TCM Symptoms of Dampness, and How to Perform a Self-Test

Qi is the energy or driving force that makes up life. TCM divides the human body’s energy into yin and yang: Yin, a negative energy, represents night and cold, while positive yang represents day and warmth. According to TCM, only by maintaining a critical balance between the two can we maintain good health.

Symptoms

Excessive dampness may cause the following symptoms:

• Gastrointestinal Problems: Too much dampness will first affect the intestines and stomach. You may lose your appetite and feel bloated after drinking water.
• Scalp Problems: Sometimes, the scalp may feel spongy and soft when you press on it. This state reflects dampness trapped in the skull, causing one to feel dizzy or like they’re wearing a heavy hat.
• “Pear” Body Shape: Dampness, when trapped in the abdomen and buttocks, can lead to a “pear-shaped” body, wherein the upper and lower body is thin, but the buttocks are disproportionately large.
• Skin Conditions and Swelling: When dampness accumulates in the limbs, eczema may appear on the upper limbs and swelling in the lower limbs.

2 Types of Dampness

In TCM, there are two main categories of dampness: hot and cold.

Hot

When dampness and heat combine, it forms “damp heat.” Damp heat is often associated with inflammation. For example, symptoms such as swelling and redness of joints and uric acid crystals in gout patients are typical manifestations of damp heat.

People with damp-heat constitutions tend to feel hot more often and favor cold food and drinks. Their faces may appear greasy due to oil secretion, which makes them prone to acne and pimples. They tend to perspire a lot and exude the strong smell of sweat. Their urine is darker yellow, and their stool is sticky and difficult to pass.

Cold

When dampness meets with coldness, it is classified as “cold dampness.” People with cold and damp constitutions have weak yang energy, poor physical strength, and are prone to fatigue. People with cold body constitutions often have cold hands and feet. They drink little water but seldom feel thirsty. They prefer hot food, but they usually do not sweat easily. The tongue coating is typically white and thick, with a pale complexion, and the stool tends to be loose and soft.

DIY Dampness Test

To determine whether you have too much dampness in your body, you can conduct a self-test by examining the following:

• Mental State: Even when you are not engaged in a heavy workload or intense exercise, you still feel tired, especially when you get up in the morning or the afternoon. You tire easily, and your body feels heavy.
• Skin: TCM believes the skin’s appearance is intricately linked with dampness. Dampness causes sweat rashes between the fingers, palms, toes, or soles of the feet.
• Limbs: People with excessive dampness often experience swelling in the evening, especially in the feet.
• Abdomen and Lower Limbs: TCM believes that dampness will sink, causing the lower limbs or lower abdomen to feel heavy and wet.
• Gastrointestinal Tract: Excessive dampness will affect gastrointestinal function, resulting in reduced food intake and a feeling of fullness or bloating in the stomach.
• Stool: The stool of people with too much dampness tends to be sticky and may even stick to the toilet bowl. People may also feel like they have not emptied their bowels completely.
• Reproductive System: Women with excessive dampness may have increased vaginal secretion or yellow discharge and are prone to vaginal infections. Men may experience itching in the crotch, burning pain while urinating, and inflammation of the urethra.

Ways to Remove Dampness

The following are ingredients and tips to help clear dampness, according to TCM.

Ginger

Ginger can dispel cold, eliminate dampness, and warm the stomach and intestines. It should be taken during the day to raise the yang energy, but not at night. Ginger does not need to be peeled and can be boiled directly in water to drink. However, people with weak constitutions should not eat too much ginger, as they will lose weight and become frailer.

Research shows ginger can help prevent CVD by lowering blood pressure and blood lipid levels. Ginger also has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-rheumatic, anti-ulcer, anti-emetic, and antipyretic properties.

Cinnamon

People with colder constitutions, such as vegetarians with cold hands and feet, should use 1 to 2 grams of cinnamon powder daily. It should be mixed with food or drinks and not swallowed on its own, as it irritates the mucous membranes. Cinnamon warms the body, increases yang energy, and improves circulation.

Research shows that cinnamon contains compounds that lower cholesterol and CVD risk, and cinnamon extract shows potential anti-obesity effects.

Sunlight

TCM posits that meridians are the channels through which energy circulates, and the internal organs are connected to various body parts through these meridians. Points on the meridians with special functions are called acupoints, and diseases specific to different organs can be treated by stimulating their corresponding acupoints.

During peak hours of sunlight, around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., sunbathing your back for 10 minutes can replenish yang energy and eliminate dampness. There are many meridian acupoints and visceral reflection points on the back. Warming the internal organs through sun exposure improves energy and organ function.

Exercise

Sweating during exercise can eliminate dampness, but it is not recommended to exercise at night because it will consume energy and cause excitement, making it difficult to fall asleep.

Salt

Consuming an appropriate amount of salt can help improve the heart’s vitality. In particular, vegetarians should eat more salt to help increase yang energy. About 4 to 6 grams (or about ½ to 1 teaspoon) per day is enough.

Things That Worsen Dampness

The following will increase dampness in the body:

• Eating fatty and sweet foods can lead to a damp-heat constitution.
• Overeating raw and cold food, such as iced beverages, salad, or fruit or vegetable juice, can lead to cold dampness, even if you add nuts and ginger to your diet.
• Drinking alcohol, especially beer, can lead to damp-heat constitution, “beer belly,” and gout.
• Insufficient exercise, little sweating, or staying in an air-conditioned room too often will also cause dampness accumulation.
• Living in a humid environment may cause a dampness buildup.