胃痛

胃痛顧名思義是指胃脘部近心窩處發生疼痛，由於胃與心臟部位相近，很多人會誤以胃痛發作為心痛。但就疼痛程度及部位，兩者卻有分別，通常心痛程度較重，而胃痛多伴有其他脾胃症狀如胃脹、噯氣、反酸等。

在中醫理論，「通則不痛，痛則不通」，說明凡痛者，其氣血運行多不通暢。而引致胃痛的原因包括飲食積滯、寒邪襲胃、肝氣犯胃、瘀血停滯等。在五行屬性當中肝屬木，脾屬土，木能尅土，而脾和胃又有表裏關係相連，所以肝太強會影響脾，同時累及與脾連繫的胃。故胃痛除胃部本身發生問題外，與肝及脾也有較大關連。而且在香港，人們工作壓力大，情緒往往受擾，容易出現肝鬱的情況(可理解為肝太強)；另一方面，現代食人飲食豐富，容易食滯，影響脾胃消化功能，因此，香港人的胃痛情況與肝(情緒)及脾(飲食)最為密切。

Stomach pain refers to the epigastric pain occurs at stomach and heart area, therefore it is sometimes mistaken as heartache. But usually heartache is more severe, while stomach pain often accompanies with other symptoms such as stomach bloating, belching or acid reflux. In TCM theory, “Blocked meridian induces pain, cleansed meridian dispels pain.” Stomach pain can be caused by indigestion, cold spell, liver problem or blood stasis. In Hong Kong, patients suffering from stomach pain are mostly affected by liver (emotional) and spleen (diet) . Intense work pressure may affect emotion, this will hurt the normal functioning of the liver and induce stomach pain. Besides, rich diet can also create burden to the digestive system.