CAUSES OF DISEASE

understand basic yin-yang theory

know the Fundamental substances
have reviewed the 12 regular channels
TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS GUIDE YOU NEED TO:
DIFFICULTY RATING:
wind
STRATEGY TO EXPEL WIND
cold
STRATEGY TO WARMCOLD
fre
STRATEGY TO DRAIN FIRE
damp
STRATEGY TO
TRANSFORMDAMP
summer heat
STRATEGY TO CLEAR HEAT
dry
STRATEGY TO
MOISTEN DRYNESS
The six environmental excesses AKA: THE EXOGENOUS FACTORS
The seven emotional states AKA: THE ENDOGENOUS FACTORS

Other causes (lifestyle) AKA: NEITHER ENDOGENOUS OR EXOGENOUS FACTORS
Causes of disease are divided into 3 groups:
diet excessive sex excessive work trauma parasite/poison wrong treatment
anger
>-(
joy
:-D
sadness
:-(
grief
:(
pensiveness
}:-o
fear
:-o
fright
!-o
1
wind
STRATEGY TO EXPEL WIND
cold
STRATEGY TO WARM COLD
fre
STRATEGY TO DRAIN FIRE
damp
STRATEGY TO
TRANSFORM DAMP
summer heat
STRATEGY TO CLEAR HEAT
dry
STRATEGY TO
MOISTEN DRYNESS
The six environmental excesses AKA: THE EXOGENOUS FACTORS
INTRO:
All six environmental excesses have a sudden onset.
All are identifed by the signs & symptoms accompanying them.
They should never be seen in isolation from the body.
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
The Neijing says
Wind in WMS
Has a rapid onset
Causes manifestations to move around
Causes convulsions, tremors, stifness
Causes numbness or tingling
Causes itching
Afects the top of the body
Wind is the mother of a hundred diseases
Equivalent to infectious or contagious diseases with swift changes in condition.
EXAMPLES: Common colds, stif neck, wind stroke
wind causes manifestations to move from place to place.
EXAMPLES: joint pain that moves, skin eruptions that change location,
EXAMPLES: Parkinsons disease, paralysis following a stroke, tremours especially in limbs
EXAMPLES: Itchy or tickly nose, throat, eyes at start of a common cold, itchy skin diseases
EXAMPLE: Facial Bells palsy
INTRO:
A yang phenomena. Associated with spring,
but can appear in any season. Wind moves
quickly and blows intermittently.
Wind rarely appears by itself - it is usually
accompanied with another environmental
excess. The presence of wind allows - and
even promotes - the invasion of the body
by other environmental excesses.
wind | feng
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
External Wind is often accompanied by:
Aversion to wind, slight sweating, sudden headaches, blocked nasal passages, itchy, sore throat.
When accompanied with another environmental excess, it also contains signs of that pathogen.
Fever is due to:
The struggle between the external pathogen and wei-qi. Aversion to wind is due to: a failure of
the wei-qi to warm the skin and muscles. Sneezing, blocked nasal passages are due to: wind
obstructing wei-qi impairing lung dispersing function. Weakness of Ying-qi and Wei-qi are due to:
the pores becoming loose and soft, so slight sweating may occur.
External wind commonly combines with cold, heat, damp and can be related to acute exterior
pathogenic invasion and channel pathology. Stifness often afects the S.I. & Bl channels.
Internal Wind manifests as tremors, tics, severe dizziness, vertigo and numbness.
Causes 2 liver pathologies: Blazing liver fre and Ascendant liver yang
These 2 pathologies can easily transform into wind and present signs such as dizziness, tremor and
convulsive spasm aka: up-stirring of internal liver wind.
wind | feng
>
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
Cold injures yang
Cold congeals
Cold contracts
Cold causes clear discharges
External Cold
in both the exterior and the interior. Cold obstructs normal movement, freezing things,
leading to slow movement, hypo-activity and hibernation.
and can block the circulation of qi and blood. It causes severe, sharp, cramping pain that
is somewhat unresponsive to heat. EXAMPLE: Cold in the uterus.
