In our country, especially in the hot and humid south in spring and summer, “moisture” is a word that is often mentioned.
Dizzy and runny nose? It’s humid!
Small blisters on hands and feet? It’s humid!
Sticky stools and itching in private parts? It’s humid!
People have a persistent pursuit of “removing dampness”, and have made persistent attempts for this purpose.
But what is the cause of “moisture” from the perspective of modern medicine? Does the so-called “dampness remover” really work?
Today, Tencent Medical Code is here to reveal the true face of “moisture”.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
Source: Tencent Medical Illustrator
One of the symptom descriptions of “dampness” by folks is: “Dizzy and heavy, like being wrapped in a piece of cloth; , runny nose and other surface dampness syndromes”.
Actually, this is most likely a symptom of allergic rhinitis!
At the border of spring and summer, the vegetation is lush and the climate is warm and humid. This is the period when all kinds of pollen and mold spores are spread, and it is also the high incidence period of allergic rhinitis.
Since the body’s immune system is overly sensitive to these foreign substances, triggering the release of inflammatory mediators such as histamine can trigger seasonal allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itchy nose, and runny nose.
Interestingly, if you are only allergic to pollen, it is a good thing to reduce pollen transmission in rainy days; but if you are allergic to mold or mites, it will be very uncomfortable when it rains and returns to the south. .
If allergic rhinitis is severe, nasal congestion and poor breathing at night will lead to lack of sleep, fatigue during the day, and affect work and study.
I know a friend with allergic rhinitis, her daily routine is as follows:
The nose is often blocked, the nose is desperately runny, and I can use two rolls of paper a day. The most headache at night, the whole process of breathing through the mouth, can not sleep at all. Woke up in the morning with a sore throat and smoking, and the dark circles under the eyes were getting worse.
Check your symptoms, have you been shot?
You don’t really have a “cold,” you just have a rhinitis.
Source: Tencent Medical Illustrator
At the turn of spring and summer, some people develop rashes or wheals on their skin. Small as a grain of rice on the tip of a needle, as large as a swollen bump that has been bitten by a mosquito, itching is unbearable – these symptoms are also referred to as “dampness”.
In fact, most of these problems are caused by allergies to pollen, mold, and mites, or due to sweating, fungi and bacteria multiply in the skin and pores.
The ancients didn’t know the existence of these microbes and could only blame “moisture”.
Among them, fungi prefer to grow in warm and humid places, especially those with folds and corners that are prone to sweating.
Source: GIPHY
The most common form of skin disease is “folliculitis”. Many people have “millet grains” on their backs, which are mostly related to it. There is a type of bacterial folliculitis, and there is also a fungus caused by Pityrosporum folliculitis (also called Malassezia folliculitis).
People with folliculitis have a few things in common:
1. Spending time in a humid environment (such as a bath center worker);
2. The skin is prone to oily sweating (young people, athletes);
3. Poor immunity.
The most effective way to deal with it, in addition to external application of antibacterial ointment, if necessary, also need to take the corresponding antibacterial drugs.
And you are familiar with athlete’s foot (tinea pedis), which is actually a dermatophytosis caused by a fungus.
It has a lot to do with shoes with poor ventilation, and also has a lot to do with tropical and subtropical warm and humid environments.
Its common name “Hong Kong foot” is the name given to it by the Nordic invaders who landed in Hong Kong in the 18th century and were infected. Because in dry and cold northern Europe, almost no one gets this disease.
In addition, eczema is often associated with “moisture”, but in fact eczema is more afraid of dryness and needs moisturizing. Some eczema patients may experience relief in warm and humid weather.
Source: Tencent Medical Illustrator
Many people with rheumatoid arthritis experience this: As soon as the weather is rainy and humid, joint pain starts to flare up and even worsens.
The name rheumatoid also sounds like it is related to “wind” and “wet”, so people generally believe that “cold and damp” is the culprit. But, is this the truth?
Actually, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.
Cold, humid conditions by themselves do not cause rheumatoid arthritis. But in people with rheumatoid arthritis themselves, cold and humidity do induce and exacerbate joint pain.
There is still debate as to why this is the case.
One explanation is:
When the air pressure is lowered, the pressure on the joints is also reduced, which can cause swelling in the patient’s joints, compress the already sensitive pain nerves, and cause increased pain.
It has also been suggested that this is caused by an abnormal immune system.
Although rheumatoid arthritis is not caused by freezing, nor is it caused by weather changes, but for people who have suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, they still need to pay attention to keeping warm and indoor air circulation, The bedding is dry to avoid aggravating joint pain.
Unveiled the true face of “dampness”, let’s take a look at the so-called “dampness-removing recipe” in folklore.
Foot stickers were sold in mainland China more than 10 years ago. Various products purporting to be from the US, Japan, and even Thailand are popping up on the market.
The instructions for some foot stickers have words like this: “Apply the foot stick to the sole of the foot before going to bed, take it off after getting up, and the foot stick will change from white to brown or dark brown. This indicates that moisture is being expelled from the body.”
Some people are convinced: Look, the foot stickers have really turned black!
