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MEDICINE
CONCEPT OF DAMPNESS
E. F. BLOCK IV
June 2007
Updated February 2011
Updated June 2015
INTRODUCTION
The subject of etiology is study of the origins of disease, the causative
factors, in the body. Pathogenesis is the study of the actual processes
within the body whereby disease occurs, develops and changes. One of
the most central concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is that
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TCM etiology lists many factors that are the cause of disease. These
include the six exogenous factors, the seven emotions, the lack of
physical exercise, an improper diet, traumatic injury, bites of insects and
animals, stagnant blood and phlegm fluid. The causative factors will
affect the body in a specific manner or ways. These aberrations are the
signs and symptoms that are used in order to analyze clinical
manifestations. The clinical manifestations provide the basis for the
etiology of disease produced by each causative factor.
There is a saying in TCM - "The earth element creates dampness and
the metal element stores it." In CM, The organs associated with the earth
element are the Stomach and Spleen. The organs associated with the
metal element are the Lungs and Large Intestine. When dampness is
created by impaired digestion, caused by chronic improper nutrition, it
likes to end up in the Lungs and Large Intestine. When dampness
moves into the Lungs, the usual symptom is phlegm coming up while
coughing (especially after eating something that is inherently difficult to
digest such as a milk shake, other cold dairy products, or greasy foods).
When the dampness is stored in the Large Intestine, we find mucusopen in browser PRO version
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lined stools, loose stools, sticky stools that are difficult to clean up after,
or diarrhea with undigested bits of food in it. Even intestinal rumblings
are due to dampness in the intestines. These are all forms of internal
dampness. Internal dampness is directly due to the impaired
transformative and transportive function of the Spleen system that then
results in some form of pathogenesis within the body, zang-fu organs
and meridians.
In Chinese Medicine, dampness is considered to be the cause of many
illnesses such as high cholesterol, cancer, metabolic disorders, chronic
fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, allergies and environmental illness.
DISCUSSION
For the sake of this discussion, only the symptoms of the aberrations of
water metabolism will be considered. There are two general categories of
Dampness: external and internal. Internal dampness is most common
and will easily combine with Heat or Cold to cause Damp-Heat or DampCold. Dampness can be thought of as the condition of "high humidity"
inside the body. Symptoms can include a feeling of heaviness, swelling
(edema) or water retention, distended abdomen, any type of phlegm
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and hesitant & viscous stools. Pathogenic Damp impairs Spleen yang
that leads to distention and fullness in the epigastrium and abdomen,
poor appetite, loose stools and generalized edema. All conditions of
Dampness will yield to treatment only after an appropriate long term
concerted and persevering regimen.
What is the difference between Damp, Phlegm Fluids and Water? All
three of these concepts refer to the products of the disturbance of water
metabolism in the human body, which after being produced will cause
further pathologic changes, and thus also are regarded as pathogenic
factors in TCM. They are often used interchangeably, but they really
have some differences and should, therefore, be used differently.
Dampness is both a physiological and a pathologic concept in TCM. As a
TCM physiological concept it refers to the water received by the Stomach
and digested and absorbed by the Spleen, so it is also sometimes called
Water Damp. The Stomach likes dampness but the Spleen abhors
dampness. As a TCM pathologic concept, it refers to the retained water
caused by disturbances of the Spleen, so it is mainly used in the case of
water retention due to diseases of the Spleen system. Phlegm fluid
retention is a general term for all congealed water metabolism in the
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is the pathway for the movement of all fluids within the body.(3) Thus
any obstruction in the channels and meridians will ultimately affect water
metabolism adversely in some manner. The role of diet in contracting
internal Dampness and that of food therapy in combating internal
Dampness is well known. Foods that impair digestion, yield food
stagnation and in general interfere with the Spleen in some manner
contributing to the development of internal Dampness due to the
impairment of water metabolism within the body. When one overeats, a
condition of food stagnation ensues and the digestive system will not
function properly. This gives rise to such clinical manifestations as foul
belching, sour regurgitation, distention, bloating, pain in the epigastrium
& abdomen, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. Overindulgence in
cold or raw foods can easily impair Spleen yang and leads to the
development of interior damp-cold.(4) The resulting symptoms are
diarrhea and abdominal pain. Likewise, the overindulgence of alcoholic
beverages or greasy, sweet and spicy foods may lead to damp-heat,
phlegm and stagnation of qi & blood. Symptoms resulting are the
sensation of fullness or stifling fullness in the chest with profuse sputum,
dizziness and vertigo, bleeding hemorrhoids and yang type sores (red,
weepy, itchy).
