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If food intake is excessive, the Spleen and Stomach fail to grind and digest it, leading to rapid breathing, irritability, chest oppression, and restless sleep.

A Cun Kou (Cun position of the radial artery) pulse that is full and tight indicates injury from food stagnation; a pulse that is slow, large, and solid also indicates injury from food stagnation. For such conditions, treatments involving herbal decoctions, hot compresses, acupuncture, and stone therapy have specific formulas. Methods for nourishing, tonifying, and guiding circulation are appended below.

The "Health Preservation Formulas · Daoyin Methods" states: If one feels abdominal fullness and suffers from overeating, sit upright with the back straight, inhale air through the mouth dozens of times, hold until full, then exhale, returning to comfort. If discomfort persists, repeat the process. This method can also be applied if there is cold pathogen causing abdominal discomfort.

It further states: Sit upright with the back straight and inhale air through the mouth dozens of times. This eliminates abdominal fullness, overeating, alternating chills and fever, and abdominal pain.

When the Spleen and Stomach are weak and unable to transport and transform grain and food, Qi stagnation occurs in the Zang-Fu organs. The manifestation is: the patient desires to lie down after eating, experiencing heavy limbs and somnolence.

This arises from latent heat in the Spleen and Stomach due to undigested food, resulting in fever. The presentation resembles Taiyang disease (Exterior Syndrome), but differs in the absence of body pain.

The Kidney governs Water, while the Spleen and Stomach govern Earth; Earth controls Water. The Spleen and Stomach are interiorly-exteriorly related. The Stomach is the sea of water and grains. Now, due to Stomach deficiency, it fails to transmit and transform water-Qi, causing water-Qi to seep into the meridians and infiltrate the Zang-Fu organs. When the Spleen is affected by dampness, illness ensues. Once the Spleen is diseased, it cannot control water, so water-Qi returns exclusively to the Kidney. With failure of the San Jiao (Triple Burner) to drain and obstruction of the meridians, water-Qi overflows into the skin, causing edema. The symptoms include: slight swelling under the eyes, resembling the appearance after waking up; pulsation of the neck vessels; occasional coughing; coldness between the thighs; pitting edema where depression rebounds immediately upon pressure release, feeling like water inside; bitter taste and dry tongue; inability to lie supine (as this induces coughing of clear fluid); inability to lie flat (as this causes fright, which exacerbates coughing); and yellow, scanty, or difficult urination.

There are five types of edema that are incurable: First, black lips indicate Liver damage; Second, a flat supraclavicular fossa (Quepen) indicates Heart damage; Third, an everted umbilicus indicates Spleen damage; Fourth, flat soles indicate Kidney damage; Fifth, a flat back indicates Lung damage. All these five injuries are incurable.

A deep pulse indicates water retention. A surging and large pulse is treatable; a minute and fine pulse indicates death. Treatments involving herbal decoctions, hot compresses, acupuncture, and stone therapy have specific formulas. Methods for nourishing, tonifying, and guiding circulation are appended below.

The "Health Preservation Formulas" states: In the eleventh month, do not consume meat jerky that died naturally during summer, as this disturbs the Kidney and predisposes one to water disease.

It further states: When sleeping, do not rest your feet on high places for extended periods, as this may eventually lead to Kidney water disease.

The "Health Preservation Formulas · Daoyin Methods" states: Toad Qi-guiding exercise: sit upright, shake both arms, and retain breath for twelve cycles. This treats Wu Lao (Five Exhaustions) and edema.