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FUNDAMENTALS

Terms in this set (76)

Identify cause of disease in Chinese Medicine
"To address a disease without treating the cause of disease is like pouring water into a container with a leak in it."
Key to health in Chinese Medicine?
BALANCE.
Long term imbalance can cause?
DISEASE - too much rest, exercise, sleep etc. Balance is relative to each person
Important factors to determine health of a fetus
Health of parents at conception. Health of mother throughout pregnancy. Drug use, illness, major emotional upset during pregnancy.
Most common cause of disease in Childhood?
DIET: Childrens digestive system is poorly developed- esp newborns (early weaning can lead to weak SP QI).
Emotions: Often caused by family situations, have lasting impact on the child in their older years.
3 MAIN categories of disease in adulthood/any age
1. INTERNAL - emotions
2. EXTERNAL- climate
3. NON INTERNAL/NON EXTERNAL: constitution, lifestyle, trauma, wrong treatments, diet.
WHAT ARE THE 6 EVILS (LIU XIE) external factors
Wind, cold, SUMMER HEAT, dampness, dryness and fire
Normal circumstances weather won't impact our pathology because?
Zheng Qi (wei qi +yuan qi+ KD jing) will protect us
Abnormal circumstances of weather that may impact our pathology include;
Excessively strong: Overpowers Zheng qi
Sudden changes: Unseasonable weather catches Zheng qi by surprise.
Body is weak in relation to the Xie Qi
Generally: the 6 evils become causes of disease when there is a relative imbalance between?
the zheng qi and the xie qi.
When are the 6 evils more prevalent?
in their seasons. wind most prevelant in... spring.... Fire most prevalent in the summer.... Dryness in the... fall.
However, each of them can occur in any season.
•i.e. Wind heat invasion in the winter is very common.
•Exception: Summer heat, which only occurs in the summer. It is also the only EPF that can only be external. All others can also be internally generated.
Warm Epidemic Pathogenic Factors
•Very infectious and very virulent (i.e. SARS, H1N1...)... Too strong for our Zheng Qi, even if our Zheng Qi is strong.
•Always hot in nature... There is always a sore throat, fever, etc...
•EPFs vs Bacteria / Viruses...
Bacteria
Damp heat. MORE DAMP
Virus
Damp heat. MORE HEAT
Artificial Climates can cause disease
Sudden change... hot out= pores open = more susceptible to cold invading
excessive air conditioning, steel workers exposed to very high temperatures, cooks in hot kitchens.
eg exercise, get sweaty and then step outside into the cold / windy air...
The 6 evils enter the body through the:
Skin, nose or mouth and attack the cou li. Always an Excess Pattern. Cou li = place between the skin and mm.
XS b/c it is something extra coming into our body.
•Since it is attacking the cou li, it is said to be attacking the exterior of the body and is an exterior disease (b/c it is EPF)
If the 6 evils enter body and is left untreated:
They can go deeper into the body, cause more issues, become harder to treat.... Then it would be said to be in the interior / an internal disease.
•Once they go internal, it is common for them to: change their nature. I.e. a Wind-Cold can become Internal Heat.
How to treat an EPF invasion?
Release the exterior (induce sweating to sweat it out)... never drive it deeper.
Most common symptoms of an invasion by an EPF:
Simultaneous Chills and Fever
Simultaneous, not alternating in time (i.e. 2 hrs hot, 2 hrs cold)
Chills: Xie Qi blocking the Zheng qi... wei qi not warming the surface
Fever: Zheng Qi fighting the xie qi.
•May or may not have a change in measured temperature: is okay if they just feel that way and you can't objectively measure it with a thermometer, or you may feel it with your hands when you palpate.
•Strong EPF + Strong Zheng Qi:
•Weak EPF and Weak Zheng Qi: Low Fever / mild feeling of being hot.
•A person with a yang constitution will be more prone to higher fever.
High Fever / Strong feeling of being hot
Strong EPF + Weak Zheng Qi OR Weak EPF and Strong Zheng Qi:
Medium fever / medium feeling of being hot
Weak EPF and Weak Zheng Qi:
Low Fever / mild feeling of being hot.
•A person with a yang constitution will be more prone to higher fever.
DIRECT INTERIOR ATTACK:
If the body's wei qi is deficient, it can completely bypass the exterior and go to the interior (i.e. zang fu...)
