What Is Acupuncture? (8)

The causes of diseases from acupuncture/TCM’s point of view.

When acupuncture/TCM was developed about 2000 years ago, there were no advanced equipment to observe bacteria and viruses, nor were there machines to perform laboratory tests. Yet, people would get sick as we do today. So ancient doctors tried to understand diseases with natural phenomena. Let’s take a look at how etiology is like in acupuncture/TCM.

In acupuncture/TCM, there are 6 categories of the cause of diseases.

 六淫 – Six Evil (6 pathogens) : Wind, Cold, Dampness, Dryness, Summer-heat, Fire(heat)

 

The 6 evils are natural phenomena of the changes of weather under normal circumstances, they are only evil when the changes happen abnormally (a cold spell in spring or an Indian summer). The abnormal changes plus a weakened immune can cause sickness. The 6 evils can affect the body solely, or combined; they can invade a person from the external environment, also can generate within the body.

风–Wind

  • External Wind invades the body through the skin and pores, and it often combines with the other 5 pathogenic factors. When there is strong wind blowing, one should cover up, especially if one just took a shower or exercised, the pores are open, which allows wind to invade. For example, Common cold is called wind-cold in acupuncture/TCM.
  • Internal Wind is generated by other pathogenic factors. Convulsion that happens with fever(热极生风-extreme heat generating wind), essential tremors(血虚生风-blood deficiency causing wind), and seizures(肝阳化风), are all under pathogenic wind category

寒–Cold

  • External Cold can invade the body in two ways. It can invade the body from the environment, such as commom cold (wind-cold), or gets into the body with cold food/drinks. Many females with menstraul cramps find warmth helps relieve the pain, this is thought to be due to ingestion of too much cold food/drink, such as ice water.
  • Internal Cold is due to the body’s lack of Yang. For example, chronic loose stool/diarrhea is due to Yang deficiency of the stomach/spleen. Sometimes external Cold can damage the Yang and transform into internal cold.

暑–Summer Heat

  • Summer heat only invades the body externally. It is the same concept of heat stroke in western medicine.

湿–Damp

  • External damp comes from the environment, where there is heavy moisture, such as a house by a river. Some types of skin diseases such as cellulitis are categorized under damp-toxic in acupuncture/TCM. (bacteria grow much easier in a damp environment, which could cause skin infection)
  • Internal damp often caused by improper diet. When a person consumes too much heavy food, such as cheese, fried food, etc., there will be internal damp accumulates. Symptoms include stick stool with constipation, etc. (Obesity is a type of damp disease)

燥–Dryness

  • Dryness is an external evil. It often invades the body in fall and winter, especially in northern part of a country, such as Minnesota. Dryness attacks the respiratory system. This correlates with western medical concept: when the mucosa of the nasal cavity is dry, it loses it defensive mechanism, as a result we get upper respiratory track infection, aka common cold.

火–Fire

  • External fire invades the body from the environment. Viral/bacterial infections are under external fire category. (Infections cause localized swelling, redness, warmth, even fever)
  • Internal fire often caused by emotional/Yin-Yang imbalance. Stress, anger or over insomnia can generate internal fire.
  • Fire can also be generated when the other 5 pathogens accumulate. For example, common cold is caused by the invasion of wind-cold, and when wind-cold accumulate to certain level, it turns into fire, results in a fever.

 

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