An article intended for practitioners of Chinese medicine:

Over the years, I have noticed that the patient's speech plays an important part in the diagnosis.

Not necessarily in what he says, but mainly in the way he speaks.

Speech that is a little "smeared" or not entirely clear leads me to a diagnosis of dampness. The more "smeared" the speech, the more the diagnosis will lean towards phlegm.

Large spaces between words lead me to believe that I have kidney failure (like a void in the background of speech). I see many menopausal women with speech that indicates kidney failure, but of course it exists at all ages.

In patients who have experienced trauma (unfortunately, since October 7th there have been quite a few of them) I see a combination of kidney damage and phlegm at the same time. This is expressed in very slurred speech and with large gaps in words. For me, the diagnosis in such cases is phlegm that blocks the senses.

Speaking in cut sentences, such as a period that comes in the middle of a sentence, or sharp speech will indicate an imbalance of metal.

Speech that sounds like giving orders will of course indicate an imbalance in the tree.

Our patients come with a specific physical/mental complaint, but I think it's important to understand the underlying Chinese diagnosis (kidney weakness/dampness/liver congestion, etc.) and treat it so that the physical problem can improve.

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