✵The Dampness disease is any disease caused by dampness, usually with symptoms such as distending pain and swelling of joints, heaviness sensation of the body, watery diarrhea, or edema.
✵Herbalist Zhang Zhongjing defined the Dampness disease in about 13 syndromes. These syndromes are all defined in details by his famous works:
Dampness disease.
✦ Dampness disease, flowing to various locations, from internal to external, from top to bottom, varies with the pathogens, and show various syndromes, treat accordingly with methods, without losing the outline.
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✦Dampness disease, attack the top, caused by pathogen of dew and mist(fog), symptoms headache, stiff neck(rigid neck,nape rigidity), double forehead pain, floating pulse and stingy;
✦ Dampness disease, attack the lower, caused by the pathogen of water coldness, feel heaviness below the waist, swelling feet, pulse collapsing(deep pulse) and uneven pulse;
✦ Dampness disease, is outside, contending with the wind pathogen, flow and enter into the meridian and channels, bone knot pain, Lie down and not eat(lie down and low appetite), pulse floating and moderate, and uneven pulse when pressed, oral with cassia decoction and slight sweating, eliminate the wind and dampness; In case fear cold, body aches and pains, insensitivity of the limbs, pulse floating and fine tight this is the Cold-Qi.
✦ Dampness disease, is inside, contending with the spleen, come on and presented as abdominal distension, with the attack of stomach cold, turned into diarrhea(loose bowels). In the case it goes upward and attack the lung, presented as pulmonary cold; In the case it goes down and attack the kidney, presented as dripping(dribbling urinary); In the case it flow into the muscles, presented as yellow swelling; In the case it flows into the meridian and channels, attack with heat Qi, presented as abscess of carbuncle; In the case the spleen and stomach cold, dampness accumulated in long period, presented as retained fluid or contending with the dryness, presented as phlegmatic fluid(phlegm retention, phlegm and retained fluid), treatment should follow methods for retentions.
✦TaiYang disease, joint pain and vexation(fidgets), pulse deep and fine, this is the damp impediment. The symptoms of damp impediment, know including difficulty in micturition(difficulty in urination), defecation fast, the treatment should disinhibit urine(free urine).
✦ The disease caused by dampness, pain on the body, fever, appearance color smoked yellow.
✧The disease caused by dampness, the patient perspiring on head, stiffback,want to covering with blanket and warm by a fire, if treat with purgative method early, then vomiting, thoracic fullness, difficulty in micturition(difficulty in urination), slippery tongue coating, for the cause heat in the Dantian, cold in the chest, thirsty and want to drink water, but could not drink, for the cause mouth dryness and vexation.
✧ The disease caused by dampness, treat with the purgative method, perspiring on the head, slight panting, uninhibited urination, serious; In case of incessant diarrhea, serious too.
✧Ask:wind and dampness contending with each, the whole body ached with pain, treatment result should be recovery following sweating, while weather continuous shade and rain, herbalists said treatment should induce perspiration, but with perspiration the patient not recovered, then why?
✧ Master said: induce perspiration, in case of great sweating, the wind pathogen dispelled only, dampness is still inside, so not recovered. In the case treat wind dampness disease, induce perspiration, till slightly perspiration, wind, and dampness all gone.
✧The disease caused by dampness, ache and pain all over, fever, face appearance yellow and breathe heavily, headache, nasal obstruction(stuffy nose) and vexation, pulse large, able to drink and eat, normal sensation in abdomen without disease, sick in the head cold dampness, result the nasal obstruction(stuffy nose), put the recipe in the nose, then it will recover.
✧ The disease caused by dampness, ache and pain all over body and vexation, should better induce perspiration, and should not treat with fire method.
✦ The disease caused by dampness, ache and pain all over the body, fever, fever aggravation in the afternoon, this is known as wind-damp. This disease caused by wind pathogen attack in perspiration(in sweating), or chronic hurt attack by coldness.
✧The wind-damp, pulse floating, body heaviness, perspiration, fear wind.
✦ Exogenous febrile disease eight to nine days, wind and dampness contending with each, could not turn around or turn aside, not vomiting, no thirsty, pulse floating feeble uneven, better use for treatment; in the case hard stool, uninhibited urination, better use for treatment.
✦ Wind and dampness contending with each, joint pain and vexation, dragging pain, could not bend and stretch, pain aggregated once approach, perspiration, short of breath, inhibited urination, fear wind, do not want to undress cloth, or body slightly swelling, should use for treatment.
References:
1.Dampness disease:an introduction.
2.Shang Han Za Bing Lun:the Treatise on Cold-induced and Miscellaneous Diseases.By Zhāng Zhòngjǐng.
3.Shang Han Lun:the Treatise on Cold-induced Diseases.By Wáng Shūhé.
4.Zhong Jing Quan Shu:the Complete Book of Zhongjing.By Zhào Kāiměi.