what damp does for you

7/24/2019 What Damp Does for You

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What Damp Does for YouBy Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmottin Acupuncture-points.org

So ... what' s Damp?

Let me tell you about my Aunt!

I had a beautiful and contrary maiden aunt who, dissatisfiedwith London in her old age migrated to Hove, Sussex, (UK),

by the sea.

Then she moved to Camberley in Surrey, (inland, about 50

miles North-West of Hove).

Then she returned to Hove again, and back and forth.

The trouble was that Hove was 'too bracing'. On the other

hand Camberley was 'too damp'!

She'd been raised in Madras, Southern India then Delhi,

Northern India. Britain was very different and her elderly

bones objected. What was wrong with Camberley?

Chinese medicine has a shorthand for conditions. It uses

ideas to understand health.

These ideas are often easier to understand than the more

precise and scientific definitions used in orthodox or


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Western medicine because Chinese medicine uses words we

all use in everyday speech.

Although in Chinese Medicine these ideas are used in a

technical sense, it's not hard to apply them to ourselves.

It's a problem for Western medicine, which can't absorb or

use the Chinese traditions until it finds some scientific basis

for them: until then, Chinese medicine remains a

pseudoscience.

On the other hand, Chinese medicine quickly saw the ideas

and advantages of Western medicine, and welcomed it withopen arms.

What is a Damp Day like?

Today it's raining: a very fine mist. Roads are covered with

slippery surface water that sprays up easily. Traffic moves

slowly and people heat up fast on exertion because highhumidity stops easy evaporation.

Low cloud lies as fog. It makes driving hazardous. With

low visibility, people get confused and there are more

traffic accidents.

Clothes get quickly sodden: dampness makes them heavy

and uncomfortable. Dry things engorge and become stickyand weighty.

Without good insulation, electricity lines short, requiring

more power.


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Clouds block the sun. If it's cold, it stays cold. If it's hot, it

stays hot.

In the garden, in summer plants grow fast - other things

being equal - especially weeds and grass. Whereas rain

washes dust and rubbish away, damp inclines it to linger.

As dust and rubbish build up into piles, seeds and moulds

prosper. Things grow where they aren't wanted. Puddles

remain and mosquito larvae multiply.

In winter, cold-damp disinclines gardeners to do anything.

But mould still prospers.

If you make wine or beer, you need dampness for yeast to

grow. In bread-making too much dampness and the yeast

can't shift flour so bread doesn't rise properly. Too much

sugar and it rises too fast and exhausts itself.

Too much ongoing weather dampness is depressing: it saps

the spirit.

You can't shift the clouds and the mist, the rain and the fog.

You have to wait for either the wind to blow them all away

or for the sun to come out and burn i t all dry. This idea

points to another - that movementand warmthhelp to move

damp.


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We all need a little dampness!

It moisturises our skins and keeps us fresh. but too much for

for too long is a major problem. It's not a killer but

immensely inconvenient and hard to shift.

In our bodies

How does it - the Chinese medical concept of dampness -

affect our bodies? If you've understood its effect in life, then

it's easy to apply to your body.

Typical signs of it are:

swelling, slowness,

lethargy,

tiredness,

confused thinking and

heaviness.

However, it can take on many forms so the following is only

a summary.

Swell ing and distension ... can appear:

round stings and bites,
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around the eyes,

round sore joints,

in the tongue,

after bruising, before menses round the waist or in the breasts.

If our metabolism is slow or we eat more than we burn

up in exercise, we put weight on. This concept underlies

the Chinese medical attitude to beingoverweight.

Heaviness: It makes us feel heavy and stiff, often sore.

When pressed, flesh only slowly recovers its shape.

Because we are heavy, we move more slowlyand we tire

faster.

Often stiffnessaccompanies it: after rest it is sore, we can

only start with slow movements and we take time to get

going again. In acute Damp we must either keep moving or

we stiffen up.

In our body it leads to poor digestion, nausea, sticky or slow

stools, retarded or limited urination.

