Traditional Chinese medicine believes that wind, cold, heat, humidity, dryness and fire are six normal climates in nature and are necessary natural conditions for the growth of everything in the world. But if it is changeable, too much or not enough, it will become the six evils in traditional Chinese medicine.
At this time, "dampness" is "dampness evil", which is one of the six evils and the main qi of long summer. It starts from childhood and runs through the whole summer, which is related to the rainy and humid between heaven and earth. Chinese medicine believes that the weather is hot and humid, and moisture is the easiest to invade the body. The spleen and stomach like dryness and hate dampness, and the humidity is too heavy, which easily leads to the spleen and stomach not working normally, and symptoms such as digestive absorption disorder, abdominal distension, loss of appetite, loose stool, tepid limbs, and drowsiness all over the body appear.
How to judge by yourself that there is dampness in the body? Look at five places to know:
Peng, deputy director of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Sixth People's Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, said that the hair is greasy, the face is greasy and sore, the skin is itchy and blistered, the mouth is watering when sleeping, and the perineum is wet. Are signs of dampness in the body. In daily life, it is found that pathogenic dampness can be traced, and there are four main ways of self-judgment.
First, when we get up, we can see this feeling.
If you get up every morning, you always feel tired, listless, sleepy, sore calf muscles, and often accompanied by chest tightness, memory loss, poor joint movement, edema of lower limbs and other symptoms, then there must be moisture in your body.
Secondly, you can watch the stool when you go to the toilet.
Normal stool is yellow banana-shaped. The body is wet and turns blue and brown, which may stick to the toilet. Sometimes you need to wash it many times if you can't clean it at once. In addition, toilet paper can generally be observed. One or two sheets of paper is enough for normal defecation. If you rub it repeatedly, it also means that your body is wet.
Furthermore, you can look at the tongue coating when washing.
Chinese medicine believes that "the tongue is the seedling of the heart and the symptom of the spleen", and the tongue can sensitively reflect the health status of our body. Under normal circumstances, a healthy tongue is pale and ruddy, but if the tongue coating is white, thick, smooth and moist, it means that there is cold in the body; Rough or thick tongue coating, yellow and greasy, indicating damp heat in the body; The tongue is red without moss, so be careful, it has hurt the yin of body heat.
In addition, when eating, you can look at your appetite.
Observe your appetite while eating. I don't feel hungry and have no appetite when I eat; Or a little food is full, and the stomach is uncomfortable; Or when eating, there is a faint feeling of nausea, and sometimes there is a feeling of suffocating and pantothenic acid; Or there is an odor in the mouth, and there is sweetness or bitterness in the mouth, indicating that the spleen and stomach in the middle energizer are out of balance, and dampness is congenital.
Finally, oily hair, oily face, soreness, itchy skin with blisters, drooling when sleeping, and wet perineum are also signs of moisture hidden in the body.
Learn four ways to keep healthy and get rid of dampness correctly
People with heavy humidity often have symptoms such as heavy body and weakness of limbs, but what is certain is that eliminating dampness is not insoluble. Peng suggested that we can start from four aspects.
First, a healthy diet: light diet, less sweet and less wine, less spicy and less oil.
Chinese medicine believes that the spleen and stomach are the source of qi and blood biochemistry and the foundation of the day after tomorrow. When the function of the spleen and stomach is impaired, the essence of Shui Gu and the essence of blood cannot be transported and raised normally, and when it stops in the body, it will become wet and turbid. Therefore, the maintenance of spleen and stomach function plays an important role in eliminating dampness. In the process of keeping healthy and eliminating dampness, we should eat less sweets, greasy and spicy food and drink less. This kind of food will lead to digestive dysfunction of the spleen and stomach, leading to endogenous dampness.
In addition, it is not advisable to eat cold ice products frequently in summer, especially cold drinks that have just been taken out of the refrigerator, which can easily lead to gastrointestinal dysfunction, from abdominal distension and discomfort to abdominal pain and diarrhea. The diet should be light, and eat more foods that strengthen the spleen and promote diuresis, such as yam, lentils, coix seed, lotus seeds, gordon euryales, etc., which not only has the function of strengthening the spleen and benefiting qi, but also is beneficial to the effect of hydration and dampness, and also has a certain effect on reducing the gastrointestinal burden, promoting the recovery of gastrointestinal function and promoting metabolism. And wax gourd and watermelon also belong to the role of clearing heat, promoting fluid production and diuresis, and can also be taken properly in hot and humid seasons.
Second, natural health: use aromatization to eliminate dampness.
In humid tropical areas, people like all kinds of spices very much, which actually uses the principles of aromatization and dehumidification. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that aromatherapy is one of the important therapies for eliminating dampness in clinical practice, and it is suitable for syndromes such as dampness blocking the spleen and stomach and early onset of dampness. Pogostemon, Eupatorium odoratum, Perilla leaf, Cardamom etc. It is used together with drugs with light permeability, diuresis and dryness. For example, Huoxiang Zhengqi water and ten drops of water commonly used in clinic and folk are used for this treatment. Therefore, in our daily life, planting a pot of jasmine or gardenia at home, or using some natural essential oils to incense, can often play a wonderful role in eliminating dampness and refreshing.
Mental health: regular life, ensuring sleep, nourishing the heart and strengthening the spleen.
Regular work and rest, maintaining a healthy mental state and ensuring the time and quality of sleep are very important for improving damp heat constitution. People who often stay up late and have poor sleep are often accompanied by thick and greasy tongue coating, which is a sign of moisture accumulation and steaming; Sleep well, the tongue coating is thin and white, and the damp heat has been removed, which shows that sleep well has the effect of eliminating dampness and clearing heat. People in damp heat constitution are often irritable, nervous, anxious and depressed, so people in damp heat constitution should pay attention to recuperating their minds. Because static energy can generate water and clear heat, it is helpful for the smooth operation of viscera and qi.
How to rest your mind? First, practice deep breathing often, and inhale deeply into the small abdomen every time you breathe; Second, listen to smooth, melodious, soothing and calm music; Third, practice yoga, Qigong and Tai Ji Chuan, or do some stretching and graceful dancing.
Fourth, daily life: avoid dampness and exercise properly.
In addition to the dysfunction of the internal organs, the generation of moisture in the body is largely related to the external environment. Humid, cold or sultry environment often leads to moisture intrusion into the body.
Therefore, in daily life, we should try to avoid working and living in a humid environment for a long time, don't covet the coolness of the floor, don't wear wet clothes, often dry wet clothes and quilts, and fully dry your hair in time after bathing or sweating. People in damp heat constitution are particularly susceptible to skin infections. It is best to wear clothes made of natural fibers such as cotton, hemp and silk, especially underwear. Don't wear tight clothes, wash and change frequently. The room should be ventilated and dehumidified, and the temperature should not be too low when using air conditioning. It is suggested to increase the dehumidification function of air conditioning.
"Moderate exercise can relieve stress, promote the operation of body organs, regulate qi activity, dredge qi and blood, help to eliminate dampness and relieve fatigue. Pay attention to stretching the joints of bones and muscles during exercise to increase the flexibility of the body. It is suggested that Tai Chi, yoga, swimming, walking and other soothing exercises can be carried out, and the intensity of exercise should be slightly sweating. It is recommended to choose the exercise time in the early morning to let Yang Can discharge the evil of dampness. " Director Peng stressed.