A Reminder of Hot & Cold symptoms &signs

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Welcome to new members.

 

From time to time I repeat stuff on here as a learning tool and for new

members.

 

Hot and Cold are key concepts in TCM. Most of the worst treatment errors in

TCM come from healers not understanding Hot and Cold.

 

People can be too Hot or too Cold in general or in a specific part of their

bodies, or a condition can be Hot or Cold.

 

In general, herbs (or mixtures of herbs) with cooling energy are given to

people and for conditions that are too Hot; herbs with warming energy are

given to people or for conditions who are too Cold.

 

The symptoms and signs of a person who is too Hot is that the person will

bothered by hot weather, will tend to feel hot a lot, and will have trouble

cooling down. The person feels thirsty a lot and prefers cold drinks.

Redness is a sign of Heat. The complexion and the tongue tissue will be

red. The tongue coating is yellow. The pulse and the person's speech and

movements will tend to be rapid. Heat speeds things up. The urine will be

concentrated and dark, and there may be little of it. A person who is too

Hot will tend towards constipation characterized by hard, dry stools. (Heat

dries.) In cases of pain and discomfort, application of cool will help the

person whereas application of heat will make the person worse.

 

People who are too Cold will be bothered by cold weather, will tend to feel

too cold a lot, and will have trouble warming up. This person is seldom

thirsty, and when s/he does drink prefers warm liquids. Paleness or

whiteness is a sign of Cold. The complexion, the tongue tissue, and the

coating of the tongue will be white or pale. The pulse and the person's

speech and movements will tend to be slow. Cold slows things down. The

urine will be light-colored or clear, and there may be a lot of it. The

bowel movements tend to be loose or mushy. In cases of pain and discomfort,

application of heat will help the person whereas application of cold will

make the person worse.

 

It's not uncommon for a person to be both too Hot and too Cold. For

example, a person may be too Cold overall but have Heat trapped in the

Liver, Heart, Lungs, etc. Qi (energy which flows throughout the body)

Stagnation (the energy isn't flowing, is trapped) can produce localized

Heat. Think of a pressure cooker. The reason temperatures inside a pressure

cooker can build up so much higher than is possible with just regular

cooking is because the pressure increases. When Qi Stagnates, Heat can build

up. When a pathogen or Pernicious Evil becomes trapped in the Lungs, Heat

builds up. Likewise, parts of the body that are receiving insuffient Qi flow

may be too Cold even though the person is too Hot overall.

 

One pattern you may see from time to time is Cold in the lower body and Heat

in the upper body. This often will be a sign that the person suffers from

worms or some other parsitic infection. But, you may also see this pattern

in some menopausal women.

 

In TCM there also are True Heat, False Cold, and True Cold, False Heat. In

these cases there may be one or even two symptoms of Heat or Cold, but the

overwhelming number of indicators will be of the True condition. For

example, a person suffering from True Heat, False Cold may have skin that is

cold to the touch and even feel too cold to the person, but the tongue

tissue will be red, the coating yellow, and the pulse rapid. In addition

there may be scanty, dark urine; constipation characterized by dry stools,

etc. The " Cold " condition of the surface of the body is caused by Heat

trapped within the Interior. This is a case of True Heat, False Cold.

 

Likewise, a person may have red-colored tongue tissue but all the other

indicators will be of Cold. This is a case of True Cold, False Heat. It's

also a very serious condition. The last of the person's Yang (warming)

energy has floated to the surface and is giving a false indicaiton of Heat.

 

In true cases of mixed Cold and Heat, the tongue usually will be different

colors in different places. For example, most of the tongue may be pale

(sign of Cold) while the tip is red (can be a sign of localized Heat in the

Lungs and Heart). The person is too Cold overall, but Heat is buidling or

trapped in the Heart and/or Lungs. Often this will be due to Qi Stagnation

or Phlegm blockage (Dampness which is not being moved and has stayed along

so long it's congealed into Phlegm).

 

Victoria

 

 

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[Guest guest]

You're welcome.

 

Victoria

>I am new to the list.. and I want to express my thanks for the overview you

>that sent me .. it was very informative.

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Victoria..

 

I am new to the list.. and I want to express my thanks for the overview you

that sent me .. it was very informative.

 

Aromatically,

Rosanne