Mould or fungus
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... such as thrush, grows on the skin or in crevices, in our

armpits, our mouths, ears (wax) and around and within our

genitals. Between our toes we get athlete's foot.

I n our thinking it slows acuity. We can't remember things,we can' t concentrate. We get anxious and go over things

again and again. We get despondent. We may get weepy,

preferring to be alone. We talk hesitantly or reluctantly. We

can't remember things, we get confused.

Head: It gives us a sore heavy head and headache and may

combine with another Chinese concept called 'Phlegm' to

cause vertigo or dizziness.

Face : swollen and stiff. Causes cracking of joints, pain

(worse in the cold). Skin round lips may crack. Lips swell

from eg herpes.

Eyelidsget sticky and agglutinated; may dry and be hard to

open. Eyes cry easily and we may get pustular inflammations

such as conjunctivitis or blepharitis (this often occurs when

there is a build up ofHeat too).

Tongue : usually is slightly swollen, often with what look

like teeth-marks along the sides, and with a white wet

coating.

Chestarea : often feels full, or stuffy, may be itchy (though

no sign of a rash), with difficulty breathing comfortably or

properly.

Appetite and digestion: even though the mouth may be dry

there is often an aversion to drinking. Food often lies heavy
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in the stomach, especially cold food or drinks. The appetite

is usually reduced.

Abdomen: often sore, feels like liquids awash inside. Stools

are often watery or loose, but not smelly unless Heat ispresent.

Female : when it invades her genital area it often causes

cloudy vaginal discharges. (More coloured, ie yellow, if it

combines with Heat.) Her breasts may swell before periods.

Urine : cloudy and may be much reduced. Can make it

difficult to pee, which feels like burning.

Skin loses its flexibility. Can seem thicker. Swellings such

as with glands (eg mumps), or in boils, abscesses,

carbuncles, cellulitis. During eczema associated with Damp,

discharges are thick and dirty.

Limbs feel sore, bruised, heavy and stiff. Muscles may

twitch. There is sometimes a feeling like something crawlingon the skin, or numbness: as if something has gone to sleep.

Joints ache and swell.

What makes it worse?
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Mainly exposure to dampness, ie wet or cold conditions or

weather, but also drafts of air or becoming chilled: all these

especially if you are hot or sweaty.

So lying or sitting on wet ground can produce this.

Uncovering swollen or painful areas often makes the

discomfort worse.

After rest or at the start of motion the pain or stiffness is

worse.

Wet weather, or before a thunderstorm, makes the conditionworse.

For example, I once cycled to see a patient in London. On

the way back, I was hot and in a hurry to get back to my

clinic to see another patient. There was a sudden

thunderstorm on the way back which soaked me,

especially on my back.

On arrival, I found the patient had arrived early and was

in a hurry: she pleaded for me to see her immediately and

didn't mind that I was still wet.

The next day, when I woke up, I could hardly move. My

back was very sore and I needed a long soak in a warm

bath before I felt better. Later in the day, after I had been

sitting down for 20 minutes whilst thinking over the

treatment for someone, I realised the stiff soreness had

returned.

Only by keeping moving could I keep it at bay. A classic


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case of external invasion of damp.

What makes Dampness better, i.e. improves it?

Apart from having treatment to clear it from the body, the

following can improve dampness conditions in the body.

However, they don' t usual ly cure it: they just pall iate it.

Warmth: like a warm bath, warm dry weather or a

warm climate; warm wraps.

Continued movement, including stretching the limbs Rubbing(or massage, for example round a joint that

has swollen up; very light stroking over a bruise can

ameliorate the pain: NB massage over a bruise is not

recommended.)

In some kinds of dampness, losing some blood may

help, such as a nose-bleed (this applies more to damp-

heat).

Supporting or holding up the affected part. (Hold it verygently, however: don't grip too firmly!)

Moving position regularly may help

Avoiding factors that make it worse also helps! See

above.

