C. Clear Damp, Promote Urine
Diuretics
Dampness is roughly equal to water or fluid, and is passed off by the Urinary system. But Dampness is insipid, lingering and slow to clear once it is established, just like the rising damp found in old buildings which is likewise, very slow to come, but hard to clear once there.
The chief way of clearing Dampness is to promote Urine. However, to ensure Dampness is not continually created within the body, attention must be paid to the Digestion to ensure that excess Phlegmatic humors are not formed due to low digestive fire. Further, Dampness is also treated with light, aromatic medicines that are of an opposite nature.
The types of Damp:
1. Damp–Phlegm–Cold: Dampness is often associated with Phlegm, especially when found in the middle and upper parts of the body, the lower part of the body is normally only afflicted with Damp and Water. When there is thickening in the flesh, or chronic hardness or swelling, often both Dampness and Phlegm have caused the obstruction.
2. Damp–Heat: Dampness readily turns into Heat, just as a pile of damp hay is able to spontaneously burst into flames. In this case, cooling herbs of this group are combined with herbs that clear Heat, or medicines that clear Heat and Damp. Damp-Heat is most commonly seen in Gall Bladder, Bowels and Bladder (organs that deal with fluids).
3. Damp–Wind: Wind-Damp is most associated with Rheumatic disease
The concept of Damp also corresponds closely with Melancholy: both are associated with the Earth Element and the Spleen; both are recognised as the most insidious Humors in their respective systems; both are concerned with stubborn and obstinate disease. The main difference between pure Damp and Melancholy is that Damp is mostly associated with a thin fluid-like substance such as the puffiness that gathers in the ankles, whereas Melancholy assumes a residue as is seen in the sediment of blood that is left to stand and is often associated with structural change or distortion, as is seen in Rheumatism, Tumors, Leprosy etc. Melancholy is associated with either improper digestion, or ‘burnt’ humors, and Damp is also a by-product of improper digestion Melancholy is also associated with Mania, Madness, Depression, Schizophrenia etc. In practice, certain medicines which promote Urine to clear Damp, such as Agaric and Polypody, were often used in formula to clear Melancholy, and were usually combined with some suitable purgative medicines.
Used for the following conditions:
1. Edema and Fluid Retention, especially in the lower body.
2. Urinary and Gall Stones
3. Painful urination and Jaundice (with herbs to clear Heat)
4. Arthritic disorders associated with Dampness (with anti-rheumatic herbs)
5. Skin conditions with Dampness (oozing lesions etc.)
6. Damp diseases in general: adjunct for Damp affecting Digestion, Arthritis, Damp Swellings etc.
7. May help clear Melancholy (with purgatives and Melancholy Specifics)
As they clear Water from the body by promoting Urine, these herbs are generally not used in conditions with dryness or Yin deficiency, unless combined with herbs such as Asparagus root or Marshmallow root which Nourish the Yin, and also promote Urine. Plantain seed and Water Plantain root (Alisma) are 2 Diuretic herbs that can be used without compromising the Yin. The Cold Seeds of the Western Tradition likewise have this property.
Four Greater Cold Seeds:
Cucumber, Melon, Pumpkin, Gourd
Warming Seeds:
Aniseed, Caraway, Cumin, Fennel
Opening Roots:
Fennel, Parsley, Celery, Asparagus, Sea Holly (or Butchers Broom)
|
Barley Birch leaf Horsetail Golden Rod Nettle Celery seed Sea Holly root Winter Cherry Agaric |
Bean Pods Broom Couch Grass Ground Ivy Pellitory of the Wall Wormwood Restharrow White Saxifrage Polypody |
Other:
–Mung bean, Hyacinth bean, Broad bean, Kidney bean
–Agrimony, Butchers Broom, Cinnamon, Hops, Juniper berry, Wormwood
–Dried Goat Blood, Cantharides, Earthworm
TCM
Dianthus Qu Mai, Pyrrosia Shi Wei, Dioscorea Bi Xie, Stephania Han Fang Ji, Benincasa Semen Dong Gua Zi, Benincasa Exocarp Dong Gua Pi, Abutilon Qing Ma Zi, Lygodium Hai Jin Sha, Lobelia Ban Bian Lian, Ludwigia Shui Ding Xiang, Pogonatherum Jin Si Cao, Dichondra Ma Ti Jin, Bidens Xian Feng Cao,
Chinese Classification