Damp

Damp is the predominant qi of late summer - the period between summer and autumn - which in China is a hot, rainy season with abundant damp everywhere. Many diseases related to invasion by pathogenic damp occur at this time. Damp diseases may also be induced by living in damp conditions and places, wearing clothes made damp by sweat or rain, frequent exposure to water, and periods of prolonged rain.

Heaviness and turbidity characterize damp. Patients often complain of dizziness, a heavy sensation in the head as though it had been wrapped in a piece of cloth, heaviness of the body as though it were carrying a heavy load, and soreness, pain and heavy sensations in the joints. There may be turbid discharges from the body, such as suppurating sores, weeping eczema, profuse purulent leukorrhoea with a foul odor, turbid urine and stools containing mucus and even blood.

Viscosity and stagnation characterize damp. Patients affected by pathogenic damp usually have a stubborn sticky tongue coating, a viscous stool that is difficult to excrete, and obstructed urination. Diseases due to pathogenic damp tend to be prolonged and intractable, such as fixed hi syndrome, damp fever ( intestinal typhoid ) and eczema.

Damp is a yin pathogenic factor that impairs yang and easily obstructs qi circulation. Clinical manifestations include a full sensation in the chest, epigastric distention, difficult and scanty urination and hesitant bowel movements with viscous stools. Since the spleen " likes dryness and dislikes damp, " pathogenic damp is likely to impair spleen yang, leading to distention and fullness in the epigastrium and abdomen, poor appetite, loose stools, reduced urination and edema, due to poor transportation and transformation and inadequate dispersion of body fluids.