Category Archives: Nausea

HEAT

Confusion, Fire Element, Heart, Heat, Nausea, Summer, Temperature regulation, , , ,

Recently I planted out some flower seedlings in the front garden. I waited until 4pm when I thought it would be cool enough to work. But as I sweated away in oppressive heat for 45 minutes, I realised I’d been mistaken. Back in the house, I felt dizzy, head throbbing and slightly disoriented. It took time, cool drinks and splashing with cold water to come back to equilibrium. Such is the power of the climatic factor of heat. As our climate heats up, we need to be even more careful to protect ourselves from this pathogenic factor.

The Chinese character for this kind of summer heat is re. The three radicals comprising the character represent hand, ball and fire. It can combine with other characters to create meanings that are all resonances of the Fire Element:

Reqing enthusiastic, passionate

Renao: lively

Reai: to adore

Qinre: intimate, warm-hearted

The height of summer, which is where we in the southern hemisphere now find ourselves, is a season of extreme heat. The days are at their longest, giving the sun more hours to heat the atmosphere. This provides the final burst of sunlight to bring summer plants and crops to their fullness and maturity. It is a time for summer holidays when many people take their ease on beaches. ‘Sun worshippers’ are to be found packed onto strips of sand all along our coastlines. The great Aussie holiday at the beach is testament to many people’s love of the summer heat.

A particular craving for summer heat can be diagnostic of an imbalance in the Fire Element of a person. So too can a particular aversion to this climatic factor. Extremes of preference for any of the resonances of an Element can signal that the Element is wobbling and needs support. In this case, craving for or aversion to a hot climate can be a call for the Fire Element to be addressed.

Danger to health arises when the external pathogenic factor of heat enters the body, producing a rise in the body’s temperature, often mimicking symptoms of fever. There can be reddening in the face, hot skin, great thirst and profuse sweating which depletes the fluids of the body. Other symptoms can include a rapid pulse, dizziness, confusion, mental restlessness and fatigue. This is a yang condition which affects the upper body, especially the head, and diminishes yin.

Some are more prone to this exogenous pathogen than others. Older people are more prone as the fluids of an older body tend to be diminished. This is an expression of the Water Element failing to control the Fire Element across the ke or controlling cycle.

While this condition is more prevalent in summer, it is not confined to that season. It can occur whenever there is a heatwave, or even indoors in highly heated, poorly ventilated rooms.

The invasion of summer heat is similar to the condition of heatstroke or sunstroke in western medicine, and the treatment is the same:

Lie down in a cool, shaded place; slowly sip plenty of water (drinking too much too quickly can overwhelm the body); cool down with splashed water on the head, neck and wrists, or shower or bathe in cool water. If severe symptoms don’t ease within an hour, call the emergency number.

Chinese medicine also recognises that heat invasion penetrates to the organs. In particular, the heart, yin organ of the Five Element is most affected, which explains the mental confusion, disorientation and delirium that can result. (All mental disorders are considered disorders of the heart.) But the heat can invade other organs also. Heat can combine with damp which together transform to phlegm and may manifest as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, poor appetite, fatigue and tightness in the chest. Heat can also combine with wind. Wind-heat can affect the lungs and produce symptoms of the common cold: runny nose, sore throat, fever and joint pain

Ways to avoid the effects of the summer heat pathogen are to avoid the sun, seek shade, wear light, loose clothing and a hat, and drink plenty of water over time, sipping rather than gulping. Do not exercise in the heat. (I cringe when I see people jogging in the middle of a hot day.) Keep the house cool by closing blinds early in the day.

Acupressure Points can help rebalance

Large Intestine 11 is a classic point for clearing heat from the body. Located in a hollow at the end of the lateral elbow crease.

Heart Protector 6 is a calming and regulating point for the Fire Element. Located 2 cun above the inner wrist crease.

Triple Heater 5 regulates the body thermostat. Located 2 cun above the outer wrist crease.

Governor Vessel 14 treats excess yang, which is a characteristic of heat invasion. Located on the spine at the base of the neck, between vertebrae C7 and T1.

Other known points include Heart 7, 8; Heart Protector 3, 7, 8; Triple Heater 6;  Stomach 36, Spleen 6.

I’ll be back soon in the Late Summer for a look at the humid or damp climate. Enjoy the rest of the summer. Stay cool!

NOTE: I have been discussing summer heat as an external pathogen. Chinese medicine also recognises heat conditions that are internal and which are created primarily by inappropriate diet and emotional disturbances. TCM recognises a plethora of such heat and fire patterns that are beyond this discussion from the Five Element perspective, but which can be studied in Giovani Maciocia’s ‘The Foundations of Chinese Medicine”.

