Protective Qi Deficiency & weather sensitivity

[Guest guest]

> Your message about the " Kidney Yang & Kidney Yin Deficiency "

perfectly

> described me - I always thought that I did not adjust to the weather

> well, hot or cold, as I age.

 

Before I go into the effects of long-term Kidney Deficiency (and Blood

Deficiency) on weather sensitivity, I want to go into the #1 cause of

weather sensitivity: Protective Qi Deficiency.

 

There are different types of Qi. One of these, Protective Qi (aka

Defensive Qi) circulates at the surface of the body. It's what

prevents Pernicious Evils (Wind, Cold, Heat, Dampness, and Dryness)

from invading the body. In theory, if one's Protective Qi is strong

enough all the time, one will never be bothered by Pernicious Evils

invading. Or things like colds, flu, etc.

 

A needed sidebar here: The connection between Pernicious Evils

invading and a person coming down with a cold, catching the flu, or

coming down with some other Cold-Induced Illness is that the invading

Evil changes the body in such a way as to make it more susceptible to

infection. A classic example is the way people who live in houses

that are too dry in the winter are more prone to catching colds,

developing sinus problems, and coming down with the flu than people in

houses (and offices) which have proper moisture. (Neither too much nor

too little.)

 

However, the effects of weather and artificial weather (furnances, air

conditioning, fans, hair dryers, etc.) are not limited to the nasal

passages. The effects can go deeper. For example, Western science now

recognizes that tissues inside the body will swell slightly in some

people when the barometric pressure drops. Changes in barometric

pressure (as well as changes in ion concentrations and the actual

wind) fall under the concept of Wind in TCM. This slight swelling can

trigger pain and Qi Stagnation. TCM recognizes arthritis and

rheumatism as Wind-Cold-Damp Invasion disorders.

 

The difference between acute, once-in-a-while arthritic attacks and

chronic day-to-day arthritis often is weather sensitivity due to

Protective Qi Deficiency and that in which Blood Deficiency and/or

chronic Yang Deficiency play a role. When you check books like

Giovanni Maciocia's The Practice of , you'll see that

the treatments for acute episodes of arthritis and chronic episodes of

arthritis are different. The treatment principle for acute Painful

Obstruction Syndrome (aka Bi Syndrome, aka arthritis) is to warm the

Exterior and expel Dampness and Wind. And supplement the Protective Qi

if needed. (People can be temporarily Protective Qi Deficient for a

variety of reasons, or the Deficiency may be so mild that only extreme

changes in weather can cause problems. Like a week of cold, damp

weather, and the person being out in it a lot. Note: Wind also is

playing a role here because rain and lowered barometric pressure

frequently go hand-in-hand.)

 

Chronic arthritis is a different matter. In addition to the general

principles of expeling Cold, Damp, and Wind, other problems have to be

addressed. These include Qi and/or Blood Deficiency (not just

Protective Qi Deficiency but an overall Qi Deficiency and usually a

weak Spleen which is causing the Blood and the Qi Deficiency), Phlegm

in joints, Blood Stasis, and Liver and Kidney Deficiency. (Maciocia,

p. 582, Fig. 23.2.)

 

Some of the items on this list are " Branches " of physiological

processes. They have to be treated in order to get rid of the

arthritis, but they're not the Root. For example, Phlegm in joints and

Blood Stasis aren't enabling Wind, Cold, and Dampness to invade. But

they have to be resolved because even by themselves - without Wind-

Cold-Damp invasion - they cause pain. And if Wind-Cold-Damp does

invade, their effects will be felt most strongly where there is Blood

Stasis and Phlegm.

 

On the other hand, long-term Blood Deficiency and/or Kidney Yang

Deficiency will actually make the body more susceptible to invasion by

Exterior Pernicious Evils.

 

It's a mistake to think of the body's defensives against exterior

Pernicious Evils solely in terms of Protective Qi. Protective Qi is

the first line of defense, but if this was all there was, every time

an Evil invaded it would shoot straight to the Interior. The reason

Blood Deficiency plays such a role in stopping invading Evils is that

is " nourishes and moistens " tissues. Properly nourished tissues can

better perform what they do to stop Pernicious Evils than tissues

which aren't properly nourished. The reason that Yang Deficiency plays

a role is that one of the functions of Yang is to activate. This

includes the body's other defenses. That and Cold from any source can

play a role in Blood Stasis, which in term can cause a localized Blood

Deficiency. If the Blood isn't getting to the area, it's not

nourishing the area.

