The Signs and Causes of Excess of Phlegm

Abstract

He who is oppressed with phlegm is pale of face and body, sometimes livid or of leaden colour, is foully crammed, his skin is soft and cold to the touch, his body fleshy and swollen with loose fat, the pulse small and soft and beating slow: what flows from the bladder is livid or else pale, now thin, now dirty or turbid with coarse deposit. He vomits phlegm and passes it below, but those subject to the phlegm do better if it is exuded from the moist body. The mind is sluggish, the senses heavy and sleep profound. His dreams are of water and balmy hyperborean climate, he is tardy in the performance of his duties. Useful it is for sufferers if the phlegm is expelled by the natural pathways, and hot food and drink are helpful. It is a fact that liver, heart and brain, and cold, are known as frequent causes of the phlegm, as are an idle life and frequent slumber and drinking too much water, and the weakness of age, gluttony and vexation.