What is “dampness”? How can Chinese medicine dispel dampness?

Spring is rainy, the weather is more humid, on the other hand, the temperature has risen, and in general the weather is hot and humid, which makes it easy for dampness to be trapped in the body, some people will have a lack of energy, heavy body, loss of appetite, loose stools, eczema on the skin and other conditions.

What is “dampness” and how to get rid of it? Fan Chunhua, deputy chief physician of Chinese and Western medicine at the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Guangzhou Medical University, introduced the following.

First. The understanding of “damp” in Chinese medicine

Chinese medicine believes that “wet” for the natural wind, cold, heat, humidity, dryness, fire, “one of the six evil spirits”, wetness is heavy, its nature is sticky, wet for the yin evil, easy to hurt the Yang Qi, the disease is lingering and difficult to heal, wet is considered “the source of all evil “.

The source of dampness is generally external and internal two, Chinese medicine generally divided into external and internal dampness.

External dampness is caused by external dampness, such as wet climate or water and rain, damp housing, etc. invasion of the human body, that is, external dampness.

Internal dampness refers to the dampness from the body, mostly caused by the spleen loss of health, lung loss of publicity, kidney loss of warmth, resulting in water-damp stagnation, that is, the so-called “spleen deficiency dampness, water-damp internal stagnation.

Second. the typical manifestations of “heavy dampness”

The common manifestations of “heavy dampness” are.

Unshaped stools, loose or constipated; sticky stools (sticky toilet, not easy to flush out) and excessive stools.
Jagged edges on the tongue.
Dry mouth, bitter mouth, bad breath.
drooling and snoring in sleep.
Feeling of heaviness and lack of ease in the body, pain in the joints around the body.
Phlegm, cough, unrefreshing throat.
Greasy hair, hair loss.
Spotty face, acne, oily face.
Dizziness, especially easy fatigue and weakness.

Third, “heavy dampness” will lead to what diseases

Prone to respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, skin, rheumatism and other diseases, such as colds, coughs, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, chest congestion, eczema, hives, arthritis and other diseases.

Fourth, how to determine their “heavy dampness”

Dampness for the disease, there are cold damp and damp heat, wet and cold together called cold damp, and heat together called damp heat.

“Cold-damp” people have more symptoms of Yang deficiency, usually more afraid of cold, feel more comfortable drinking hot water, reduced diet, light mouth, bloating, loose stools (stools more often, thin and rotten), light tongue or light fat, moss more thin white or white greasy.

“Damp-heat” is usually stronger, with heavy headache, heavy and painful body, dry mouth, bitter mouth, chest constipation, yellow and rotten stools, unpleasant bowel movements, yellow and short urine, red tongue, yellow and greasy tongue coating, and moist pulse.

Fifth, how to get rid of dampness in Chinese medicine

As the saying goes, a thousand cold is easy to get rid of, but a damp is hard to get rid of. To get rid of damp more effectively, you also have to decide the method of dispelling dampness according to the different types and nature of dampness.

1, avoid external dampness

Daily life is best to reduce exposure to a humid environment, wet and rainy days to reduce outdoor activities, you can use dehumidifiers, desiccants, air conditioning dehumidification; do not sleep directly on the floor, heavy floor moisture, easy to invade the body causing limb pain; after bathing to fully dry the body, blow-dry hair, to avoid external dampness; do not wear damp undried, non-ventilated and breathable clothes to avoid external dampness invade the body.

2, sports conditioning

Moderate exercise can promote the functioning of the body organs, increase water metabolism, accelerate dampness from sweat, urine out of the body. Running, walking, playing ball, yoga, taijiquan, eight-danjin and other chronic aerobic exercise, are simple and effective ways to accelerate the discharge of dampness out of the body.

3, strengthen the spleen and stomach

Chinese medicine believes that the spleen is the main transport and transformation, with the transport of water and grain and water and liquid two aspects of function. For people with a weak spleen and stomach are more prone to dampness trapped in the body, dampness is bound to lead to increased burden on the spleen and stomach, the spleen is not healthy, transport and transformation failure, water and grain.

People with a weak spleen and stomach should try to eat less cold food, can eat sweet and slightly warm food or medicinal food to strengthen the spleen and dispel dampness, more lean meat, ginseng, yam, astragalus, jujube soup, can strengthen the spleen and stomach, replenish the deficiency.

The spleen is the source of phlegm and dampness, “to get rid of dampness, first of all, spleen”, therefore, the spleen and stomach is one of the keys to get rid of dampness.

4, External treatment method

Fire dragon jar, fire dragon moxibustion, thunder fire moxibustion, gua sha, massage, massage, fire acupuncture, warm acupuncture, foot soak and other Chinese medicine appropriate therapies, safe, convenient and reliable efficacy.

Recommend two commonly used soup meals to dispel dampness

Ginseng, white lentils, Huai Shan pork ribs soup

[Ingredients] 20 grams of ginseng, 20 grams of fried white lentils, 100 grams of fresh yam, 3 slices of ginger, 5 red dates, and 200 grams of pork ribs.

[Efficacy]To strengthen the spleen and dispel dampness.

[Method]
1, the pork ribs washed and chopped into sections, put into boiling water to blanch the blood, take out and rinse with cold water, put into the casserole.
2, the fresh yam peeled clean and cut into cubes, clean party ginseng, fried white lentils, red dates and put together in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, put onion, ginger, yellow wine in the pot, first boil with high heat.
3, to boil the soup, then cook for 30 minutes on low heat, and finally add salt to taste.

[Contraindicated people] Stomach Yin deficiency is contraindicated.

The people who are weak in the spleen and stomach are more likely to have dampness trapped in their bodies, often manifesting as loose stools, poor appetite, epigastric distention, belching, weakness of the limbs, tastelessness of the mouth and other symptoms, light tongue, thin white coating, sunken pulse.

Chicken soup with chicken bone herb and Poria barley

[Ingredients] 30 grams of chicken bone grass, 20 grams of Poria cocos, 20 grams of coix seeds, and 1 hen.

[Effect】Clear heat and dispel dampness.

[Method]
1, 30 grams of chicken bone grass with an appropriate amount of water decoction, remove the dregs and leave the juice.
2, 1 chicken cut open, remove the dirt, tail, clean the internal organs, put Poria cocos, coix seeds washed and placed in the chicken belly, add the juice, boil the fire and change the fire for 1 hour, add a little salt, ginger can be.

[Contraindicated people] Spleen and stomach cold, Yin deficiency fire is contraindicated.

Suitable for people with dampness and heat in the spleen and stomach, often manifesting as distention and fullness in the upper abdomen, dry mouth, bitterness, bad breath, nausea or vomiting, sticky or loose stools, shortness of breath, red tongue, thick yellow or greasy coating, and slippery pulse.