Heat and Chinese Medicine: Part 1

Today I want to talk about HEAT and Chinese Medicine. After all, its Phoenix and its August – what better topic! What does it mean to have too much heat? Excess external heat can reek havoc on anybody, but especially on people with who tend to run hot to begin with. You know who you are. You simply can’t take the heat.

Heat is one of the 8 principals of disease in Chinese Medicine because of how seriously it can affect the body. Heat results from excess or deficient conditions, or a combination of both.

What are the symptoms and causes of too much heat in Chinese Medicine?

An excess or full heat condition can be caused by exposure to excessively hot weather (heat stroke, dehydration), an external pathogen (typically sore throat or summer cold), or from too much alcohol, smoking, caffeine, meat or spicy foods. It can also manifest internally from long-term emotional problems and prolonged physical and emotional stress. Symptoms include: excessive thirst, feeling overheated, mental restlessness, anger, irritability, a red face, dry stools, and dark urine.

A deficient or empty heat condition derives from Yin deficiency, meaning excessive bodily fluid deficiency. This is caused by excessive sweating or blood loss, overwork, irregular eating and excess sexual activity. Symptoms are: feeling hot in the afternoons and evenings, night sweating, feeling of heat in the chest, palms and soles, restlessness, dry mouth and stools, and dark urine.

The good news is that in most cases you can treat heat-related conditions relatively easily. If they are not too severe and caused by environmental or lifestyle influences, there a simple things you can do. Provided that you do them, you can prevent heat from becoming an internal problem. However, if you already tend toward being hot and outside temperatures exacerbate the problem, its time for more powerful measures, i.e. Scottsdale acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

How do you treat heat naturally? Catch next week’s blog to learn more…