Pernicious Evils

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TCM pays a lot more attention to the effects of weather than does Western

medicine. When a weather condition is attacking the " surface " of the body

(meridians, arms, legs, head, neck, or muscles), this is called an Exterior

Pernicious Evil. For example, the stuffy nose and sinuses that can come

from Exterior Wind Cold or Exterior Wind Heat. Being outside without proper

protection in weather that is too cold and windy can trigger congestion in

the sinuses and nose. One reason why seasonal allergies tend to effect more

people in the spring than at other times of the year and to be more severe

in the spring is that wind is more common in the spring than at other times

of the year. In some cases, the person who has nasal and sinus congestion

and is sneezing may not have allergies at all. It's the effect of the wind.

In cases where the person does have allergies, the suffering from the

allergies is greater at this time of year than in other seasons because the

wind is an additional factor. Like adding gasoline to a fire.

 

The Pernicious Evils are Cold, Heat, Wind, Dampness, Dryness, and Fire.

 

Sometimes an Exterior Pernicious Evil can invade to the Interior if

Protective Qi is weak or the Pernicious Evil is unusually strong. A good

example is the common cold, or Wind Cold (or Wind Heat) as it is known in

TCM. The common cold is *one* of the possible manifestations of Wind Cold

(or in some cases Wind Heat) attacking the Exterior. If the person's

Protective Qi (overall resistence) is weak, the Wind Cold (and the virus)

can penetrate to the Interior. What starts out as achy muscles and

stuffiness in the nose and sinuses, progresses to congestion in the Lungs

and more serious manifestations. The Wind Cold is priming the person to

receive the virus, and the weak Protective Qi is allowing the Wind Cold and

the virus to penetrate to the Interior (Lung congestion).

 

If the Wind Cold becomes trapped in the Lungs (or another part of the

Interior), it can turn into the Fire of pneumonia. Any Pernicious Evil can

turn into destructive Fire if it becomes trapped and hangs around long

enough.

 

Exterior Pernicious Evils can invade to the Interior and cause problems. For

example, Western scientists have found that falling barometic pressure

(Wind) can cause the tissues in some people to swell slightly. This can

trigger headaches (headaches can be a symptom of Exterior attack) in some of

these people. If the condition goes on long enough, nausea may start to

accompany the headache. Nausea and other symptoms affecting the trunk of the

body are signs of Interior attact. The Exterior attack has penetrated to the

Interior. Or, to put this in more Western terms, the falling barometric

pressure triggered a slight swelling of tissues which is enough in

susceptible individuals to trigger a headache, and if this goes on long

enough and is severe enough, changes start occuring in other parts of the

body resulting in symptoms like nausea.

 

But, Interior Pernicious Evils can arise from other factors. Liver Wind is a

good example. Liver Wind is a condition that arises in the Interior of the

body. Extreme Heat can generate Liver Wind. So can Deficiency of Liver Yin

which results in Liver Yang Rising. Liver Blood Deficiency also can cause

it. What is happening is that internal conditions in the body are

generating effects that are similar to the effects that Wind has on the

body. Liver Wind can be extremely dangerous. One of the possible

manifestations of Liver Wind is stroke.

 

Victoria

 

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