In Chinese medicine there are two kinds of phlegm: substantial and insubstantial. Substantial phlegm is phlegm that comes out of the body as nasal discharge or coughed up mucus. Insubstantial phlegm is phlegm that cannot be seen as it is stuck internal to the body with no way to discharge it. Insubstantial phlegm is considered the hidden cause of a thousand diseases in Chinese medicine. While I cannot corroborate that from my own clinical work, I can say that insubstantial phlegm is common in people and is likely to contribute to diseases. To diagnose insubstantial phlegm use the term “EM Phlegm”. To treat it use the EM Phlegm Treatment.

Tumors are often called phlegm nodules. This is especially true for lypomas.

Other perspectives on this issue:

Phlegm is constructed out of Metal Qi excess. Metal excess will invade Wood Qi and Fire Qi angles. When you identify EM Phlegm it is a good idea to also look for EM Metal Invasion Arrays, which are locations where Metal Qi has invaded angles of energy associated with Wood Qi and Fire Qi. You can bring this imbalance back to balance with the EM Six Levels Deep Metal Invasion Treatment.