EPFs can directly attack (without exterior sxs):
1) Stomach: i.e. fire, dryness
Dryness: Stomach loathes dryness, easily affected by it...
But really can attack the UB
•2) Uterus: i.e. wading in cold water
•3) Intestines: i.e. sitting on the damp earth
•Directly into the joints: Bi Dz / Painful Obstruction Syndrome (POS)... Often = Wind + Damp + Heat / Cold
WIND - general characteristics internal & external
•Nature: Yin / Yang?. Why?
Yang... moves around, active
•It is the vehicle through which: all the other EPFs enter the body. This is because: Wind opens the pores of the surface... then other EPFs can enter.
•Wind has a rapid onset & causes rapid changes: wind is fast. Symptoms arise quickly and can change within a day / hours
•Wind causes sxs to move from place to place: i.e. pain that moves from one joint to the next
Wind characteristics cont..
Like a torrnado, kicks up a lot of stuff and creates debris which blocks flow
•Can cause convulsions or tremors: involuntary movements such as Parkinson's Dz (internal wind)
•Or paralysis / stiffness: Stroke (internal wind), Bell's Palsy (external wind)... Blocks movement
•Causes numbness / tingling: Same as paralysis / stiffness... blocks movement of blood, not nourishing the skin (internal or external wind)
Wind effects ?
top part of the body most (yang)
•Wind affects the skin... Generalized itching, skin rashes that appear suddenly and spread rapidly
•And causes: Itchy throat too.
All of the above sxs apply to both internal and external wind, except tremors, convulsions, and paralysis which is only internal
External Wind first affects the?
Lungs (rules the surface)
Internal wind affects the?
Liver. [The 100 Dzs of wind are treated through the liver]... similar to neurological conditions.
Wind affects the skin
Generalized itching, skin rashes that appear suddenly and spread rapidly
•And causes: Itchy throat too.
All of the above sxs apply to both internal and external wind, except tremors, convulsions, and paralysis which is only internal
EXTERNAL wind
•Can invade any of the channels, but especially the Tai Yang.
•Why the Tai Yang first?UB and SI channels
•Will block the lungs function of: Diffusing and descending, causing: cough (qi), runny nose / sputum (fluids)... and can cause sneezing (getting the wind out).
Why are scarves beneficial?
Show back of neck, covering with scarf to prevent common cold.
External wind COLD symptoms
Chills > Fever, cough, runny nose with white watery mucus, occipital stiffness / HA, lack of sweating, lack of thirst, itchy throat, tongue body color unchanged, pulse floating and tight.
external wind cold symptoms explained
•More chills and itchy throat b/c:
More chills b/c cold in nature, itchy throat = wind / not hot
•Runny nose with white watery mucus/ cough b/c:
Runny nose / cough: blocking the diffusing and descending... white and watery b/c no heat to dry it up... opposite effect
•Occipital stiffness / HA, lack of sweating b/c:
Cold constrict, blocks flow, no sweating
•Lack of thirst:
Cold not hot = no thirst
•Tongue and pulse:
exterior, will not change the tongue, floating = qi at the surface to fight it off, tight = cold constricts.
External wind HEAT main symptoms
Fever > Chills, cough, runny nose with slight yellow mucus that is not copious, slight sweating, sore throat, thirst, floating rapid pulse, tongue body unchanged or slightly red tip, tongue fur unchanged or thin yellow fur
External wind HEAT cont
•Key sx: Sore throat... = hot in nature
•Runny nose w/ slight yellow mucous: Heat thins the nasal discharge, turns it yellow
•Slight sweating / thirst: Heat pushes the fluids out... makes you thirsty by drying you out.
•Tongue and pulse: if is stronger it will turn the tip red (corresponds to the UJ), floating = qi at surface, rapid = heat moves things faster.
EXTERIOR DEFICIENCY
•Wei Qi is deficient, External Wind attacks the cou li, body can't put up a fight.
Exterior deficiency symptoms
Slight or no fever / chills, mild sweating, aversion to wind, slight body aches, floating and deficient pulse, tongue unchanged.
Mild symptoms because weak wei qi, not putting up a fight...
Sweating because wei qi is deficient... not controlling the pores.
