Understand Sweating

Normal sweating is a way for the body to excrete and regulate body temperature. Abnormal sweating in Chinese medicine is considered a form of “sweating issue”. For example, some people sweat too much and continue to sweat at rest; some people do not sweat and the body fails to clear heat properly; some people are particularly sweaty in a specific part of the body, etc. Do not mistake think that sweating only evaporates some fluid.

The theory of Chinese medicine believes that “sweat is the fluid of the heart”. Excessive sweating will hurt the heart and blood.

If you have sweat problems, you should mark down the time, location and cause of sweating, and ask a registered Chinese medicine practitioner to analyse your body condition. Some people only sweat from a certain place, some people sweat then feel cold, some people only sweat at a certain time, and some people don’t sweat at all.

We will discuss all kinds of sweat issues so that you can know what your body is trying to tell you, and how you can take care of yourself.

Humans are warm-blooded animals, and their body temperature must be maintained at 36.0°C-37.0°C (axillary temperature) for the body to function normally.

However, the temperature of the external environment, exercise and other factors will increase the body temperature. Therefore, to keep the body temperature at a constant state, the human body has “developed” a protective mechanism to dissipate heat through sweating. In other words, sweating is an instinctive way for the human body to regulate body temperature. Does sweating have other effects? For example, is it true that it can detoxify? False!

When we sweat, if we dry ourselves or change clothes in time, replenish water and cool down in time, pay attention to avoid hot and cold and protect your stomach, we can all keep yourself healthy. But some people sweat a lot and are always covered in sweat. Many people still sweat on their heads and necks and their hair is wet. Sometimes the weather is obviously not hot, or even when you sleep, But the sweat just flows, what’s going on?

Traditional Chinese medicine has unique insights and treatments for sweat syndrome. Let me share with you. Let me start from the head, neck! (remember before you take any suggestions, You have to ask your Chinese herbal practitioner)

Spontaneous Sweating

The body sweats easily during the day, or the body becomes sweaty even after a little exertion)

1. Overheating on upper body: Heart and Lungs-stagnation does not come out, and it is fumigated upward. It is more common in damp-heat and dampness-toxic problems. The tongue symptoms include red tongue tip, yellow greasy or pale white coating, but no tooth marks on both sides of the tongue tip, which often manifests It causes problems such as irritability, stuffiness, insomnia, sore throat, and sometimes yellow phlegm.

Suggestion: to clear away dampness and heat, Honeysuckle Tea and Coptis chinensis, chrysanthemum, of gardenia, Lemon, ebony plum, jujube kernel, pomegranate peel, hawthorn, orange, kiwi, purslane

2. Middle body is blocked. The middle body(middle burner) is dominated by the spleen, stomach, liver and gallbladder. It connects up and down, rises and falls in an orderly manner, and Qi and blood circulate. If the middle burner is blocked, it is most likely to cause water knots in the chest and diaphragm. That is, the water that is drunk, the water that is turned into drinks, The phlegm produced, and the dampness blocked are all blocked in the chest. Heat and dampness gradually appear, and sweating occurs upwards. The tongue is red and has yellow greasy coating. There are tooth marks on both sides of the tongue. The face tends to be oily, which often occurs. Diarrhea and fullness, bad breath, bitter mouth, and easy anger.

To open up the middle burner, you can use heat-clearing spleen and stomach medicine. If Qi def: Atractylodes, ginseng, poria. If digestion stagnation: Hawthorn, Divine Comedy, Malt, Licorice. If weak Spleen or stomach: Chinese yam, nutmeg.

3. The lower body is weak (lower burner). The lower burner contains organs such as the kidney, bladder, small intestine, and large intestine. Kidney yang deficiency is most likely to occur, causing the heart fire to rise and cause symptoms of upper body have heat and lower body too cold. The tongue is yellow and greasy, and the hands and feet are cold. When eat cold food( define by Chinese medicine) have diarrhea, but upper body is very hot. like acne on face, or face is red, or ears are red.
To make up for the deficiency of the lower burner, you can use apple, ancient roasted tangerine peel, rose tea, ebony plum, Cinnamon.

4. Deficiency of yang qi. Abundance of yang qi can help the body control and lock water. However, insufficient yang qi is more common in early recovery from serious illness, postpartum, or old age and physical weakness. The joints are not solid and body fluids leak out, so headaches occur. The neck is prone to sweating, which is a deficiency syndrome, which may include pale complexion, shortness of breath, fatigue, pale tongue, weak pulse, etc.

To replenish yang energy, you can use Astragalus, Atractylodes, and Fangfeng to speed up the qi, strengthen the spleen and stomach, relieve the surface and dissipate heat, or use Shengmai Powder.

Night Sweats

There is a reason:

Night sweats caused by yin deficiency, the sweat comes not only from the head and neck, but also from the chest and back. This is mostly due to the imbalance of nutrient (yíng Qi )- superficial defense (wèi Qi) disharmony. When we rest, wèi Qi enters the body, and the sweat cannot be absorbed and begins to “run, drip, and drip”. The human body wakes up due to excessive sweating and chills, wèi Qi floats on the body surface, and the sweat stops.

Night sweats are often accompanied by symptoms such as fever, red tongue coating, and dizziness, which can be treated with Liu wei, Di huang, Pills, Zuo gui Pills, etc.

Therefore, from the perspective of spontaneous sweating + night sweats, there are 5 causes in total. Sometimes several of them may be mixed together. For example, if there are problems in the upper burner, middle burner, or lower burner, it needs to be treated based on syndrome differentiation and the right medicine can be used to stop sweating and eliminate the root cause.

Common Sweating Symptoms

Lack of sweat – inability to sweat, maybe caused by lack of body fluid, insufficient yang qi or clogged pores. Need to improve Immune

Head sweat – always a head full of sweat after a little movement but not sweating elsewhere on the body. Usually happens to those with heat that cannot be properly processed, insufficient yang qi or qi deficiency body condition. Its Lung , Heart over heating

Yellow sweat – yellow sweat stains on the clothes, this usually occurs for people with damp heat body type. They should clear heat and dispel dampness.

Unexplained sweating – sweating during the day without a weather factor, prone to those recovering from illness or those with phlegm and dampness or ‘qi’ deficiency body types.

Day time even not move sweat easy, or a bit movement, Increased sweating. Lung Qi Deficiency.

Night sweats – sweating while sleeping, and it stops when you wake up. Usually happens to those who frequently stay up late, prefer spicy foods and have yin deficiency. They should nourish yin and relieve dryness.