What is qi deficiency?

Chinese medicine believes that qi is the most basic substance that constitutes the human body and maintains human life activities. When the function of the most basic substance to maintain human life declines or is insufficient, it is called qi deficiency. Chinese medicine believes that qi includes innate essence and acquired essence. The function of qi can promote the viscera function of human body, tame the qi and blood meridians of human body, protect human body from external invasion, resist wind, cold, summer, humidity and fire, and protect human body's ability to defend and adapt to climate. The function of qi itself is to fix the qi, blood and body fluid of human body, so that it does not disperse outside, and the transformation between qi itself and human substances is called gasification in Chinese medicine. Qi deficiency is the function of these qi, including the decline or deficiency of promoting, taming, defending, fixing and gasifying functions. Because there are a lot of qi in clinic, including primordial qi, middle qi and odorous qi, as well as viscera: heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, bladder and triple energizer, its functional deficiency is called qi deficiency. The general clinical manifestations are weakness, pallor, shortness of breath, weakness of limbs, drowsiness of head, sweating during activities and low voice, which is called qi deficiency in Chinese medicine. Most of the reasons are congenital deficiency, acquired malnutrition, or old age, or long illness and loss of qi after surgery and fatigue. These are the common reasons of qi deficiency.