What causes white and greasy tongue coating?
White and greasy tongue coating is one of the common tongue symptoms diagnosed in traditional Chinese medicine. It usually reflects excessive moisture in the body or spleen and stomach dysfunction. In recent years, with the improvement of health awareness, the problem of tongue coating has become a hot topic on the Internet. This article will combine the popular health discussions on the Internet in the past 10 days, analyze the possible causes of white and greasy tongue coating, and provide structured data for readers' reference.
1. Common causes of white and greasy tongue coating

According to traditional Chinese medicine theory and recent online discussions, white and greasy tongue coating is mainly related to the following factors:
| Cause classification | Specific performance | Proportion (online discussion popularity) |
|---|---|---|
| Weak spleen and stomach | Decreased digestive function, internal dampness and turbidity | 35% |
| Improper diet | Excessive intake of cold, greasy food | 28% |
| Too much moisture | Humid environment or damp constitution | 22% |
| other factors | Staying up late, stress, drug effects, etc. | 15% |
2. Analysis of the popularity of related topics on the entire network in the past 10 days
By scraping social media and health platform data, we discovered the following hot discussion points:
| Date | hot topics | amount of discussion | Related keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-15 | What to do if your tongue has white and greasy coating in summer | 12,000 | To remove dampness, red bean and barley |
| 2023-06-18 | Is white and greasy tongue coating a sign of cancer? | 9800 | Cancer, traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis |
| 2023-06-20 | How to care for baby’s white and greasy tongue coating | 7500 | Infants and young children, food accumulation |
3. Identification of different types of white and greasy tongue coating
According to TCM syndrome differentiation, white and greasy tongue coating needs to be comprehensively judged in conjunction with other symptoms:
| Tongue coating characteristics | accompanying symptoms | Possible syndrome type | Suggested adjustment direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| White, greasy and moist | Loss of appetite and bloating | Cold-dampness sleeps in the spleen | Warmth and dehumidification |
| White, greasy and dry | dry mouth, constipation | Damp and hot content | Clear away heat and reduce dampness |
| White, greasy, thick and turbid | Excessive phlegm and chest tightness | Phlegm-dampness block | Resolving phlegm and removing dampness |
4. Evaluation of popular conditioning methods on the Internet
Among the cooking methods recently shared by netizens, the following three are the most popular:
1.Red bean and barley water: It has been discussed 46,000 times, but Chinese medicine experts remind people with weak and cold constitutions not to drink it for a long time.
2.Moxibustion therapy: Mainly targeted at spleen and stomach deficiency and cold syndrome, and related videos have been viewed more than 2 million times.
3.Chinese herbal tea: Sales of finished tea bags containing ingredients such as tangerine peel and poria cocos increased by 120% monthly.
5. Situations that require vigilance
Although most white and greasy tongue coatings are functional problems, it is recommended to seek medical treatment promptly in the following situations:
- Tongue coating suddenly thickens and persists
- Accompanied by significant weight loss
- Abnormal symptoms such as dysphagia occur
Conclusion: Tongue coating serves as a barometer of health, reflecting the internal state of the body. Analysis of recent Internet hot spots shows that the public's attention to tongue diagnosis continues to increase, but attention must be paid to syndrome differentiation and treatment to avoid blindly following Internet celebrity health regimens. It is recommended to seek personalized guidance from a professional Chinese medicine practitioner when persistent tongue coating abnormalities occur.
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