The principle behind it is so simple that it makes people vomit blood:
The main ingredients of the foot patch are bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar. As long as you put a few drops of water on the foot patch, or absorb the sweat and moisture on the feet, the foot patch will turn black [1]!
In Yunnan, Guichuan and other southwestern regions, it is humid and cold all the year round, and many people think that eating spicy food can “remove dampness”.
People are obsessed with chili peppers because they “sweate”. When you eat something spicy, you will feel your whole body getting hot, as if your whole body is burning, giving you the illusion of “removing dampness”.
In fact, spicy is not a taste, but a pain. There is a substance in peppers called “capsaicin” that binds to specific nerve receptors in the mouth, producing a burning sensation similar to that caused by high temperature. Burning pain can cause elevated body temperature, accelerated metabolism, vasodilation, and sweat secretion [2].
Sweat is an instinctive way for the human body to regulate body temperature. The volatilization of sweat takes away the heat, and the body will feel comfortable.
The so-called “sweat steam” and “sauna” also use the principle of being more comfortable after sweating. But Sauna too often can cause excess moisture loss from the skin and damage the skin barrier, so it’s not as good as sweating through exercise.
Cupping is a very old traditional remedy for sucking out abscesses and removing pus and blood.
The skin after cupping usually has a circle of ecchymosis. This is actually the negative suction of cupping on the skin, causing the subcutaneous capillaries to rupture and bleed.
Some people feel comfortable after cupping, but it is the endorphins that the body spontaneously releases in response to painful stimuli.
Some people have blisters on their backs after cupping. At this time, the cupping master will tell you, “The more blisters, the heavier the moisture in the body, the cupping is pulling out the moisture.”
However,Blisters are not a sign of heavy moisture in the body, but a sign of burns. The bigger the blisters, the more serious the burns.
Traditional “cupping” uses an open flame to create negative pressure, and there are many cases of burns caused by this practice.
What is in the blisters is not harmful “moisture”, but tissue fluid, the normal fluid that originally exists between cells, and has a nutritious and protective effect on cells. If the blisters are not properly cared for, they can also lead to ruptures, infections, abscesses, and other consequences.
Then why, in actual cases, cupping or scraping can indeed cure some diseases?
From the perspective of modern medicine, this is a process of “breaking and then standing” – first applying pressure on the skin (the negative pressure of cupping and the pressure of scraping fingers), The blood vessels in the skin are ruptured, and the dead cells can stimulate the immune system to respond. This process simulates the attack of bacteria or viruses on the human body, thereby activating the body’s immune system and improving the body’s immunity.
Therefore, when the body is infected with a virus and causes a cold, cupping can indeed improve the immunity and promote the recovery of the disease in some cases.
But this process comes at the cost of tissue damage. A cold is a self-limiting disease, and it can heal on its own within a week without taking medicine. In order to cure scald caused by cold, the gain is not worth the gain; for other infectious diseases, if the operation is improper, there is still the risk of systemic infection and sepsis…
It should be noted that many patients with rheumatic immune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.) think that they are “damp” and go to cupping, but This will only make it worse!
Because the immune system of this group of people has been overactivated, there are antibodies that attack their own tissues (such as positive antibodies in the autoantibody spectrum, rheumatoid factor, anti-CCP antibodies, etc. positive), attacks the joints or organs of the body, causing symptoms such as arthritis.
At this time, if cupping treatment is performed again, it will undoubtedly “add fuel to the fire”, further activate the immune system, and aggravate the attack of autoantibodies on body tissues. Therefore, patients with rheumatic immune diseases are not suitable for “cupping”!
This shows that the real culprits behind “moisture” are actually diseases caused by allergens, bacteria and fungi, and autoimmunity. Coincidentally, most of them are related to abnormalities in the body’s immune system.
And all kinds of “dampness-removing recipes” basically relieve symptoms through fever in a short period of time, but they may not really cure your disease.
Instead of trying to get rid of the “moisture” in the body, it is better to do scientific care.
For healthy people, pay attention to hygiene and cleanliness, wear dry clothes and shoes, return to Nantian to use a clothes dryer, exercise more to improve immunity, and take a bath and wipe in time after sweating a lot. Drying your body will keep the “moisture” away from you.
For those who suspect that they have “dampness” and cannot be cured by various methods, it is recommended to go to the corresponding department of the hospital according to the three categories of symptoms mentioned above (Allergy and Allergy Department, Dermatology Department, Rheumatology and Immunology Department) It is the right way to check to find the root cause and carry out systematic treatment.
It needs to be reminded that it is not easy to adjust the abnormal immune system to normal. This is a long-term process, which requires firm confidence and long-term regular treatment.
Many patients are impatient and unable to adhere to the treatment, so they are always repeated and the effect is not good. As long as regular treatment is adhered to for a long time, manyAllergic and rheumatic immune diseases can be well controlled.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
References
[1] Li Ying, the blackening of the foot patch is liposuction and detoxification? Experts say it is impossible. Science and Technology Daily, 2018, 04:1-2
[2] KindtS, VosR, Biondeau K, etai.Infiuenceofintra-oesophageai capsaicin instiiiation on heartburn induction and oesophageaisensitivity in man [ J]. NeurogastroenteroiMotii, 2009, 21 (10) e1032-e1082.
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