External wind DAMP symptoms
Chills and Fever, swollen neck glands / joints, occipital stiffness, body aches, muscle aches, feeling of heaviness in the joints
•Dampness has an obstructive quality, hence: stiffness, body aches
•Dampness is an excessive pathological fluid: swelling
•Dampness is heavy in nature
External wind DRYNESS
•Main Sxs: Dry skin, dry mouth, dry throat, dry cough... Pulse is floating. -All dryness symptoms on the surface the lungs.
Ext'l Wind Water:
•Main sxs: Sudden onset of non-pitting edema, especially in the face / upper body, cough with profuse watery and white sputum, pulse is floating
•Lungs are prevented from keeping the water passages open!
Bell's Palsy Invasion of the face channels by EXTERNAL wind
•In some cases external wind can simply invade the channels of the face causing facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy, aka peripheral facial paralysis)... Wind in this case is causing things to stiffen.
•Sleeping at night with a window open right next to your head... driving in a car as a profession with windows down.
•Falling asleep on the window of a plane...
*Peripheral because it is the peripheral nervous system that has been affected, not the CNS)
COLD - general characteristics
•Tends to injure the: Yang
•Cold constricts;
•i.e. cold blocks the flow of blood and leads to pain that feels cold and is better with warmth
•Cold Contracts the: Tissues
•Cold causes discharges that are: Clear / white and profuse
•Smell: does not have a strong smell
External COLD INVASION
•Invading the surface = Wind Cold invasion
•Invading the Joints = POS with intense pain that is fixed, better with heat, worse with cold
•Invading the mm. / sinews: localized pain and stiffness, commonly affects the shoulders and neck
•Direct interior invasion of the:
•Stomach: fixed epigastric pain... / Intestines: abdominal pain and diarrhea... / Uterus: acute dysmennorhea
Diarrhea = loose / profuse... cold's general effect.
SUMMER HEAT (external does not have internally generated counterpart)
•Nature: Yang... tends to attack the upper part of body
•Tends to injure the: Yin
•When is it contracted (what season)?
Only comes in the summer
•Is there an internal version?
Only EPF that does not have an internally generated counterpart
•Frequently combines with: Dampness
•Think of late summer: Indian summer that is also humid = summer heat + dampness
DAMPNESS
•Nature: Yin... tends to attack the lower part of body, but eventually works its way upwards.
•Tends to injure the: Yang
•Environment: Damp / musty house, wading in water, sitting on the damp ground... Fog!
•Characteristics: sticky, difficult to get rid of / easy to come back, slows things down (blocks flow), heavy.
DAMPNESS CONT..
•Heavy sensation: in the body, head / brain will feel heavy. Fuzzy headed more associated with phlegm
•Wind Damp Bi Dz: swollen painful joints
•Direct interior invasion of the:
•Uterus (vaginal discharges that are clear / white), intestines (loose watery stools), urinary bladder (UTI with cloudy urine)
External DRYNESS
•Dryness of anything... the skin, the nose, the mouth, the lungs... with a floating pulse and acute onset (how you tell that it is external dryness and not internal dryness).
DRYNESS LEADS TO A DEFICIENCY
YIN
FIRE
•Nature is Yang and it rises to the head
•Fire damages / dries out the: body fluids / yin / blood
•Fire can cause bleeding: speeds up the flow of blood and it bursts out ["reckless bleeding / chaotic hot bleeding"]
•Affects the Shen: agitation, irritability... how do we feel when we have a fever?
•Fire can cause: ulcers Leads to discharges that are: yellow and thick
FIRE CAN GENERATE WIND
a large fire burning the forest creates strong gusts of wind
Toxic heat signs and symptoms
•Similar to fire but is even hotter!
•Sxs: Red, hot, swollen, painful
•For example: bug bites, snake bites, spider bites, heavy metal toxicity, boils, ulcers.
think also heavy metal toxicity... leads to heat... or the heat of long term pathogenic infections... patient who developed asthma after being exposed to chemicals... chemical sensitivity... too much heat toxin... started having bloody sputum and frank bleeding from the nose.
Rubor, Calor, Tumor, Dolor
INTERNAL causes of disease are due to?
Emotional strains
Chinese medicine views the internal organs as not only physical components of the body but also as emotional spheres of influence.
