In the summer, I often soak my dirty clothes in water before washing them promptly. One time, due to an unexpected event, I left the clothes soaking in the basin and forgot about them. When I returned home the next day, I was surprised to find that the clothes, which had been soaked in cold water, had started to heat up and ferment after a day, causing the temperature of the water to rise.
As I washed the clothes, I pondered why they had heated up.
If the dirty clothes were dry and not soaked in water, they would not heat up even after being left for three to five days. However, once the clothes are soaked in water, combined with the hot summer weather, if they are not washed promptly, they will begin to heat up and ferment. The key issue here is the water; the dampness causes the clothes to become airtight, leading to stagnation and transformation into heat! This made me think of the pathogenesis of damp-heat diseases in the human body—dampness obstructing the Qi mechanism! This is the crux of damp-heat syndrome!
The focus of treating damp-heat syndrome is not on clearing heat, but on eliminating dampness.
In the human body, if dampness is predominant, the movement of Yang Qi is easily obstructed, leading to stagnation. When Qi is excessive, it becomes fire; when fire combines with dampness, it transforms into damp-heat, and in some cases, even into damp toxicity. Because dampness tends to descend, it easily leads to damp-heat descending, resulting in related disease manifestations in the lower parts of the body. For example, gynecological leukorrhea, male prostatitis, chronic enteritis, athlete’s foot, eczema, etc. Just like the clothes, when soaked and exposed to hot weather, the air inside cannot circulate, leading to stagnation and heat transformation.
Many practitioners believe that diseases caused by damp-heat should be treated as damp toxicity, using methods to clear heat and detoxify with cold and cool herbs. While this approach may temporarily alleviate the heat generated by dampness, the condition will soon relapse because the dampness still exists, and the Yang Qi of the body remains obstructed.
When the condition recurs, should we not reconsider whether the treatment plan is appropriate?
Some reckless practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine believe that the dosage was too light and not strong enough! So they increase the dosage, using large amounts of bitter and cold herbs, which can damage the Yang Qi of the body. When the only remaining Yang Qi is exhausted, the dampness will naturally not transform into heat, nor can it transform into heat, thus dampness transforms into cold dampness. With one disease unresolved, another arises, and the patient will feel cold in the lower limbs.
In fact, treating damp-heat diseases is like washing clothes; it only requires cleaning and promptly hanging them up to dry, allowing the moisture to evaporate naturally without heating up or fermenting.
Therefore, the best method for treating damp-heat syndrome is not to target the “heat evil” with medication, but to target the “damp evil” with medication, using herbs that promote dampness elimination to transform the damp evil, allowing the Yang Qi of the body to rise naturally, thus reversing the pathogenesis of “damp obstructing the Qi mechanism.” Once this crux is resolved, the problem becomes simplified.
In the previous story, I mentioned that Yang Qi is responsible for rising. When the damp evil that obstructs the rise of Yang Qi disappears, the Yang Qi within the body will naturally ascend, allowing the entire Qi mechanism to circulate normally, and the disease can be cured.
To combat dampness, the key lies in regulating the spleen.
Let us delve deeper into why damp evil arises in the human body.
Although we can use herbs that promote dampness elimination to reverse the pathogenesis of damp-heat diseases, if the source of damp evil is not addressed, damp evil will continue to arise even after it has been eliminated, and thus the disease will not be cured.
Among the five elements, earth can overcome water, so the source of damp evil must be sought from “earth.”
“The spleen and stomach belong to earth; the stomach likes moisture and dislikes dryness, while the spleen likes dryness and dislikes moisture.” The generation of dampness is closely related to the dysfunction of the spleen. When the spleen is deficient and fails to transport, it is most likely to lead to the retention of water and dampness, transforming into damp evil.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that the key to treating damp-heat diseases is to eliminate dampness. Only by removing damp evil can the pathogenesis be reversed, and strengthening the spleen can best promote the metabolism of water and dampness, fundamentally treating damp evil.
Therefore, promoting dampness elimination and uplifting Yang, and strengthening the spleen to eliminate dampness, is the fundamental method for treating damp-heat diseases.
Damp-heat induced male diseases
Patient Zhang, 40 years old. He has experienced frequent urination, weak urination, and incomplete urination for one year, worsening over the past month.
One year ago, he began to experience frequent urination, weak urination, and incomplete urination without any obvious cause. The symptoms persisted for more than six months, accompanied by lower back pain, reduced sexual function, yellowish and reddish urine, and dampness in the scrotum and thigh roots. After undergoing routine prostate fluid examination in the hospital, he was diagnosed with chronic prostatitis with white blood cells +++ and lecithin +. He was treated with intravenous antibiotics for more than half a month, and while the frequent urination and incomplete urination improved significantly, the lower back pain and reduced sexual function showed no improvement. After stopping the medication for a month, the condition recurred, prompting him to seek traditional Chinese medicine treatment.
When he came to see me, his tongue coating was thin, yellow, and greasy, with a white root, and his six pulses were sluggish, with a tendency to sink on both sides. Considering other symptoms, I diagnosed him with what is referred to in traditional Chinese medicine as “Lin syndrome.” This disease is not difficult to treat; generally, it involves soothing the liver, strengthening the spleen, promoting dampness elimination, uplifting Yang, warming Yang, transforming dampness, and detoxifying.
