Introduction to Causes of Disease Flashcards
What are the three causes of disease?
1 - External Causes
2 - Internal Causes
3 - Neutral/Miscellaneous Causes
What are the six external excesses?
The six external excesses are:
- Wind
- Cold
- Heat, Fire
- Damp
- Dry
- Summerheat/Dampheat
What are the Seven internal emotional factors?
The seven internal emotional factors are:
- Joy
- Anger
- Anxiety, Worry
- Over-thinking, Pensiveness
- Sorrow, Sadness
- Fear
- Fright, Shock
What is another cause of internal disease?
Improper lifestyle such as poor diet and taxation fatigue.
What are examples of Neutral/Miscellaneous causes of disease?
Examples of neutral/miscellaneous causes of disease are:
- External Injury: Falls, contusions, incisions, burns, frostbite
- Parasites: amoebas, worms, Malarial Evils, bugs, snake bites
- Phlegm: Substanial and insubstantial, in orifices, channels, skin, organs, mind
- Blood stasis: pain and masses due to Qi stagnation, 6 excesses, blood vacuity (especially GYN conditions)
Describe the nature of Wind Evil and it’s signs and symptoms
Nature:
- Wind is light and buoyant: tends to invade the exterior and the upper body
- Moving and changeable
- Blusterous, violent, impetuous
Signs & Symptoms:
- Slight Fever, sweating
- Aversion to wind and cold
- Headache
- Wandering Pain
- Itchy throat and skin
- Tongue - deviated or shaking
- Pulse - floating
Describe the signs & symptoms of Wind-Cold versus Wind-Heat
Wind - Cold
- Pain, coughing thin clear phlegm, slight fever, absence of sweating
- Tongue: Thin or most white coat
- Pulse: Floating, Tight
Wind-Heat
- Red eyes, fever
- Tongue: Red with yellow coat
- Pulse: floating, rapid
Describe the signs & symptoms of Wind in Channels versus Wind Evil in Skin?
Wind in Channels:
- Pain (Bi Syndrome)
- Numbness
- Stiffness
- Rigidity
- Paralysis
Wind Evil in Skin:
- Itchy skin
Describe the nature of Cold evil and it’s signs and symptoms
Nature:
- Congeals Qi and Blood
Signs & Symptoms:
- Physical cold, aversion to cold
- Pale complexion
- Pain that’s worse with cold and that is alleviated by heat
- Discharges that are tin, clear or white without odor
- Tongue - pale, white coat
- Pulse - slow, tight
Describe the nature of Heat Evil and the sign and symptoms
Nature:
- Moves upward
- Scorches fluids
- Generates wind
- Causes Blood to move recklessly
Signs & Symptoms:
- High fever, aversion to heat, heart vexation, headache, delirium
- Red: face, tongue, eyes, sores, skin
- Thirst
- dry hard stools, dark urine
- Swollen, painful throat and gums
- Bleeding nose, gums, stool, urine, cough
- Red maculopapular eruptions
- Tongue: Red with yellow coat
- Pulse: Rapid, Forceful
Describe the nature of dampness and the sign & symptoms
Nature:
- Yin evil - viscous/clammy
- Tends to stagnate
- Tends to invade the SP/ST
- Damp accumulates
- Turbid and sticky
- Stagnating of Qi in channels and organs
Signs & Symptoms:
- Heavy head, joints, and limbs
- Physical fatigue
- Fixed pain
- Poor appetite, abdominal fullness and distention, nausea, bland taste in mouth
- Diarrhea, difficult or cloudy urine, vaginal discharge, pus
- Swellings and accumulations: edema, skin swelling, congestion of and discharge from lungs, sinuses and nose, vaginal discharge
- Difficult to eliminate, long duration of illness
- Tongue: possibly puffy with a greasy coat
- Pulse: Slippery, soggy
Distinguish between internal and external dampness
Internal Dampness - Qi deficiency and stagnation that interferes with qi functions of transforming and transporting, diffusing and downbearing
External Dampness - Exposure to damp pathogen, consumption of greasy and overly sweet foods
Describe the nature of Dry Evin and the signs and symptoms
Nature:
- Damages fluids
Signs & Symptoms
- Dehydration, cough with scanty or sticky phlegm, possibly nose bleeding
- Dry: skin, nose, mouth, throat, hair, stools,
- Tends to affect the lungs most easily
- Tongue: Dry coat
- Pulse: Possibly thin and weak
Distinguish between internal and external dryness
Internal Dryness - more common than external, due to yin and fluid deficiency and may present with heat
External Dryness - associated with dry climates and traditionally with Autumn In Modern times, associated with dry heating in the winter and dry air conditioned air in the summer
Describe summerheat warmth and summerheat damp
Summerheat Warmth - high fever, copious sweating, vexation, thirst, fatigue, dark urine
- Tongue - Red with yellow coat
- Pulse - Rapid, surging
Summerheat Damp - fever, thirst, copious sweating, scanty urine, heavy body, sensations of oppression in stomach
- Tongue - Red with greasy yellow coat
- Pulse - surging, large
