The TCM effects of Cold from the environment

[Guest guest]

This is a general post for the readers who are new to TCM.

 

TCM pays a lot more attention to the effects of weather and

environment on people than Western allopathic medicine does.

 

Cold in the environment - like Wind, Dryness, Dampness, and Heat - can

invade the body and cause problems. Usually these " Pernicious Evils "

invade the Exterior first (head, neck, shouders, arms, legs, skin,

muscles, meridians, and bones), and if not expelled, can work their

way into the Interior (trunk of the body, specifically the Organs).

 

Cold is different. It can invade some of the Organs directly from the

envrionment. These Organs are the Stomach, the Large Intestine, and

the Small Intestine. In addition, the Uterus also can be invaded

directly. (Students, these are all hollow Organs, and remember that

Prtective Qi also circulates at the surface of the Stomach and

Intestines in addition to the surface of the body.)

 

In TCM, arthritis is seen as due to Cold, Damp, and/or Wind invading

the body. It can enter the meridians directly too and give rise to

Painful Obstruction Syndrome, aka Bi Syndrome, aka arthritis.

 

" Cold contracts tissues and it obstructs the circulation of Yang Qi

and Blood causing pain. There is a saying: " Retention of cold causes

pain " . Pain is therefore a frequent manifestation of Cold. Other

symptoms are stiffrness, contraction of tendons and chilliness. "

(Giovanni Maiocia, The Foundations of , p. 297.)

 

TCM recognizes that both Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis can manifest

as pain. Cold can cause both Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis. (Cold

isn't the only possible cause of Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis, but

it is one of the possible causes.)

 

Circulating at the surface of the body (and the surface of certain

hollow Organs) is a special kind of Qi called Defensive Qi or

Protective Qi that protects the body from invasion by Pernicious Evils

from the environment. (To put this in more modern terms, it prevents

certain changes being triggered in the body due to weather conditions.

Homeostasis is preserved.) People with weak Protective Qi can be

weather sensitive. They can be weather sensitive in general, but more

so to some Pernicious Evils in the environment than to others. For

example, a person who is already suffering from Interior Cold will

tend to be particularly sensitive to Cold in the environment. A

person who is already suffering from Interior Dampness is going to

tend to be particularly sensitive to Dampness in the environment. Etc.

 

An individual's Protective Qi is not constant. It can wax and wane

acording to certain activities of the person. For example, pigging

out at a party on sweets, going without enough sleep during exam week,

eating on the run because of a hectic schedule, and overtime work are

some of the things that temporarily can reduce Protective Qi and leave

the person vulnerable to Invasion by Perncious Evils.

 

Acute cases of arthritis are due to the Protective Qi being

temporarily weak, and Wind, Cold, and/ or Damp temporarily invading

the meridians. Chronic arthritis occurs when the Protective Qi stays

weak and when the person has suffered for some time from Qi Deficiency

(in general) and Blood Deficieny. For the beginning students: In

these cases of chronic arthritis, the person almost always has a weak

Spleen. The Spleen plays a major role in both the accumulation of Qi

and the production of Blood, so if arthritis is chronic, and chronic

arthritis occurs against a backdrop of Qi and/ or Blood Deficiency,

suspect and rule in or rule out Spleen Deficiency because it plays a

critical role in both Qi and Blood production. (The Kidneys also play

a critical role in Blood production. The Lungs play a critical role

in Qi accumulation and especially in Protective Qi.

 

When Pernicious Evils invade, they tend to go from what is most

Exterior to what is more Interior. The skin is affected first. The

pores close. Next the muscles are affected, then the meridians, and

then the bones as a general rule. If the Invading Pernicious Evil is

not expelled, it can progress into the Interior, i.e., the Organs.

The " deepness " of the meridians even play a role in how quickly they

can be invaded. In general the Bladder meridian and the Small

Intestine meridian will be affected first because these two meridians

are the most Exterior of the meridians. Arthritis isn't the only

condition triggered by Pernicious Evils invading. The common cold has

a factor of Wind Cold or Wind Heat invasion. Many (but not all)

medical conditions have a weather-related factor. They all don't

because some medical conditions are due to Evils arising within the

Interior. Like when a person becomes too Hot because he or she eats

do many warming foods. Or like when Dampness arises because the

person eats too many Damp-engendering foods like dairy and wheat. Or

when Wind arises in the Interior because of Blood Deficiency. (Readers

who are new to TCM, don't worry about what this means. I just wanted

to give you the general idea that Pernicious Evils can invade from the

environment or arise within the Interior.)

 

Cold invading from the environment causes pores to close. This is why

the treatment for conditions arising from Cold invasion

includes " herbs that Warm the Exterior and expel Cold. " Herbs like

RAW ginger and cinnamon twigs. (Dried ginger and cinnamon bark warm

the Interior.) The herbs that warm the Exterior and expel Cold are

herbs that cause sweating. You want those pores open so the Pernicious

Evil(s) can escape. The often-used analogy in TCM is when a thief is

in the house, you don't want to lock the thief in. You open the

windows and doors so the thief will leave. That's the easiest and best

method for getting a thief out of your house. Don't lock him in so he

can steal more and put up a fight when cornered. Note: Inducing

sweating is only appropriate in the beginning stages of the common

cold due to Wind Cold. If the common cold has progressed to a more

serious stage, inducing sweating can hurt the person. Other

treatments are appropriate for other stages of illnesses that are

classified as 6-Stages of Cold-Induced Illnesses. (But don't worry for

now about what the 6 stages are or their appropriate treatments.) Some

of the arthritis rubs that produce localize sweating also are giving

the Cold a route to be expelled.