Sometimes along holiday in a warm countrywhilst

avoiding factors that produced it can get you better.

Its Causes in the first place?

What produces it in the body?


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In Chinese medicine there are two potential sources: internal

and external.

'External' comes from the factors described above together

with, for example, sprains, blows, accidents, jarring, but alsoliving in moist conditions, such as in a wet basement, or

camping out in very wet weather. Wet conditions could also

come from wearing wet clothes or standing in a wet place

too long (fishing, for example) or working in wet fields.

Some professional or frequent swimmers develop it.

With externally caused Damp, the pulse is what is called

'slippery' and 'full' and the tongue's coating is thick and

sticky.

Internal Damp can be exacerbated by External Damp

factors, but arises also where Spleenqi is weak. Sometimes

Spleen qi is weak because Kidney qi is also weak.

With internally caused Damp, the pulse is 'slippery' and

'fine', or 'floating' and 'weak', and the tongue's coating is

sticky and thinner.

When Spleen qi is weak, it can't move things around your

body properly, so 'puddles' of Dampness build up.

Bad diet can cause internal Dampness. This would include

too much sweet food, or cold, iced or chilled food (or drink),

or indigestible food. Bad eating habits also contribute, like

eating too fast, or eating too much junk food, or not chewing

properly.

For more about this, clickNutrition.
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Internal Dampness is also caused by continued worry, or

obsessions, or anxietyand by long periods of intense mental

work or study. All these emotional and mental factors

weaken the Spleen Qi.In someone with a weak Spleen qi, the side lain on or

hanging down or kept immobile for a long period (such as

sitting for long periods without moving), may acquire

symptoms of damp, such as swelling. That swelling can then

cause further problems, preventing the free flow of Qi and

Blood. In some situations, this produces what is called deep

vein thrombosis (DVT).

How does it damage your body's health?

Damp is what is called a Yin-type pathogenic factor.

(Pathogenic means 'illness-causing'.)

Being Yin in nature, it lacks movement in itself and inhibits

movement in you. It combines easily with Cold and Heat.

In the UK we are very familiar with how it combines with

Cold to create Cold-Damp conditions.

It sticks around! It's hard to get rid of. Like water, it flows

downwards easily, so it affects lower parts of the body and

limbs more often than upper parts, or may start in an upper

area and seep downwards.

However, if it starts in the legs, it may creep up to the

abdomen, just like rising damp from a basement, when

moisture rises up in the walls.
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Dampness, being Yin, gets in the way of Yang, and slows it

down. Normally clear Yang rises to the head enabling us to

think clearly and act decisively. If Dampness invades, this

clear Yang doesn't reach the head so we feel confused,heavy-headed, depressed and unable to take decisions.

Acting as an obstruction of the free flowing qi, it causes

swelling, and the swellings further impede the movement of

qi. Where qi doesn't move smoothly, there is pain and

discomfort, and with Dampness this feels like stiffness,

fullness and heaviness.

How Do You Treat It in the body?

Various ways: although this is a site devoted to acupuncture,

I have had considerable success treating Dampness with

Homoeopathic remedies.

Herbs in Chinese medicine come in various categories, one

of which aims specifically to clear dampness. One or moreherbs from this category would be used in a formula with

other herbs to moderate, enhance or direct the principal

herb's actions.
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Acupuncture points to treat Damp include mainly points that

stimulate Spleen qi. Some of these lie on the Spleen

meridian, for example, Spleen 3, 6 and 9.

If you have it, what can You do to reduce it?

Bear in mind that this syndrome is hard to shift. You

almost certainly will need treatment. On your own, once

established, it's very hard to clear. All sorts of larvae

(including mosquitoes) love warm moist places and it's

the same in your body. Avoid circumstances that cause it - see above under

Causes.

Avoid foods that weaken Spleen qi. These include

sweet, or sweet-tasting food, raw, cold food, (eg salads

and cold vegetables) iced or chilled food, uncooked

food and most kinds of fruit, especially watery fruit like

melons, fruit juices and soda drinks, like smoothies. Inother words, food and drinks that you probably eat in

warm summer-time may hurt the Spleen.