Treating the Earth

Digestion, Earth Element, Entry exit points, Nausea, Reflux, Seasons, Transitions, Worry, , , , ,

In Australia we are deep into Late Summer, season of mellow fruitfulness, when nature offers up its abundant produce. It’s a time to enjoy and savour the bounty. The Late Summer season of the Earth Element is represented by the 18 days that are sandwiched between summer and autumn. How appropriate is the word sandwich, evocative of the sights, smells and flavours of food; for the Earth Element is very much about digestion. Northern hemispherical readers will be in the Late Winter, also a period of Earth orientation. (See seasonal dates here.)

Last time I wrote about a treatment pattern for the diaphragm. The feedback was such that I thought to share some other patterns that I use often in clinic. While single points are beneficial, patterns of point combinations are far more powerful. Here we will look at a treatment for the Stomach channel, the yang organ/meridian of the Earth Element, and one which is frequently congested.

This treatment works to encourage the flow of Qi down the body by using some of the most important Stomach acupoints. In doing so, it can address conditions where the Qi is not flowing freely down the channel, and may even be flowing upwards, something known as Rebellious Stomach Qi. This may result in digestive disorders such as nausea, reflux, vomiting, bloating.

A second use of this treatment is for people who spend a lot of time worrying and overthinking. Even a lot of study can produce an excess of Qi in the head. These mental gymnastics are draining of the Earth energies. By drawing this excess away from the head and down the body to the feet, it is as if the worry is digested and metabolised.

A third way this pattern can be useful is for those who are ungrounded. Maybe there is a greater amount of Qi in the upper body than in the lower body. Perhaps the person is not in touch with their legs and feet and there is a sense of not having their feet on the ground. This can be helpful for anyone whose centre of gravity is higher than the navel.

THE POINTS

Let’s look at the acupressure points I’ve chosen. This list is not exhaustive, and practitioners can choose other Stomach channel points if it seems Qi is blocked elsewhere.

Qihu ~ Stomach 13 ~ Qi Door

As the name suggests, this is a doorway or opening that allows the Qi to flow down from the head into the body. If this point is blocked, spend plenty of time opening the door.

ST 13: Immediately below the clavicle, 4 cun lateral to the midline, in line with the nipple

Tianshu ~ Stomach 25 ~ Heavenly Pivot

A pivotal point indeed, for it marks the midway point between the upper and lower body, between Heaven and Earth. Some authorities regard this as the most useful point for any abdominal condition.

ST 25: 2 cun lateral to the centre of the navel, halfway between the midline and the nipple line

Susanli ~ Stomach 36 ~ Leg Three Miles

This point needs no introduction as it is one of the best known and most versatile points of all. It was the very first blog I wrote back in 2014. Treats any ailments of the Stomach and is very energising and grounding.

ST 36: 4 fingers width (3 cun) below the base of the patella, and one finger width lateral to the crest of the tibia

Fenglong ~ Stomach 40 ~ Abundant Splendour

Interestingly, this was part of the diaphragm release from last posting. Here it is used in its capacity as the luo-connecting point of Stomach, which balances Qi between it and its partner Spleen. And as a point in the lower leg, it encourages the flow of Qi down to the feet.

ST 40: halfway between the knee crease and ankle, 2 fingers width (1.5 cun) lateral to the crest of the tibia

Chongyang ~ Stomach 42 ~ Rushing Yang

This is a really important Stomach point. It is both the source point and the exit point of Stomach channel. Source points treat and balance the organ directly, while exit points ensure that Qi moves smoothly out of a channel and into the next in the Qi system, in this case, into Spleen. If this point is blocked, there is a strong chance that Stomach Qi is backing up along the channel and not moving through.

ST 42: on the top of the foot, in a slight hollow 2 fingers width (1.5 cun) distal to the middle of the ankle crease

Gongsun ~ Spleen 4 ~ Grandfather Grandson

While this is not a Stomach point, I’ve chosen it in its capacity as the luo-connecting point which balances the yin-yang pair of meridians. It is especially good at drawing excess Qi from Stomach to Spleen. Also, as the master point of the Extraordinary Vessel Chong Mai, it has a powerful influence over all the organs of the abdomen.

SP 4: in the arch of the foot, in a depression at the base of the first metatarsal bone

METHOD

OK those are the ingredients. Here is the recipe.

Start on the left side. Hold ST 13 + ST 25 for 2-3 minutes. Then decide which of the points is more reluctant to open and stay with it, while moving the other hand to ST 36.  Work down the body in a kind of leapfrog pattern, bringing balance between the pairs. Move next to include ST 36, then ST 40. It is conceivable that if ST 13 didn’t release, that you’d be holding it with all the other points, but that is rare. Finally, finish with ST 42 + SP 4.

Then repeat on the right side of the body. The order may well be different on this side, but again work from upper to lower.

This treatment will take around 30-45 minutes. It can be a stand-alone treatment or it could be incorporated with other work.

This week will be a great time to use this treatment as well as at other times of the year when the seasons are changing, when the Earth Element comes to the fore. However, it will be helpful at any time.

Enjoy!