 

Cold contracts and it slows down. Some of the symptoms and signs of

Cold imbalnce are the person moves and talks slower than normal, and

the pulse is slow. (There are exceptions to the pulse being slow.

Like with some overweight people.) The complexion and the tongue

tissue are pale.

 

If you live in an area which is cold, and you're currently

experiencing sore or even painful muscles, a feeling of muscles being

too " hard " (too contracted), and you're feeling stiff, chances are

you're experiencing Painful Obstruction Syndrome, aka Bi Syndrome.

Later on the condition may affect the joints, and you'll feel the

painful joints of arthritis. Remember, when Pernicious Evils invade,

they tend to move from what is most Exterior to what is deeper.

 

The temperature at which a person feels too cold (or too hot) varies

for different people. Back when I was so Yang Deficient (aka

Deficiency Cold - not enough Yang to warm the body correctly) and

living in a desert area, it had to warm up to the mid-80s F before I

felt warm. Anything less, and my body was reacting like other people

react to temperatures 10 to 20 or more degrees colder. People like

this may also have problems with air conditioning in the summer. I now

live in a non-desert area, and when I use air conditioning, I usually

set it on 78 degrees F. During the most humid time of the summer, I

may cut it down to 75 F. (Note: Moist air holds more heat than dry

air. Heat and temperature are not the same thing. When I lived in the

desert, AC set on 80 F was usually too cold for me. But most people

living in desert areas cool by adding humidity to the air -

evaporative coolers, aka " swamp " coolers. They work best when it's

driest. As the monsoon (rainy season) approaches and humidity builds

up, they're less and less effective at cooling.)

 

A note for the chiropractors and D.O.s on the list. Sometimes you run

into patients that adjustments don't last on. Sometimes this is due to

the person having a Cold imbalance. (And there may be Protective Qi

Deficiency problems as well.) Cold contracts. In susceptible

individuals, the muscles can conract so much that the spine keeps

being pulled out of alignment. Magnesium deficiency also can cause

muscles to stay too contracted because muscles need Mg in order to

relax properly. Adjustments frequently don't last in people who are

having Mg deficiency problems. (Note: Too much Mg like too little can

be fatal.)

 

For the beginning TCM readers: Very often people will feel cold along

part of the course of a meridian - especially the Bladder and Small

Intestine meridians because these are closer to the surface than the

other meridians and the first to be affected. Anytime there is

something unusual along part of the course of a meridian - feelings of

cold or heat, redness or other discoloration, tingling, numbness,

etc. - this is an indication that something may be wrong within the

meridian. (Those new to TCM and beginning students may want to check

out charts of the Bladder and Small Intestine to get a general idea of

where these meridians flow since they usually are the first affected

by invasions of Pernicious Evils. Some readers new to TCM may even be

experiencing sensations along these meridians and have no idea that

these sensations are related to problems they're having like headaches

(some, not all headaches are due to Pernicious Evils, especially Cold,

invading, allergy-like symptoms, etc.

 

When a problem is due to Cold invasion, it will be improved by heat

and worsened by applications of cold. (And vice versa for Heat

problems.) When pain is due to Cold, a heating pad can work wonders.

Sometimes the pad works best when placed over the area where the pain

is. But sometimes it's best to place the heating pad(s) over certain

key acupoints in the Bladder and/or Small Intestine meridians.

Students will learn more about what points as they progress in their

studies.

 

For the students: Wind invasion can cause allergy-like symptoms - like

runny nose. Wind readily teams up with other Pernicious Evils to

cause problems. Like those of Wind Cold or Wind Heat. " Cold is often

manifested with thin, watery and clear fluid discharges, such as a

clear-white discharge from the nose, very pale urine, watery-loose

stools and clear-watery vaginal discharges. " (Maciocia, p. 297.) He's

talking about both Exterior and Interior Cold. In the case of clear

or white discharge from the nose, that's an indication of Exterior

Cold. Cold that has invaded the Exterior of the body from the

environment. Changes in urine, bowel movement, and vaginal secretions

are indicative of Interior problems. The Cold has either invaded all

the way to the Interior from the environment, or it has arisen in the

Interior. As you get deeper into your studies, you'll start to

automatically think in terms of Exterior and Interior symptoms. When

people present with symptoms involving the head - nasal secretions,

problems with the eyes, some headaches, you'll automatically

think " Exterior " as a possibility and rule in and out. You'll need to

rule in or out because certain Interior imbalances also can manifest

as headaches, problems with the eyes (Liver imbalance), etc. or be co-

factors like in the case of chronic arthritis. If a fundamental bodily

process has been affected - breathing, urination, bowel movement,

digestion - there is a problem in the Interior. You'll find yourself

automatically thinking (possible) " Exterior " or thinking " Interior "

when you hear a symptom or note a sign. TCM has several diagnostic

models. One of the most basic and one of the ones you'll first learn

is the 8 Principle Patterns. This one looks at Exterior/ Interior,

Excess/ Deficieny, Hot/ Cold, Yang/ Yin. The 8 priciple patterns. As

you learn more and more, the day will come when you quickly run

through all the appropriate diagnostic models. It will become such

second nature to you and so quick that you won't even put most of the

steps into thought in your mind. You'll just zero in on certain things.