The Neijing states: Cold enters the channels and there is retardation of movement... qi cannot
penetrate, and fnally there is pain. EXAMPLE: Painful bi-syndrome where muscles and sinews contract.
The Neijing states: Cold is watery, transparent, clear and cool. Secretions & excretions related to cold
pathogens are clear or white and may have a frozen look. EXAMPLES: Thin, watery nasal discharge,
watery urine, clear vomit, clear sputum or diarrhoea with a clear white fuid.
is sudden, usually accompanied by aversion to cold, chills, mild fever, no sweating,
headache and body aches. Usually chills are more pronounced than fever.
The chills, aversion of cold and body aches are caused by impaired Wei-qi: the Wei-qi can
no longer function to warm and nourish the skin and muscles.
The mild fever is due to the external cold pathogen and the Wei-qi battling each other
to fght the other of.
INTRO:
A yin phenomena. Associated with winter, but
can appear in any season. The most important
sign of a cold pathogen: the person feels
cold - either all over or at afected part.
The person may be cold to touch and may
appear pale and frigid. Cold weather can
aggravate a cold condition.
cold | hun
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
External Cold can be full (true) or empty
Full (true) cold occurs when exterior cold penetrates the interior (and therefore the zang-fu).
It usually lasts a short time, as the body responds to re-warm the body. This re-warming uses up
yang qi and the bodys yang qi supplies may become completely exhausted trying to warm the
body up and leading to Empty cold.
Empty cold occurs when yang-qi reserves are completely exhausted. Yang is heat. Yang is activity.
So when it is insufcient, the body will become cold and slow.
The entire body or body part afected will be cold: the person will often need more sleep than
usual and craves warmth.
Internal cold is often related to Kidney activity: yang. The kidney houses the gate-of-life fre
which is the source of the bodys yang-qi.
cold | hun
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
Heat is a milder form of fre
Fire poison
Dont confuse the fre
Secretions caused by fre
Fire recklessly moves
fre is more solid than heat, and dries the body out more than heat.
EXAMPLES: Stomach heat causes thirst, Stomach fre causes bleeding gums, gum ulcers.
TREATMENT: Heat needs to be cleared, Fire needs to be drained.
that is the normal yang of the body (from the kidney) with internal pathogenic fre
- which is a disharmony.
is red and infamed with a toxin enclosed a red swelling - a carbuncle. This is termed fre
poison and the skin lesions are red, swollen, raised and painful.
are sticky, thick and feel hot. Coughs may have a thick yellow mucus, stools may have mucus and be
accompanied by burning sensations in the anus. Heat pathogens can dry out the feces and deplete
Jinye. POSSIBLE SIGNS: a dry tongue, unusual thirst, dry stools, scanty urine
blood and shen and may move in the wrong direction.
In blood, this movement can cause hemorrhaging and red skin eruptions.
In shen, this movement can cause confused speech or delirium.
is sudden and usually accompanied by aversion to heat. The fever is often higher than a cold pathogen
- and only slight or no chills. There are more headaches and fewer body aches.
INTRO:
A yang phenomena. Associated with
summer, but can appear in any season.
The most important sign of pathogenic heat:
the person appears/feels hot - either all
over or at afected part. The person may be
hot to touch and may have a red face, red
eyes, fever and scanty urine.
fre | huo
External Fire
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
External Fire MARKED SIGNS: high fever, headaches (heat rises), swollen, sore throat, dry mouth,
great thirst, desire for cold.
Internal Fire develops from disharmonies of yin and yang of the Zang fu.
Commonly afects:
- Heart - Liver - Large intestine - Bladder
- Stomach - Lungs - Small intestine
Full heat signs: red face and eyes, feelings of heat, scanty, dark urine, constipation.
Empty heat signs: arises from a yin defciency - night sweats, fve palm heat, feeling of heat
in the afternoon and evening.
fre | huo
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
Damp is heavy
Damp produces sticky, dirty
Internal Damp
and causes protracted pain, giving a feeling of heaviness. During a damp illness, the head
may feel dull and foggy, the limbs may feel sore and the person may have a n aversion to
damp environments.
secretions that tend to be copious. They are often turbid and/or cloudy.
