Day 38/365: The Six (External) Pernicious Influences, or EPIs.
EPIs are caused by climatic environmental factors: Wind, Cold, Heat, Damp, Dry, and Summer Heat. These can play a part in diseases if the body is out of balance. The body becomes more susceptible to the environment, but not necessarily will all these factors affect you, at the same time. To keep your body in balance in Yin and Yang, there are a number of checks and balances needed to do so. For example, as I stated in a previous writing, Qi and Blood move together — Qi moves Blood and Blood nourishes Qi, but Qi ALSO holds Blood in place. Spleen Qi ascends but Stomach Qi descends.
When the body is out of balance, so are Yin and Yang; therefore, more susceptible to the harmful effects of a Pernicious Influence. If you have swelling in your legs, you are going to have more of an aversion to damp and would prefer to be in a dry climate. But, if you are dealing with a common cold or are run down from a virus, you are probably going to have an aversion to Wind. When the body is out of balance and an EPI invades it, there will be a conflict with the EPI and the Normal Qi. The first line of defense it will enter is the Wei, or Protective Qi. If Wei Qi is strong, the EPI is expelled and you will recover quickly. But, if it is weak, the EPI will keep invading at a deeper level and can go into the internal organs. Typically, EPIs come without warnings, you can feel good one day and the next day be knocked down.
A Pernicious Influence can also come from within, and the body may exhibit similar signs and symptoms. This type of illness doesn’t come on suddenly because it is associated more with a chronic illness.
The Nei Jing says that “a hundred diseases develop from the Wind”. Wind is usually accompanied by another Influence, so it may be called Wind Heat, Wind Stroke, Wind Damp, etc. The person will show signs of having both aspects. Wind inside the body can act like wind outside the body. Wind blows things around. It can be a soft breeze or it can be a hurricane. Internal Wind can show as pain that moves around, headaches, joint pain, dizziness, numbness in the limbs, or even stroke. Wind is technically an irregular movement. If you are experiencing any of these issues, you will probably have an aversion to the external wind and avoid going out into it. It will feel like it is blowing through your body.
Wind can be an infectious or contagious disease because it can move from one person to the next, or from one part of the body to another part. Due to the movement of people around the globe, it is spreading the Coronavirus, rapidly. It is carried ‘by the wind’. Build up your Wei Qi to stand a better chance of recovery. Usually it is the young, sick or aged that don’t always recover from illnesses.
There are some good herbs to build the immune system up. Astragalus/Huang Qi, Dang Shen/Codonopsis, RenShen/Ginseng, DaZao/Jujube fruit, Shan Yao/Chinese yam.
Those who are affected by Cold, (especially Wind Cold) probably don’t like living in a cold climate. I know in Minnesota a cold, windy day is miserable to be in, and having a fire in the fireplace feels very cozy. The Cold will aggravate a cold condition in the body, and it can contract just like the cold outside does. It can cause obstructions, slow down movements, cause inactivity, block Qi and Blood which can cause cramping type of pain, and stiffness. If warm things cause it to feel better, then you know it is probably a Cold EPI. A Cold condition in the Uterus may stop a woman from getting pregnant. The Nei Jing states “Cold enters the Meridians and there is retardation of movement. The Qi cannot penetrate and creates pain.”
Heat is usually from an External source, but Fire is from the inside (different from Yang fire). This can happen in the summertime, but this is different from Summer Heat. Heat can be an excess type (bacterial infection), or a deficient type (night sweats due to deficient Yin). But, heat is heat and in either case, it must be treated. Confused, yet?
When a person is feeling hot, they will dislike being in warm or hot conditions. They will exhibit signs like a red face, red eyes, have inflammation, ulcers, skin lesions, fever, cough with thick yellow sputum, stools with mucus or blood that can leave a burning sensation in the anus. Heat/Fire can cause dryness, deplete the fluids, constipate, and have scanty urine flow. Heat/Fire are Yang in nature, and they are associated with movement, just like Wind. Blow air on a fire and it increases. The movement from heat/fire is a reckless sort of movement and can lead to things like hemorrhaging, manic type behaviors, thrashing about, and because heat rises, there will be more pressure headaches.
Dampness is heavy, wet, and induces slower movements. It can come from living in a damp climate, including living in a damp basement, or other similar type surroundings where the person may spend much of their time. Because dampness is heavy and turbid, it has the opposite movement than fire, as it will move downwards into the lower limbs and feet, and their head may feel dulled. Secretions from a damp body will tend to be more copious and cloudy. Dampness tends to attract ‘things’ that can cling to it, which is where the cloudy and turbid can come from. It gets thicker and can easily obstruct Qi movement. This will produce a fullness in the torso, chest and/or abdomen. Dampness affects the Spleen energy because the Spleen likes warm and dry. Internal dampness can be caused by weakened Spleen energy because the Spleen “raises the Pure” to mix with Air to transform the Pure into Qi and Blood. Dampness can interfere with this process and cause things like indigestion, nausea, abdominal edema. External Dampness is acute, and Internal Dampness is more chronic. Mucus and Phlegm are damp and are always pathology.
Summer Heat pure and simple is caused by an External source, mainly the Sun. Heat stroke, and the such, are Summer Heat. You have to get out of it, you need fluids, and a great source to help bring in fluids and cool the heat is to eat watermelon. As a child I could not handle the heat of summer. If I played any outside games, I would end up with a headache, nausea, and feel sick. My skin would get rashes or hives, and my temper would get short. (Aries can have a quick fuse to begin with so throw in some heat, and stand back…). Most of the time I kept to the shade, or just didn’t go outside, and if I did, I wanted to be by water.
Dryness is associated with Summer Heat, in a sense because they represent the time of year of summer and autumn. Hot and dry. Things are dying and dehydration is setting in unless water is added. The signs in the body will be dry lips, throat parched, maybe cracked skin (though that can happen in the winter, too, as it is still from dryness, but not from the heat). Thirst for cold is desired. It can manifest as a dry cough with little sputum, asthma, dry eyes, and External Dryness can interfere with circulating and descending functions of the lungs. It may be hard to swallow certain types of foods, crackers, or other dryer foods unless accompanied by fluids. There is a natural drying out as we age, too. Dry skin is different than dehydrated skin and are treated differently, but water is a key element, no matter where it comes from.