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urination
(3. Intestines - loose stools with mucus, abdominal pain and
fullness
(4. Uterus - infertility or excessive vaginal discharge
(5. Gall Bladder - hypochondrial pain & fullness
(6. Liver - hypochondrial fullness, distension and pain,
jaundice
(7. Kidneys - cloudy urine, difficult urination
b. Dampness in the channels/meridians manifesting as pain,
swelling and heaviness of the joints
c. Dampness in the skin manifesting mainly as eczema, puffiness
and oozing lesions
2. Acute - Damp-Heat at the qi level with fever that is worse in the
afternoon, body that is hot to the touch, aversion to cold, swollen
glands, headache, a feeling of heaviness, a feeling of oppression in
the epigastrium, a sticky taste in the mouth and thirst with no desire
to drink, sticky white tongue coating and soggy pulse
Treatments - Acupuncture
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Points:
1. St36 - strengthens the Spleen and disperses Damp-Heat and WindDamp in the whole body
2. St40 - resolves Damp and Phlegm in the whole body
3. St44 - cools Heat in the Stomach and removes obstruction from the
Intestines - for conditions of Damp-Heat diarrhea and dysentery
4. LI4 - dispels Damp-Heat from the Stomach and Intestines
5. LI11 - cools Heat and alleviates Dampness; for Damp-Heat dysentery
or skin conditions (e.g. eczema)
6. Sp3 - best with Dampness in the channels
7. Sp9 - disperses Dampness but is used more for Damp-Heat than
Damp-Cold, more for Damp-Heat diarrhea, dysentery, vaginal
discharge or urinary disorders
8. Ren9- resolves Dampness in the middle jiao
9. Ren12 - regulates Stomach Qi and disperses Dampness in the
middle jiao
10. UB20 - used more for Damp-Cold to reinforce Spleen yang
11. Pc6 - pacifies the Stomach and resolves Dampness in the middle jiao
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skin.
The author has found that the daily drinking of a decoction (tea)
made from dried flowers (seed pods) of the Roselle (Hibiscus
sabdariffa) and Ju Hua (Chrysanthemum flower) is very effective
in drying up these type of lesions. One must make the tea very
concentrated for it to be effective. Results may not become
visible for as long as a year and longer due to the number of
years the condition has been building. If the tea is too weak,
there is no affect. If the tea is too strong it may cause
constipation. Each person will need to determine their effective
dose for themselves through trial and error.
If your intention is also to loose weight, brew your favorite Oolong
tea (or other tea type) with the Roselle. Sweeten your tea
sparingly with Maple syrup, raw sugar, honey or Agave syrup.
Make the tea as bitter as you can stand in order to get the
polyphenols that are beneficial
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphenol_antioxidant).
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the Lungs, the Spleen and the Kidneys. Treatment of Damp and
its combinations involves removing the obstructions and
dissipating the pathological products as well as returning the
normal functionality of the Zang-Fu organs. Both the use of
acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine is very effective for
resolving the pathological conditions of Dampness. Treatment is
as always dependent upon the skill of the practitioner in
determining the diagnosis from the signs and symptoms of the
patient. Choice in use of points and herbal formulae and their
modifications comes with observation, experience and practice.
The patient needs to be aware that there is no quick fix for the
treatment of Dampness conditions. Depending upon how many
years the condition has been developing and been evident, it
may take a few years to correct. All will be to no avail if the
patient does not make serious lifestyle changes to the better.
Perseverance furthers!
REFERENCES
1. Cheng, X. N., Chief Editor, 1987, "Chinese Acupuncture and
Moxibustion", Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, pg 254
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