi (vital energy) is insufficient in the long run resulting in the deficiency of qi and blood.

Apart from massive bleeding found in female, repeated bleeding in the nasal cavity would be commonly found for children and bleeding in stomach at teenagers.  Such situations may be worsen due to the depression of the liver qui causing the irregular flow of the blood around the anus resulting in hemorrhoids combined with irregular bleeding.  Although the amount of blood lost is small in quantity and not much attention is paid to, it will accelerate the deficiency of blood and qi if the patients do not receive appropriate treatment in time. If they take drugs, the liver will be easily impaired which would also accelerate the deficiency of blood and qi..

The deficiency in qi (vital energy) and the deficiency of blood is a morbid condition marked by clinical symptoms like emaciation, pallor, shortness of breath, weak voice, lassitude, cold limbs, palpitation, dizziness, insomnia, dreaminess, somnolence, etc.  If accompanied with the deficiency of yang(vital function), the patients may have symptoms like edema, ache all over the body, lassitude, spontaneous perspiration, sweating at night, profuse sweating, inflexible joints, short of breath.  When under body examination, the patients may have plump tongue with teeth print at the lower borders, the substance of the tongue is whitish as if soaked in water, weak pulse, edema in limbs.  If pressed at the shine bone of the leg, finger prints can be easily seen.

If blood test is performed, the albumin in plasma may decrease and that the red blood cell (erythrocyte), haemochrome, white blood cell (leucocyte) and blood platelet would also decrease.