The paragraph above doesn't mean the foods mentioned

are always bad for you! - although there's probably not

much good to say about fruit juices, soda drinks and
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smoothies. You have to remember that when you're ill,

the rules change: they're different to when you're well.

Include Ginger in your diet: eg in stir-fried dishes and

in teas. Eat foods that the Spleen energy likes, which include

meat, many spices and pepper. But cooked green

vegetables too.

Make sure the food and drinks you take are warm.

Chew your food wel l. Eat regularly and not excessively.

Eating too little injures the Spleen, as does over-eating.

The Spleen turns food you eat into blood and flesh so

make sure you eat enough protein. If you eat very littleprotein, your Spleen can't do its job.

Avoid foods that increase the likelihood of damp or

phlegm in your body, like dairy foods, sweet, raw and

cold foods. It's amazing how few people notice a

connection between the chocolate ice-cream they've

eaten and the phlegm they soon get in their throat and

nose. And chew well. (Did I say that already? OK, I'll repeat

it: CHEW WELL.)

Meditate or learn to relax, perhaps with Yoga or simple

physical stretching exercises. Don't overwork mentally.

Keep warm.

Other types

Cold-damp

This arises from living not merely in damp conditions, but

cold and damp conditions in general, or from getting cold


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and damp after exercise when one was warm and sweaty.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of Dampness, as above. Plus:

a sense of coldness in the upper abdomen which isbetter for warmth, very loose stools without much

odour,

thirstlessness or thirst but no desire to drink.

Tongue: sticky white coating that is also thick.

Pulse:slow and slippery

Damp-heat Symptoms as above under Damp, but another cause of

Damp-Heat is

eating dirty or contaminated food.

In addition or in variation of the above symptoms of

Dampness, if there is thirst

the patient prefers to drink in small quantities, or sips.

Not merely nausea, but possibly vomiting too: what

comes up has a very offensive odour.

Stools are still runny, but are urgent and with a strong

smell.

The anal area burns, and urine is dark-yellow.

Vaginal discharges may be yellow and smelly.

There may a slight low-grade fever all day, and

headache.

The tongue coating is not merely sticky but also

somewhat yellow.

Thepulseis rapid as well as slippery.
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About the writer:

Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmottis the author ofQi Stagnation - Signs ofStress,Yin Defi ciency - Burnout and ExhaustionandWestern Astrology and

Chinese Medicine.

Acupuncturists like Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott comein all sizes, small, fat, thin and tall ...

Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott is based at the Spirit Health Club, HolidayInn, 132 Corstorphine Rd, EdinburghEH12 6UA

Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott Bsc, LicAc, BAc, DipAc(China), DipCHM,MBAcC, MABP, LCH, MCH, PCH, Cert.ECBS, RSAPH

Jonathan grew up on a farm in Sussex - Jersey cows, Landrace and Wessex

pigs, chickens, geese and a horse. So his earliest memory of farming is(apparently aged 3) of steering the tractor while his father and other workers

loaded hay onto the trailer behind it. His feet didn't reach the clutch but he

could reach the hand-throttle, with very satisfactory results but unexpectedrepercussions: his next job was spreading cow-pats with a fork.

After that he began to grow up and eventually received his BSc in ElectricalEngineering from Edinburgh University before qualifying as a CharteredAccountant.
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He trained in London with Mary Austin (then a very prominent acupuncturist

and homeopath), at the College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture (LicAc),the British College of Acupuncture (BAc), and the College of ChineseMedicine Nanjing in China (DipAc).

Then he studied homoeopathy at the College of Homeopathy (LCH, MCH)and the Dynamis School for Advanced Homoeopathic Studies (PCH). He also

trained at the Northern College of Acupuncture, (DipCHM) and at EuropeanCollege of Bowen Studies (CertECBS).

