Treatment Cave

Latent Heat or “Latent Pathogenic Factor” is a pathology that is quite unique and rather difficult to comprehend.  Essentially, Latent Heat is formed when an exterior pathogenic factor invades the body without causing symptoms at the acute stage: the pathogenic factor goes into the Interior, it changes into Heat and it then emerges later in the form of interior Heat.  I said that Latent Heat is “unique” and “difficult to comprehend” because, if the pathogenic factor invades the body without causing immediate symptoms, how do we know that it has happened?  I shall try to answer this question and others as we progress in the discussion. Therefore, there are two types of attacks of exterior pathogenic factors: a new attack of Wind-Heat with acute onset and obvious symptoms; and an attack of Latent Heat which, at the acute stage, has no symptoms. The distinction is based on the different aetiology and different clinical manifestations in the beginning stage. In Wind-Heat, the...

As discussed for Damp-Heat, in Phlegm-Heat, the primary aspect is the Phlegm rather than the Heat.  It is Phlegm that is hot rather than the Heat having Phlegm.  In a similar way as we said for Damp-Heat, a better name would be “Hot Phlegm” rather than “Phlegm-Heat”.  This has important implications in treatment as this should be aimed at resolving Phlegm primarily and clearing Heat secondarily. Interestingly, the Chinese character for Phlegm ( 痰 ) is based on the radical for “disease” and that for “Fire” (twice). This would seem to imply that Phlegm derives from Heat: indeed, in many cases it does but we should remember that Phlegm is also frequently combined with Cold. AETIOLOGY Emotional stress Emotional stress in the beginning stages leads to Qi deficiency or Qi stagnation and sometimes both.  Phlegm is a pathological accumulation of fluids which itself derives either from Qi deficiency or Qi stagnation or both as it is Qi that transforms, transports and exc...

Before starting our discussion I would like to clarify something regarding the nature of Damp-Heat. In Damp-Heat, Dampness is the predominant pathogenic factor: it is the Dampness that is hot, not the Heat that is damp. In fact, it would be better to call it “Hot Dampness” rather than “Damp-Heat”; however, I will continue calling it “Damp-Heat” because this term is in such common use. This means that, in the treatment of Damp-Heat, we must concentrate on draining or resolving Dampness rather than on clearing Heat. However, we do of course use cold herbs too to clear Heat. I would like also to point out that generally Chinese books and doctors overstate the frequency of Damp-Heat and always talk about Damp-Heat, seldom of “Dampness”. For example, in China, every urinary problem is due to Damp-Heat, whereas we also see a lot of urinary problems with Dampness but without Heat, and a lot of urinary problems caused by Qi stagnation or Qi sinking. Similarly, any Gall-Bladder problem will alw...