EXAMPLES: Heavy diarrhoea, heavy vaginal discharge, fuid-flled or oozing skin eruptions
Signs: acute, sudden, usually accompanied by dislike of damp or humid conditions.
Dull feelings in head or limbs. If external damp lingers in the body, it can lead to internal damp.
Signs: chronic, can make a person more susceptible to external dampness. Lingers, lasts a long time
and can also arise from spleen and kidney pathologies.
INTRO:
A yin phenomena. Associated with late
summer, but can appear (especially in damp
weather) in any season. The most important
sign of pathogenic damp: the person feels
heaviness in the limbs. External damp
can easily obstruct the movement of qi -
especially in the spleen where it afects
appetite and may cause abdominal edema.
damp | shi
External Damp
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
Phlegm
EXAMPLES: Phlegm collecting in the upper burner causes coughing with lots of ejected mucus.
This can lead to an obstruction of shen with: muddled thinking, stupor, coma-like states,
chaotic behaviour or even madness.
Phlegm collecting in the channels may result in: numbness, paralysis, nodules or soft, mobile
tumours developing.
Phlegm collecting in the throat can cause: the sensation of a lump in the throat.
A thick, greasy coating on the tongue.
Phlegm misting the mind can cause: foggy thinking, cant think rationally, even depression.
IMPORTANT SIGNS OF PHLEGM: Thick, greasy coating on tongue, a slippery pulse
INTRO:
A thicker, heavier form of damp that
obstructs. It can easily cause obstructions
and generates lumps, nodules or tumours.
In one sense, it is the physical thick mucus
produced by the respiratory system and
by other pathological states in the body.
Where there is phlegm, there is also damp.
phlegm | tan
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
External Dryness can interfere with the dispersing & descending action of the lungs.
signs: dry cough with little phlegm, asthma, chest pain - along with signs of sudden onset:
fever, body aches, chills etc.
Internal Dryness can develop from external dryness, from defciency of yin qi and from internal heat pathologies.
INTRO:
A yang phenomena. Associated with
autumn, but can appear in any season.
Dryness and heat are part of a continuous
sequence: dry emphasising dehydration
and heat: redness and infammation.
The person may have dry: nostrils, tongue,
lips, stools and cracked skin.
dry
External Sumer Heat is purely an external pathogenic factor and results from exposure to extreme heat. It can easily
injure qi, causing exhaustion and depleting body fuids. It often occurs with damp.
MARKED SIGNS: sudden, high fever, heavy sweating.
summer heat
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CAUSES OF DISEASE ENVIRONMENT
The seven emotional states AKA: THE ENDOGENOUS FACTORS
INTRO:
The seven emotional states are normal emotional responses.
However, if they are excessively intense or continue for a long
time, the afects can cause imbalance of yin and yang and
imbalance of blood and qi, which in turn can lead to zang-fu
disharmony or dysfunction. The psychological make-up of
a patient makes up part of any diagnosis because fundamental
substances and zang-fu are so connected.
To break cycles of depression causing illness and illness causing
depression, a physical analysis of yin|yang, blood|qi, zang|fu
that factors in the emotional state(s), needs to be carried out
by the practitioner.
anger
>-(
joy
:-D
sadness
:-(
grief
:(
pensiveness
}:-o
fear
:-o
fright
!-o
12
CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
other emotional states included in anger:
anger makes qi:
signs and symptoms of anger:
if anger continues for a long time
common disharmonies
resentment, repressed anger,irritability, frustration, rage, indignation, animosity, bitterness
rise
headaches, neck aches, stomach & spleen may be afected by anger (wood invades earth)
stagnation of liver qi or liver blood occurs
stagnation of liver qi or liver blood, rising liver yang, blazing liver fre
Anger and its afects on the zang organs:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
excessive joy:
joy makes qi:
common disharmonies:
can injure the heart
scatter
(through continued mental stimulation) heart fre or heart depletion heat
Joy and its afects on the zang organs:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
grief and sadness:
grief and sadness make qi:
when lung qi dissolves:
Signs & symptoms of lung qi dissolving:
primarily afects the heart, and via the heart - weakens (or overwhelms) the lung
dissolve
it becomes empty or depleted.
