Varicose veins

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This is taken from Teach Yourself Traditional by Richard Craze

with Jen T'ieh Fou. It is not complete information, but it is starting

information.

 

These are some of the possible TCM syndromes that can underlie varicose veins of

the lower extremities.

 

" Accumulation of Heat and Damp (acute condition)

 

" Symptoms: Varicose veins are combined with red, swollen legs. Veins are hot and

burning. Fever, bitter taste in the mouth, irregular bowel movements. Tongue:

Red with yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Wiry/ rapid. Causes: Excessive alcohol

intake, Damp and Heat producing foods. Treament: Clear Heat, drain Damp.

Formula: San Miao San. Points: Local points that are inserted around the

varicose veins, like Hua Toe Jia Jie. Points around the spine. Needles are

considered more effective than herbs for this sort of varicose condition.

 

" Accumulation of Cold and Damp (chronic condition)

 

" Symptoms: Varicose veins are combined with heavy extremities and distension.

Blue or purple veins, chronic. Copious urine, loose stools. Tongue: White,

greasy coat. Pulse: Soft. Causes: Standing up too much, working environment.

Treatment: Remove Cold and Damp. Formula: Ji Ming San. "

 

My notes: Standing too long can be especially damaging to the Spleen so consider

Spleen problems in this case. Loose stools can be a symptom of both Spleen

problems (Spleen Qi Deficiency, Spleen Yang Deficiency, Sinking of Spleen Qi,

and Spleen Unable to Govern Blood) and Kidney Yang Deficiency. (The other

indicators will tell you which of the possible root causes apply. (Dampness of

the Spleen, Heat Dampness of Spleen, and Turbid Phlegm Disturbing Upper Regions

is more likely to manifest as diarrhea and nausea and not just as loose stools.)

Kidney Yang Deficiency is likely to manifest as copious urine. There can be both

Spleen and Kidney problems present at the same time.

 

" Ch'i (Qi) Deficiency and Blood Stagnation

 

" Symptoms: Chronic physical weakness or Ch'i Deficiency. Chronically carrying

heavy things and/or standing for a long time. Purple veins. Not as 'big' as in

Damp/Cold accumulation. Achy, but not distended. Fatigue, shortness of breath,

pale complexion. Tongue: Pale. Pulse: Weak. Treatment: Harmonise Ying, tonify

Ch'i, activate Blood. Formula: Bu Yang Huang Wu Tang. "

 

My notes: There's that thing again about standing being especially damaging to

the Spleen. This book isn't as good as many I've seen, but it's the only one I

have that has some info about varicose veins. The author doesn't explain things

as well as they need to be and leaves out some info. Why did he include two

separate categories for Accumulation of Cold and Damp (chronic condition) and

Ch'i Deficiency and Blood Stagnation when many of the symtoms are the same or

similar when it comes to Deficiency Cold and Qi (Ch'i Deficiency? He includes

fatigue as a symptom of Qi Deficiency, but fatigue will be a symptom of all

Deficiency disorders, including Deficiency Cold disorders.

 

The reason for two separate categories is you do not see the sensitivity to cold

and feeling cold in Qi Deficiency that you see in Yang Deficiency. It's Yang

Deficiency that results in the person being sensitive to cold and not being able

to generate enough internal heat (because one of the roles of Yang is to

activate the systems and functions of the body).

 

Another reason for two separate categories is not all Cold disorders are due to

Deficiency. There is such a thing as Excess Cold. But usually, most of the cases

of Internal Cold will be due to Yang Deficiency.

 

I also want to clarify some things under " Ch'i Deficiency and Blood Stagnation.

It's in cases of Blood Deficiency that the tongue appears pale (and dry). In

cases of Blood Stagnation the tongue color will appear dusty, purplish, dark, or

even black. Ch'i Deficiency and Blood Deficiency frequently occur together.

(Reddish purple points towards Heat; bluish purple points to Cold.) In cases of

Blood Stasis - a more severe form of Blood Stagnation - there can be pockets of

Hot and Cold abnormally distributed throughout the body. For example, the trunk

of the body may be Hot (due to the energy being congested in the trunk) while

the limbs are Cold (this is an example of Excess Cold) because all the energy is

dammed up in the trunk.

 

The key thing to note that in both " Accumulation of Cold and Damp " and in " Ch'i

Deficiency and Blood Stagnation " is that both of these mention standing too

long as a possible cause, and standing too long is especially injurious to the

Spleen. So suspect a Spleen problem in both cases. Also suspect a Spleen

disorder in the case of " Accumulation of Heat and Damp " because one of the

functions of the Spleen is to move fluid and equalize fluid distribution

throughout the body. It's not the only system engaged in this, but suspect and

rule in or rule out Spleen problems in the case of varicose veins.

 

There may be other possible causes of varicose veins besides the ones listed and

besides Spleen problems, but this is all the info I have at present.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

 

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