Emotions will directly affect the internal organs AND internal organ imbalances will directly affect the emotions. Unlike exterior to interior
THE 7 EMOTIONS
Any Jane Would Say Please Stop FearingJ
ANGER, JOY, WORRY, SADNESS, PENSIVENESS, SHOCK, FEAR
When do emotions cause disease?
•Normal circumstances: emotions do not cause disease, they are a natural part of life and are essential to human existence. Emotions come up, we process them and then let it go.
•The emotions become causes of disease only when: they are long lasting OR they are very intense...
•i.e. staying in a job that is really frustrating for years OR unexpected death of a loved one.
Emotions & Organs
•If there is heat in the liver (excess heat or yin deficiency heat), one is more likely to be angry / irritable.
•If one is angry / irritable, over time they are likely to create heat in the liver.
•Regardless, you can treat the organ to affect the emotions. When you relate this to patients, it is often relieving to know that there is a physical component to the emotions.
Emotions of the internal organs
•One way to look at it is that the organ already produces a certain mental energy that resonates with a particular emotion... this is to say that each organ has a positive mental - emotional aspect to it..
Positive mental emotional aspect = the wisdom quality of the emotion. I.e. anger -> direct communication, standing up for one self, and gets things done!
*If a person has a tendency to a constitutional weakness of a certain organ, the corresponding emotion can be more common
digesting emotions
•These positive mental - emotional energies turn into negative emotions when some external circumstance triggers it and we do not know how to be present with it / process it appropriately.
How do we process emotions?
Through meditation, therapy, drama therapy, exercise, qi gong, tai chi, martial arts... we process these emotions more healthily... how we respond to the emotional stimuli is way more important than the stimuli itself.
LV as an example of emotions and organs
•The liver corresponds to what season? spring
•During this season, the energy is about the growth of yang. This yang energy, being related to wood, flows upward and is expansive according to its nature.
•Hence, when it has a negative emotions, this emotions bursts upward... this is the nature of Anger
•Which organs do the following emotions affect? Anger
-Liver
Which organs do the following emotions affect? joy
HEART
Which organs do the following emotions affect? Sadness
LUNG AND HEART
Ht close to the LU (zong qi relationship).. You "broke my heart" = sadness
Which organs do the following emotions affect? WORRY
LUNG AND SPLEEN
Worry: knots the qi, similar to pensiveness, hence affects the SP, but also the lung because our breathing is constricted.
Which organs do the following emotions affect? PENSIVENESS
SPLEEN
Which organs do the following emotions affect? FEAR
KIDNEY
Which organs do the following emotions affect? SHOCK
KIDNEY AND HEART
Shock: scatters the qi of the heart, makes KD qi descend
All emotions affect the: HT and LV
Why?
Heart houses the shen, consciousness experiences all emotions...
LIVER in charge of smooth flow of Qi... emotions effect this. Also houses the Hun, ethereal soul, karma, another lens of perception
First effect of emotional stress on the body
LQS (plus each effects the flow of Qi according to the emotions' nature, discussed next slide)
When we are stressed / emotional, notice that we often get the sensation of heat in the head.
Qi stagnation may also lead to the creation of pathological heat
Heat over time will get stronger and turn into Fire.
Effects of emotion on QI cont..
•Sadness: depletes the qi
•Worry: knots the qi
•Pensiveness: knots the qi
•Fear: makes the qi descend
•Shock: scatters / disperses the qi
Effects of emotion on QI
•Anger: makes the qi rise
•Joy: slows down the qi
Joy has an uplifting effect... makes the heart bigger, hence pumps slower; expands blood vessels... slows blood flow (not under high BP)... or adrenaline junky who needs more and more stimulation to quicken there qi / blood
ANGER
Also includes: resentment, repressed anger, irritability, frustration, rage, hatred, indignation, animosity and bitterness....
Why do people, when they get angry, often get: headaches (HA), dizziness, tinnitus, neck stiffness, red face
Anger makes qi rise, also creates heat via stagnation
Anger = QI LV stagnation
•When anger causes LV Qi stagnation, it can invade the SP or the ST: What 5 element relationship is this? WOOD ATTACKING EARTH
•Invading the SP: loss of appetite; Invading the ST: increased appetite, acid reflux.
•LQS affecting the intestines: alternation of bowel movements (BMs): constipation and loose stools / diarrhea
• LQS affecting the heart: cause HT qi stagnation / heat in the heart.
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