The information provided here is not a replacement for a doctor. You shouldn't use it for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a professional TCM practitioner.
Pattern factsheet
Related conditions: Gouty arthritis Rheumatic fever Rheumatoid arthritis and one other conditions
Diagnosis
Common symptoms: Fever Shaking chills Reduced mobility Scanty and dark urine Heat and pain in the joints and one other symptoms
Tongue coating: Yellow coating
Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels is a pattern of disharmony in Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Medicine views the human body as a complex system that tends toward harmony. A pattern of disharmony is a disorder that prevents that harmony from occurring.
Patterns give rise to symptoms that may at first glance seem unrelated from a Western standpoint but that actually make a lot of sense when one understands Chinese Medicine theory. For instance here Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels gives rise to such diverse symptoms as heat and pain in the joints, reduced mobility, fever and shaking chills (as well as two others).
To diagnose a pattern, analyzing a patient's pulse as well as their tongue is common practice. In the case of Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels patients tend to exhibit a tongue with yellow coating.
Patterns aren't exactly the Chinese Medicine equivalent to Western diseases, they're rather the underlying causes behind diseases or health conditions. Here Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels is thought to sometimes induce conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, connective tissue disorders, gouty arthritis or rheumatic fever.
Related conditions
Please keep in mind that a Western Medicine condition can be caused by several Chinese Medicine patterns of disharmony and vice versa. As such a patient suffering from one of the conditions below will not necessarily be suffering from Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels, it is just one pattern that's commonly associated with the condition. Click on a condition to learn what other patterns it's associated with.
Rheumatoid arthritis Connective tissue disorders Gouty arthritis Rheumatic fever
Diagnosing Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels
'Heat' as a body pattern in Chinese Medicine is one of the so-called "Eight Principles". Learn more about Heat pattern in Chinese Medicine
Tongue coating: Yellow coating
Possible symptoms: Fever Shaking chills Reduced mobility Scanty and dark urine Heat and pain in the joints Lusterless and yellow complexion
Diagnosing a pattern in Chinese Medicine is no easy feat and should be left to professional practitioners.
In particular one has to know how to differentiate between different types of pulses and tongue coatings, shapes and colors. Here patients with Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels will tend to exhibit a tongue with yellow coating.
Practitioners also learn to read from a long list of seemingly unrelated symptoms. Here patients with Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels might experience symptoms like heat and pain in the joints, reduced mobility, fever and shaking chills (full list here above).
Herbal formulas used to treat Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels
Xuan Bi Tang
Source date: 1798 AD
Number of ingredients: 9 herbs
Key actions: Clears and resolves Damp-Heat. Unblocks the meridians. Disbands painful obstruction.
Formula summary
Xuan Bi Tang is a 9-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula with Stephania Roots (Fang Ji) as a principal ingredient. Invented in 1798 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that dispel Wind-Damp.
Besides Painful Obstruction due to Damp Heat in Channels, Xuan Bi Tang is also used to treat Heat invading the Channels joints and muscles.
