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Cold-damp encumbering the spleen
寒湿困脾 〔寒濕困脾〕hán shī kùn pí
Also:
- Cold-damp obstructing the center (寒湿中阻 hán shī zhōng zǔ)
- Dampness encumbering spleen yáng (湿困脾阳 shī kùn pí yáng), used when cold signs are not present or pronounced
- Greater yīn (tài yīn) cold-damp (太阴寒湿 tài yīn hán shī)
A disease pattern chiefly characterized by torpid intake; abdominal distension; sloppy stool; generalized heaviness; a white slimy tongue fur.
| Vacuity and Repletion in Spleen Patterns |
|---|
When cold-damp and damp-heat develop out of spleen qì or spleen yáng vacuity (dampness forming internally with cold or heat), they are effectively vacuity patterns that are gradually complicated by repletion. When cold-damp and damp-heat encumbering the spleen results from direct contraction of these evils from outside in people with a weak spleen, repletion may be the dominant element in the vacuity-repletion complex. |
Description: Distension and oppression in the stomach duct and abdomen; torpid intake; slimy sensation in the mouth; bland taste in the mouth; absence of thirst; upwelling and nausea, sometimes with vomiting; abdominal pain; heavy-headedness; heavy cumbersome limbs; in some cases, short voidings of scant urine and swollen limbs; in some cases, yellowing of the body and eyes (jaundice); dull lusterless complexion; in some cases, copious vaginal discharge; pale enlarged tongue; white glossy or slimy tongue fur; a pulse that is soggy and moderate or sunken and fine.
Diseases: Vomiting; diarrhea; water swelling; jaundice.
Pathogenesis: Exuberant internal dampness obstructing spleen yáng and impairing its warming and transforming action. It is attributable to the following factors:
- excessive consumption of raw or cold foods (or of rich, fatty, and sweet foods);
- contraction of external dampness (living in a damp environment; excessive exposure to water through wading, swimming, or getting wet in the rain);
- spleen yáng vacuity allowing cold-damp to arise internally.
Conditions purely attributable to raw and cold foods and externally contracted are repletion patterns; those attributable to spleen yáng vacuity are patterns of vacuity complicated by repletion.
| Comparison Between Spleen Yáng Vacuity and Cold-Damp Encumbering the Spleen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spleen Yáng Vacuity | Cold-Damp Encumbering the Spleen | |
| Common Signs | Reduced eating, abdominal distension, and sloppy stool. | |
| Differences | Mild distension | Pronounced heaviness and distension; nausea and vomiting. |
| Pulse | Sunken, slow, and forceless. | Soggy; slow or moderate |
Analysis of signs
- Impaired stomach harmony and downbearing: Distension, oppression and pain in the stomach duct and abdomen; torpid intake (a tendency to eat less because eating causes fullness); upwelling and nausea, in some cases vomiting.
- Impaired movement and transformation: Sloppy stool (or in some cases inhibited defecation).
- Dampness: Heavy cumbersome body; heavy-headedness; bland taste in the mouth, possibly with a slimy sensation. In some cases, there may be puffy swelling of the limbs and short voidings of scant urine due to the sticky obstructive nature of dampness.
- Women: Copious vaginal discharge.
- Complexion: Dull and lusterless.
- Tongue fur: White and glossy or slimy, indicating dampness and the absence of heat.
- Pulse: Soggy and moderate. Jaundice: Enduring cold-damp can disturb the liver’s free coursing action and cause bile to spill outward, giving rise to yellowing of the body and eyes with a dull yellow coloration of the skin, often described
as if smoked.This is called
yīn jaundiceor
yīn yellowing.
Comparison: Compare spleen vacuity with damp encumbrance. See table.
Further development: Depressed liver qì.
Treatment
Medicinal therapy: Treat by warming the center and dispelling cold combined with the method of moving the spleen. Use variations of
Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on CV, GV, SP, and ST. Select