Dampness & the Spleen

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" Dampness " is one of the 6 " Pernicious Evils " : Wind, Cold, Heat,

Dampness, Dryness, and Fire.

 

Pernicious Evils can " invade " the body from the environment, or they

can arise within the Interior of the body due to various factors.

For example, cold in the environment can trigger certain changes in

the body. As the Cold invades, the Exterior of the body is affected

first. The term " Exterior " refers to the head, neck, arms, legs,

skin, muscles, meridians (pathways of Qi flow), and bones. The

term " Interior " refers to the Organs.

 

Cold - like the other Pernicious Evils - can invade from the

environment, or it can arise in the Interior. One way it can arise

in the Interior is if the person consumes too many foods or herbs

with a cooling effect on the body. Another way Cold can arise in the

body is if Kidney Yang is Deficient. Since Yang warms, activates,

and dries, when Yang is Deficient, there's not enough Yang to warm

the body properly.

 

Dampness also can invade from the environment or arise within the

Interior.

 

" Dampness is a Yin pathogenic factor and it tends to injure Yang.

Dampness refers not only to damp weather, but also to damp living

donditions, such as living in damp houses. Exterior Dampness can

also be caught by wearing wet clothes, wading in water, working in

damp places or sitting on damp ground. " (The Foundations of Chinese

Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia, p. 298.)

 

Dampness also can arise in the Interior because the person eats too

many Damp-engendering foods like dairy or wheat. Dampness also can

arise because the Spleen is weak.

 

A reminder that TCM Organs are not equivalent to anatomical organs.

TCM Organs are collections of functions. The TCM concept of the

Spleen includes many of the functions of the pancreas, and some

Western writers even use the term " Spleen-pancreas " when writing

about the Spleen.

 

In TCM physiology, one of the main functions of the Spleen Qi is

to " transport and transform " fluid in the body. If the Spleen

becomes weakened and the Spleen Qi Deficient, fluids no longer will

be properly transported and transformed. Dampness accumulates.

Anything that weakens the Spleen and Spleen Qi can result in

Dampness: Overwork, not getting proper rest, improper diet, eating

on the run, eating when upset, irregular meals, eating too much or

too little, eating too many raw foods, eating chilled foods, eating

too many foods with a cooling effect on the body, studying too much,

becoming pensive, and Dampness.

 

The relationship between the Spleen and Dampness is one of those

snowballing situations that TCM is so good at recognizing. The

Spleen is most vulnerable to Dampness. (It's also very vulnerable to

Cold.) Once the Spleen is weakened, there is less Spleen Qi. Fluids

do not get " transported and transformed " as they should, and

Dampness accumulates. The more Dampness accumulates, the more the

Spleen is damaged. It's a snowballing situation.

 

Maciocia writes, " External Dampness tends to infure Spleen-Yang and

impair its function of transformation and transportation. After the

initial attack, therefore, the Spleen will become deficient which,

in turn, will tend to produce more Dampness. At that point, it will

be impossible to distinguish exterior from interior Dampness. " (p.

298.)

 

I don't want to leave the impression that invasion from the

environment is the only thing that can start this snowballing cycle,

but I wanted to emphasize this paragraph because of something else

we'll be tooking at in regards to Dampness.

 

Pernicious Evils have a tendency to team up with other Pernicious

Evils. Dampness sometimes teams up with Heat (Damp Heat) or with

Cold (Damp Cold). Damp Heat problems tend to be more common in the

southeat part of the US than in other parts of the country because

the climate in this part of the country is hotter and damper than in

other parts of the country. Plus, the traditional Southern diet

which often includes a lot of grease doesn't help things. But even

in hot and humid areas where the diet is good overall, one tends to

see more cases of Damp Heat than in less hot and less humid

areas.Just like one tends to see more cases of Dryness in desert

areas than in areas that are more humid. However, Damp Heat problems

aren't limited to hot and humid climates just like Dry problems

aren't limited to desert areas. For example, gall stones is one

possible manifestation of Damp Heat in the Gall Bladder, and gall

stones aren't limited to people in hot and humid areas.

 

The Chinese consider diet to be the first line of defense in health.

This is true of all imbalances. BUT diet is particularly important

when it comes to treating Dampness problems because of some things

about Dampness that makes it hard to get rid of once it sets in. For

one thing, it's a snowballing situation with a weak Spleen allowing

Dampness to accumulate which further weakens the Spleen which leads

to even more Dampness accumulating, and so on. For another thing,

Dampness is sticky. Anyone who has ever scrubbed up a sticky spill

knows how much harder it is to clean up a sticky spill than one that

is not sticky. In another post I'll be giving some of the general,

basic dietary guidelines for treating Dampness.

 

I don't want to go too much into TCM physiology in this post, but I

do want to mention that all food and drink have " pure " and " impure "

portions. You'll also see this translated as " clear " and " turbid "

portions. The " pure " or " clear " is sent to one area of the body, and

the " impure " or turbid " is sent to another. Digestion in TCM is

viewed as a series of refining steps in which the clear is separated

from the turbid with the clear being sent where it's needed and the

the turbid or impure eventually being eliminated from the body. For

example, the clear portion of liquids is separated and sent to the

Lungs where among other things it provides proper moistening. The

turbid portion is sent further down the digestive and urinary tracts

where it is further separated. This is part of what is meant by the

term " transforming and transporting " .