Herbs for Expelling Wind Dampness

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In a previous post we saw how herbs in TCM (Traditional )

are classified according to the herb's main function(s). Examples of

classes of herbs include Tonic Herbs to supplement Deficiencies (subdivided

into Blood, Qi, Yang, Yin tonic herbs), Herbs to Regulate Qi (Qi Stagnation

and inappropriate direction of flow of Qi), Herbs to Regulate the Blood

(subdivided into herbs for excessive bleeding and herbs to correct Blood

Stasis), Herbs for Clearing Internal Heat (subdivided into 5 classes), Herbs

to Warm the Interior (for cases of Interior Cold), etc.

 

Today we'll look more closely at the class of Herbs for Expelling Wind

Dampness.

 

Translation: Most cases of arthritis, or Bi pain as it's known in TCM.

 

TCM views arthritis and rheumatism as having components of Cold, Damp,

and/or Wind. Heat may also be present. Thus, the herbs that have the

property of Expelling Wind Dampness are classified as herbs to treat

arthritis. (Most though not all cases of what the West calls arthritis does

correspond to Bi Syndrome. It's one of the few Western-defined medical

conditions that does correspond to a TCM syndrome.)

 

Bi Syndrome is an Exterior condition. In TCM, Exterior means that the

Pernicious Evil (Damp, Cold, Wind, etc.) is attacking the meridians

(pathways of energy flow) and tyhe muscles, tendons, joints, and bones.

Exterior conditions can involve the arms, legs, head, and neck and result in

symptoms in these areas (like headaches, nasal and sinus congestion, etc.

though not all cases of headaches and congestion are due to Exterior

causes). When a condition is or has become Interior, this means that the

Evil is affecting the trunk of the body, the organ systems, and things like

digestion, behavior, etc.

 

Arthritis or Bi Syndrome is an Exterior condition, and the Evil is in the

meridians, msucles, tendons, joints, and bones. These Evils are Dampness,

Cold, and/or Wind. Heat may also be present. Herbs for Expelling Wind

Dampness will get rid of Wind and Dampness in these areas (and pain).

 

There are several herbs which Expel Wind Dampness. Among these are Fr

(Fructus - fruit of) Chaenomelis (aka Mu Gua, aka Chinese quince fruit), Rx

(Radix - Root of) Clematidis Chinensis (aka Wei Ling Xian, aka clematis); Rx

Duhuo; Cx (Cortex - bark of) Acanthopanacis Radicis (aka Wu Jia Pi); and Cx

Erythrinae Variegatae (aka Hai Tong Pi, aka coral bean bark).

 

When you look up herbs in a TCM materia medica (list of healing substances

and their properties), each item will have a meridian/Organ classification.

These are the meridians (and Organs) that the herb has a special affinity

for. Most of these herbs will enter the Kidney and/or the Liver meridians

and systems. If the pain is deep and it feels like the bones are affected,

you want to choose herbs that will target the Kidneys because the bones are

a part of the Kidney system. If the pain feels more like it's in the

tendons, you want to choose herbs that will enter the Liver because the

tendons are a part of the Liver system. For example, Chinese quince fruit

enters the Liver and Spleen. It would be great for Wind Damp pain in the

tendons (Liver) or muscles (Spleen), but would do nothing for Wind Damp pain

in the bones. On the other hand, an herb like Rx Duhuo targets the Kidney

and Urinary Bladder. It would work for bone pain but not so well for tendon

Wind Damp pain. An herb like Cx Acanthopanacis Radicis (Wu Jia Pi) targets

both the Liver and the Kidney, so it would work for both bone and tendon

pain.

 

Every substance in the TCM materia medica also has a thermal energy

classification. This will be either Cold, Cool, Neutral, Warm, or Hot. Now

consider the Roots of the arthritis or Bi pain. Is Cold a factor along with

the Wind Damp? If so you want to choose an herb with warming energy. All

of the herbs in the previous example have Warm or slightly Warm thermal

energy. But the herb Cx Erythrinae Variegatae has slightly Cold energy. You

wouldn't want to use this herb to treat a case of Bi pain that was due to

Wind, Damp, AND Cold (not without mixing it with some herbs with warming

energy which would bring the overall thermal energy of the formula up to

Warm or at least neutral). On the other hand, if Heat is present with the

Bi pain (redness, inflammation), this can be a great herb by itself. Will

attack the Heat, Wind, and Dampness.

 

Bi pain almost always is a Branch disharmony of a deeper Root disharmony,

and in order for treatment to be successful, this deeper Root has to be

treated as well. For example, why is the person so vulnerable to Exterior

Pernicious Evils to begin with? Could the person be Protective (Wei) Qi

Deficient? If so, you're going to have to add herbs to the formula which

will boost Protective Qi. Does the person suffer from Internal Cold which

is causing him/her to be more vulnerable to Exterior Cold? If so, you're

going to need to add Herbs for Warming the Interior. If the Interior Cold is

due to Yang Deficiency (aka Deficiency Cold), you'll need to add a Yang

Tonic herb. There may also be Qi Stagnation problems complicating the

clinical picture (like when overusing an arm results in temporary Qi

Stagnation), and in these cases herbs to get the Qi moving will be needed.

 

Bi Syndrome can take some time to treat using herbs or acupressure or

Chinese massage. I don't know how quickly it can be treated using

acupuncture. The key is patience and persistence. Unlike treatments that

just treat symptoms, TCM treatments tackle Roots of problems.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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