I prescribed the following formula: Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes), Cang Zhu (Atractylodes), Feng Fang (Bee Honeycomb), Hua Shi (Talc), Dong Gua Zi (Winter Melon Seed), Hong Teng (Sargentodoxa), Huang Qi (Astragalus), Ku Shen (Sophora), Da Wu Gong (Giant Centipede), Chai Hu (Bupleurum), Long Dan Cao (Gentian), Sheng Gan Cao (Raw Licorice). Decoction in water, one dose per day.
After taking five doses, the symptoms of frequent urination, weak urination, and incomplete urination improved significantly, and the dampness in the scrotum also alleviated. Based on his condition, I made slight adjustments to the formula, removing Hua Shi and adding Du Zhong (Eucommia), and the patient took more than ten additional doses, with all symptoms completely resolved.
To consolidate the effect and prevent recurrence, I advised him to regularly drink tea made with 10 grams of Bai Zhu and to eat a handful of raw pumpkin seeds (about 15 grams) daily. Six months later, when I saw him again, he reported that he had recovered and had not relapsed, with a noticeable improvement in his constitution.
In the above case, the herbs I used each have their unique benefits. Bai Zhu and Cang Zhu are effective in drying dampness and strengthening the spleen, promoting the spleen’s ability to ascend clear Qi, allowing the heat evil of damp-heat syndrome to be eliminated; Hua Shi, Dong Gua Zi, and Long Dan Cao promote dampness elimination, allowing the Qi mechanism to flow smoothly; Feng Fang can warm the kidney and assist Yang, kill parasites, and detoxify, combined with Hong Teng and Wu Gong, can treat the toxins transformed from long-standing damp-heat stagnation; Ku Shen clears heat and dries dampness, targeting the dampness in the intestines, while Long Dan Cao clears heat and dries dampness, targeting the dampness in the liver channel; the two work together to eliminate dampness effectively.
Another herb worth noting in the formula is Dong Gua Zi. This herb uplifts Yang and eliminates dampness, and its efficacy is particularly remarkable. According to “Chinese Herbal Medicine,” its effects include moistening the lungs, transforming phlegm, dissipating abscesses, and promoting urination. The “Tai Shi Herbal Compendium” states: “Using Dong Gua Zi to treat lung diseases and intestinal abscesses is recorded in the ‘Jin Kui Yao Lue.’ However, since winter melon is a vegetable, how can its seeds have such effects? It is commonly observed that winter melon seeds thrown into pig manure pits do not rot, and the following year, wherever pig manure is used, winter melons naturally grow. The winter melons that grow in filth have a sweet and light taste, making them very palatable. Observing this phenomenon, one can understand that winter melon seeds ‘are extremely good at growing clear amidst the turbid, and their seeds have strong resistance, making them a particularly light and clear product.’ Based on the characteristics of Dong Gua Zi to uplift clear and descend turbid, it is effective in treating cough, phlegm, lung abscesses, intestinal abscesses, gynecological leukorrhea, and the damp turbidity that occurs during damp-heat diseases, showing significant efficacy.
Damp-heat induced gynecological diseases
Patient Liu, 45 years old, presented with abnormal leukorrhea for three months, worsening over the past week.
The patient reported that three months ago, she began to experience abnormal leukorrhea, which was curd-like, yellowish in color, and had a fishy odor, accompanied by a feeling of heaviness and slight pain in the lower abdomen. After undergoing routine gynecological examinations in the hospital, her leukorrhea showed white blood cells +++, and there was mild erosion of the cervix. After vaginal irrigation and medication for a week, her symptoms improved, but a week ago, without any obvious cause, her condition worsened again. She self-purchased gynecological medicine but did not improve, prompting her to seek traditional Chinese medicine treatment.
Upon examination, her tongue coating was thin, yellow, and greasy, with teeth marks on the tongue. Upon pulse diagnosis, the right Guan pulse was tight and the right Cun pulse was soft. The preliminary diagnosis was gynecological leukorrhea.
The prescription was as follows: Cang Zhu (Atractylodes), Huang Bai (Phellodendron), Yi Yi Ren (Job’s Tears), Chao Bai Zhu (Fried White Atractylodes), Dong Gua Zi (Winter Melon Seed), Ku Shen (Sophora), Hong Teng (Sargentodoxa), Tu Fu Ling (Smilax), Sheng Gan Cao (Raw Licorice), Huai Shan (Chinese Yam), Huang Qi (Astragalus).
After taking more than ten doses (with slight adjustments to the formula), her leukorrhea returned to normal, and routine gynecological examinations showed that the cervical erosion had disappeared.
In this case of damp-heat induced leukorrhea, I still adopted the treatment principles of strengthening the spleen, eliminating dampness, uplifting Yang, and clearing heat, drying dampness, and detoxifying, achieving excellent results. Of course, the key here is still to eliminate dampness and uplift Yang.
| Traditional Chinese Dietary Therapy|
The best doctor is yourself, the best hospital is the kitchen.
The best medicine is food, and the best efficacy is persistence.