breathlessness, tiredness, depression, crying
in women: blood depletion, menses cessation
Sadness and grief and their afect on the zang organs:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
excessive thinking, mental work, study:
pensiveness makes the qi
excessive thinking:
signs and symptoms:
this is further compounded:
it can also knot lung qi:
generates obstruction, knotting qi and afects spleen qi
knot
weakens the spleen
tiredness, loss of appetite, loose stools
this is a very common form of disease in modern society :(
the spleen cannot transform and transport gu-qi, which can lead to formation of phlegm.
if the person has irregular meals or eats quickly
signs include :anxiety, breathlessness, stifness in shoulders and neck
Pensiveness and its afect on the zang organs:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
fear and chronic anxiety:
fear makes qi:
signs and symptoms in children:
signs and symptoms in adults:
can cause kidney-yin depletion, leading to depletion heat in the heart
descend and afects kidney qi
bed-wetting
facial heat, night sweats, palpitations, dry mouth and throat
Fear and its afect on the zang organs:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
fright makes qi:
fright depletes heart qi:
fright afects the kidney:
chaotic and afects the heart and kidney
signs include: palpitations, shortness of breath, insomnia
signs include: night sweats, dry mouth, dizziness, noises in ears
Fright and its afect on the zang organs:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE EMOTIONS
Other causes (lifestyle) AKA: NEITHER ENDOGENOUS OR EXOGENOUS FACTORS
diet excessive sex excessive work
trauma parasite/poison wrong treatment
19
CAUSES OF DISEASE LIFESTYLE
there are 4 ways the diet
can be irregular:
1. The person eats at irregular times
2. The person eats raw, cold or non-sanitary food
3. The person eats too much, especially fatty & sweet foods
4. The person frequently consumes hot & spicy foods and alcohol
excessive consumption of
alcohol, sweet, fatty foods:
can lead to heat and damp, then phlegm
irregular diet can afect: the spleen and the stomach
irregular diet: may combine with the six environmental excesses to cause disease
modern food: with chemical additives and modern farming practices may also contribute to patterns of disharmony
Stomach & spleen signs: digestive disruption, accumulating food (staying in digestive tract), stomach ache, diarrhoea
diet
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CAUSES OF DISEASE LIFESTYLE
there are two meanings
to excessive sex:
1. Overindulgence in sex
2. Giving both to many children
either can lead to: depleted kidney jing - weakening overall health and increasing vulnerability to disease
any harmful form of overexertion
sedentary as well as physical overwork
balance: where activity and rest both occur, so a persons qi does not become damaged
THE SUWEN STATES:
Prolonged walking damages the sinews so
afects the liver. Prolonged looking damages
the blood so afects the heart. Prolonged
sitting damages the fesh so afects the spleen.
Prolonged laying damages the qi, so afects
the lung. Prolonged standing damages the
bones so afects the kidney.
excessive work
excessive sex
means:
includes:
strive for:
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CAUSES OF DISEASE LIFESTYLE
examples of physical
trauma
impact trauma: bone fracture and sinew damage
incised wounds: loss of blood
burns and scalds: damage to skin, fesh and yin
snake bites: damage to skin, fesh
when trauma happens: qi and blood stasis may occur
old traumas: may present as painful bi-syndrome in limb or joint many years later
trauma
a basic understanding of parasites (mainly worms) was understood early in the development of TCM
poison/parasites
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CAUSES OF DISEASE LIFESTYLE
includes
in TCM
in Western Medicine
in other modalities
in self medication
any inappropriate treatment
EXAMPLE: tonifying yang in a yin deplete person
EXAMPLE: wrong prescriptions or procedures
EXAMPLE: raw food diet when a person is yang deplete
EXAMPLE: incorrect use of drugs/medicine, diet and lifestyle choices that do not support wellbeing
wrong treatment
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CAUSES OF DISEASE LIFESTYLE