He has also trained in and practised various other therapies including Bowen

Technique, Remedial Massage, Reflexology, and Shiatsu... and continues toattend courses on a range of therapies and techniques.

Jonathan now works partly at a splendidlocation for the Edinburgh NaturalHealth Centrenext to Edinburgh's zoo, so easy to find, on lots of bus routesand with excellent free parking. See map above.

For an appointment with Jonathan,click here.

Professional Memberships

Formerly a Member (RSHom) ofThe Society of Homeopaths,

the Traditional Acupuncture Society (MTAS) and the BritishAcupuncture Association, he is now a member (MBAcC) ofTheBritish Acupuncture Council and (RSAPH) ofThe ScottishAssociation of Professional Homoeopaths of which he iscurrently Chair. He was until recently also a member of theBowen Therapists' European Register (MBTER).

Lecturing experience

Jonathan lectured for 26 years at the Scottish College ofHomoeopathy and, more recently, at the Scottish College ofClassical Homeopathy and the Scottish School ofHomeopathy.

Other Lecturing
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Jonathan has also given lectures and talks on ChineseMedicine, Homeopathy, Diet and Disease at the EdinburghScience Festival and throughout Scotland.

Regional Co-ordinator

As a member of the British Acupuncture Council Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott was the first Regional Co-ordinator for Edinburgh and South-EastScotland, 2000-2006.

Starting in April 2014 he is again Coordinator for the Region.

Founder Member of SAPH

Jonathan was a founder member of theScottish Associationfor Professional Homeopaths (RSAPH) which, like the Societyof Homeopaths, (of which he was formerly a member) hasstrict criteria and an onerous process for registration,requiring evidence of experience, continuing professionaldevelopment, and a realistic ability to practise. Jonathan iscurrently Chair of the Association.

Many people consult Jonathan for homoeopathic treatment.He finds that a knowledge of Chinese medicine enormouslyenhances his understanding of homeopathic medicine, andvice versa.

Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine

Jonathan studied Chinese herbal medicine at courses run by Ted Kaptchuk andGiovanni Maciocia in London in the mid 1980s.

He also did the course in Chinese Herbal medicine run by the Northern

College of Acupuncture in York, England, graduating in 2003. His knowledgeof Chinese medicine enables him to explain health and illness to patients andto write this website.

Click to see when he is available, and to book anappointment.(Click the Acupuncture First appointment option.)
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Nutrition

Goodnutritionis vital for health. Jonathan lectured on this for 25 years,

explaining food not only from its scientific basis but from the energeticperspective derived from Chinese medicine.

Using the QXC1 - see below - has often helped to identify nutritional (and

many other) problems.

QCX1 Food and Reaction Testing

Since 2000 Jonathan has helped many people understand their health from acompletely different perspective using a non-invasive test that reveals anenormous amount of health information. Read more about this underQXC1.

Click to see when he is available, and to book anappointment.

Foodaware

Until 2007 Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott represented AgeConcern Scotland on Foodaware, the Consumers' Food Group,which was set up to coordinate the broad UK consumermovement's work on food safety, nutrition and standards.

Its mission was to give UK consumers a strong voice on foodpolicy by bringing together the organisations that representthem.

It also consulted and supported the UK consumerrepresentatives on food related committees, and furthered thepublic understanding of science.

Pilot Studies with the Faculty of Medicine, EdinburghUniversity

From 2004 - 2007 he assisted Edinburgh University Faculty ofMedicine in pilot modules for third and fourth year medicalstudents who were interested in observing complementarymedicine in action.
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Mind and Body Healing Network - member

Jonathan is a member of the Mind and Body Healing Network which hasmembers all over the world. Click on the image on the right for more.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

He is insured to practise various therapies including acupuncture, Chineseherbalism and homoeopathy through his membership of theBritishAcupuncture Council.

Background

Jonathan has worked in Edinburgh since 1983 before which he had a largepractice in London. He is married with two adult children.
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what damp does for you

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