Syndromes Related To Dampness And Heat

Dampness and heat are two of the six harmful elements in traditional Chinese medicine that have opposite effects on the body. Stagnation is caused by dampness while heat leads to a rise in activity in a body system. These two factors have their own set of syndromes related to their effects.

Dampness

Dampness naturally moistens things that it comes into contact with, (particularly the ground) creating stagnation or a sluggish movement in objects. Once dampness affects an object, a considerable amount of time may be needed to once again dry that object and this is particularly the case in wet climates. Dampness creates pathogenic effects related to yin that can be very hard to treat since they can be persistent and heavy. Since dampness naturally dwells in the ground, when you sleep on the ground or get wet by the rain, you’ll be affected by external dampness.

In addition, when you consume large quantities of greasy foods, ice cream, sweets, or cold drinks and foods you may be at risk of suffering imbalances caused by internal dampness. Your body can be affected the visible and invisible effects of dampness. On one hand, Invisible dampness may manifest in subjective sensations of dizziness and heaviness in a person. Visible dampness, on the other hand, may appear as fluid discharges and retention as well as phlegm. A tongue with greasy coating and a slippery pulse usually appear in both kinds of dampness. Signs and symptoms of dampness in the body can include rashes in the skin that are crusty and ooze (as in eczema), coughing phlegm or vomiting, swelling, a heavy sensation, and water retention.

By nature dampness is heavy it tends to go in a downward direction and affect the lower parts of the body. Therefore, when you suffer from dampness, there is a tendency to experience swelling in the legs and a heavy or sinking sensation. What’s more, when combined with heat, dampness can result in a condition known as damp heat that can manifest symptomatically as malodorous sticky stools, dark burning urine, jaundice, and yellowish discharges in the vagina.

In Chinese medicine, when it comes to wind, the opposite effects occur. Wind often affects the upper regions of the body.

Dampness Syndromes

1. Internal Dampness: This disharmonic pattern tends to be caused by an imbalance affecting the spleen. Signs and symptoms of internal dampness: undigested food in the stools, possible water retention in the stomach area, fatigue, poor appetite, diarrhea, and bloating. A spleen with cold produces dampness as seen when a person right after eating ice cream, coughs up phlegm. Since the lungs store any excess dampness in the spleen, a damp spleen often causes persistent allergies and colds in a person. Treatment of internal dampness is aimed in stimulating the spleen with tonifying herbs and removing the dampness through diuretic herbs.

2. Toxins and Damp Affecting the Skin: This pattern of disharmony involves inflammations having a damp and weepy nature in the skin. Symptoms include skin ulcers, eczema, and allergic reactions that produce a discharge (skin eruptions that are crusty or oozing). Toxins and damp affecting the skin syndrome is treated internally using herbal remedies served in topical poultices.

3. Joint Pain due to Wind Damp: Joint pain related due to Wind Damp syndrome is marked by numbness and heavy and dull stubborn pain in the joints. An example of this syndrome would be rheumatic pain which tends to exacerbate in damp weather. Joint pain related to Wind damp tends to be long term and show resiliency to treatment. Moxibustion and acupuncture treatments in Jacksonville may be able to offset the pain and stiffness. Based on the Chinese saying of using, “tree limbs to treat body limbs,” herbs such as qui shi (cinnamon twigs) and sang shi (mulberry branches) are used to eradicate wind damp in order to increase blood flow and relieve swelling.

4. Wind Damp: This syndrome is the underlying cause of the common cold and manifests in symptoms such as afternoon fever, charby diarrhea, chills, nausea, and headache. A person with this condition can be described as someone with a wet towel wrapped around his head. Treatments include pleasant smelling herbs and moxibustion to drain dampness and dispel wind.

Heat

Essentially a yang energy syndrome, heat (fire) can have a damaging effect on the body. Heat naturally results in increased activity and expansion. When Heat is out of balance, it can lead to inflammatory problems such as fever, and irritability. Heat naturally rises and may lead to symptoms such as dizziness, sore throat, and red eyes and face. When heat influences the liver or heart, the affected person may experience anger. This yang pathogenic element tends to affect body fluids and can cause symptoms such as dark urine, constipation, and thirst. Since heat can generate wind, it can cause spasms as well.

Heat & Wind-Heat Syndromes

Heat and Wind-Heat are syndromes that commonly occur and may manifest as the flu and the common cold. When heat and wind are combined, they lead to signs and symptoms like profuse perspiration, a red tip on the tongue, thirst, racing pulse, headache, sore throat, and fever. The aim of treatment is to use herbal remedies and acupuncture to eliminate heat and drive away wind.

1. Deficient Heat: This disharmony is usually caused by yin deficiency. Yin is the cooling aspect of an organ and yin deficiency may not be adequate enough to control heat thus allowing heat to ascend. Heat deficient symptoms basically include irritability a racing and thin pulse, chronic inflammation, red tongue with no coating, night sweats, and red cheeks. Based on the organ affects, additional symptoms may appear. When heat deficiency occurs in the kidneys, chronic UTIs (urinary tract infections) may develop; heat deficiency affecting the lungs due to cigarette smoking can result in chronic dry cough; and insomnia may result from heat deficient heart yin.

2. Excess Heat in the Organs: This pattern of disharmony often causes symptoms such as constipation, dry throat, a racing and full pulse, red tongue with yellow fur, concentrated (burning or dark) urine, thirst, and irritability. Based on the organ affected, additional symptoms may occur. Lung fire, for instance, can result in the accumulation of yellow mucus in the lungs, liver fire may instigate extreme anger fire, stomach fire can lead to mouth ulcers and heart fire that, in turn, result in extreme emotional disturbances. Treatment for all these problems is to manipulate the acupuncture points related to the problematic organ and to take herbs to dispel excess heat.