 

So what are some of the indications that one is looking not at just a

Protective Qi Deficiency but possible Blood Deficiency and/or Yang

Deficiency in someone who is bothered by the weather? Amount, degree,

and duration.

 

Anybody can have a bad Qi day. The Spleen and Lungs (Protective Qi is

a function of the Lungs though the Spleen plays a critical role in

accumulation of all types of Qi) may temporarily be performing

poorly. The person stayed up too late, ate too many sweets, is

obsessing over something, is grieving, etc. What usually happens in

people who are temporarily Protective Qi Deficient from time to time

is that they will only react to one or two external Pernicious Evils.

Whatever there is a preexisting weakness for. For example, the cold of

winter may really bother them, but they sail through summer with no

problems. Dampness per se doesn't bother them, only if it's Cold Damp.

On the other hand, the worse Blood Deficiency and Yang Deficiency get

and the longer they go on, the more Pernicious Evils the person will

be bothered by. These people react to anything. If it's too hot, too

cold, windy, too damp, too dry, they have trouble. Any and all

Pernicious Evils. You usually don't see this reacting to everything in

people who are just Protective Qi Deficient. At least not until

Protective Qi Deficiency has gone on for a long, long time. And if

it's gone on for a long, long time, it's gone on because the Spleen is

weak - which means there is generalized Qi and Blood Deficiency

because the Spleen plays a critical role in both Qi accumulation and

the manufacture of Blood. The number of Pernicious Evils the person is

susceptible to can indicate Blood and/or Yang Deficiency playing a

role.

 

The degree of reaction is also important. In a person who is just

Protective Qi Deficient, it may take say temperatures in the 30s F to

cause problems. On the other hand, temperatures in the 60s F can

cause problems for a person who is Blood and/or Yang Deficient. In a

person who is just Protective Qi Deficient, a drop of say 10 degrees F

in one hour will cause problems. But a drop in one hour of 5 or even

less can cause a problem in someone who is Blood and/or Qi Deficient.

In people who are Blood and/or Yang Deficient, the difference between

day and nighttime temperatures can be enough to cause problems.

Especially when there's Yang Deficiency. The person will tend to have

more problems at night than during the day. Even if the nighttime

temperatures are fairly warm like in summer. The degree of reacting

can indicate Blood Deficiency and/or Yang Deficiency.

 

Finally, the duration of the problems can indicate if there is Blood

Deficiency and Yang Deficiency in addition to Protective Qi

Deficiency. If it's just Protective Qi Deficiency, the problems are

over relatively quickly. " Relatively quickly " may mean a day or two

or even longer in some cases, but that is " relatively quickly "

compared the problems going on and on and on like is the case with

Blood and/or Yang Deficiency. Eventually the body usually will adjust

to the weather change in a person who is just Protective Qi Deficient.

Not so in the case of Blood and/Yang Deficiency. In the former case,

the person may have a few rough days when the weather first turns

cold, but gets through most of the rest of the winter OK (except for

unsually cold weather or really sudden and big drops in temperature).

Not so with the latter. They never really warm up in the winter.

Especially if it's Yang Deficiency.

 

One of the paradoxes of Blood Deficiency is that even though it

sometimes will go along with the person feeling too cold, one of the

symptoms of Blood Deficiency is that the person will be bothered by

both extremes in cold and heat. Both summer and winter.

 

When Pernicious Evils invade, they follow a route moving from the

Exterior to the Interior. The " Exterior " of the body is the head,

neck, arms, legs, hair, skin, muscles, meridians, and bones. The

Interior is the Organs. Even when they invade the meridians (paths of

Qi flow), there is a sequence. The Bladder and Small Intestine

meridians are the most Exterior of the meridians and get hit first.

There also is a sequence for the Organs, with the Lungs being the most

exterior of the Interior. Sometimes the Evil will zoom right through

meridians or Organs, not " stopping " .

 

One of the best herbs for supplementing Protective Qi is astragalus.

One can check the message base for astragalus or Google for it.

WARNING: IF A PERNICIOUS EVIL HAS ALREADY INVADED OR THE PERSON HAS AN

INFECTION, EXPEL THE PERNCIOUS EVIL OR GET RID OF THE INFECTION BEFORE

TAKING ASTRAGALUS. The reason for this is that any Qi tonic herb

can " feed " the Pernicious Evil. IF the person has to have a tonic

before the Evil is expelled, consult a trained TCM herbalist or OMD

(Oriental Medicine Doctor).