The coming cold, wet, windy weather means worsening symptoms for rheumatism sufferers, especially those with rheumatoid arthritis. Big-eyed red snake wine will help - and do stay out of the wind, cold and damp.

Summer has finally departed and beautiful cooler days have arrived. While busy rearranging the wardrobe for fall and winter, rheumatics should remember to stay warm and prepare to fight the coming cold and wet weather. Treatment from within is the key.

The general term rheumatism, or feng shi, meaning wind and dampness in Chinese, refers to conditions of the muscles, tendons, joints, bones and nerves causing discomfort, weakness and disability.

It includes autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia and tendonitis. These conditions often worsen in cold, wet, windy weather.

Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) share a similar understanding of the cause of rheumatism.

Western medicine regards rheumatism as ailment caused by defective immune systems; it can attack joints, muscles and organs.

TCM attributes the cause to the weak internal yang energy that cannot defend the body against disease-causing internal wind, coldness, and dampness. When pathogenetic wind, cold, and/or dampness invade the body and lodge in energy channels, muscles and joints, energy and blood circulation will be reduced locally, and cause pain, numbness or swelling.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common rheumatoid disease. Patients will find their joints aching or swelling significantly when the weather changes.

Thus, the condition is known as the "human weather forecaster." Joints may become deformed and disability may result if the patient fails to receive proper treatment.

Though rheumatism cannot be cured, it can be relieved by TCM treatments like acupuncture, herbal fumigation and wetness-repelling herbal medicine, according to Dr Xue Ruan, director of the Rheumatism Department of the Yueyang Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

TCM classifies rheumatoid arthritis into two categories, according to their different characteristics, and they require different treatments.

Feng han shi bi, or wind-cold-damp disease, is characterized by a pale tongue with a white coating, and by an increase in joint pain on contact with cold objects. The pain is lessened by contact with warm objects.

Treatment requires that the cold be dispelled and the dampness removed. In this case, patients should eat foods like black beans, ginger, snake, yellow eel, lamb and pepper, and avoid crab and pork fat.

The other type of rheumatoid arthritis is feng shi re bi, or wind-damp-heat disease. Symptoms include a red tongue with yellow coating; joint pain worsens on contact with heat, but is relieved by cold.

In this case, the doctor recommends foods like bean sprouts, lotus seed, white gourd, Chinese pearl barley (Job's tears) and green beans - but stay away from ginger, pepper, beef and lamb.

Protecting joints from stimulants - wind, cold, and dampness - is always the priority for rheumatic arthritis sufferers.

"Having a little wine regularly over the cold, damp period can also promote blood circulation and help the joints recover their function," says Dr Xue. "But patients should never have too much strong wine at one time."

Big-eyed red snake wine

In case you don't want to make it yourself, bottled wine is available at TCM pharmacies, as are dried snakes for DIY spirits (soak for several days in 500ml alcohol, then filter).

Dosage:

10-20ml three times a day.

Function:

Dispels internal pathogenic wind and removes dampness, activates blood and energy circulation, relieving aches in the joints and bones. For all kinds of rheumatoid arthritis.

Black bean congee

Ingredients:

Black beans (50g), rice (150g), ginger (one piece), sugar to taste.

Method:

1. Soak the black beans for one day.

2. Chop the ginger into little pieces.

3. Combine, add water, boil, simmer. Add sugar to taste.

Dosage:

One bowl every morning.

Function:

Dispels internal pathogenic wind, relieves swelling and joint pain. Only for feng shi han bi (wind-cold-damp).

Chinese pearl barley (Job's tears) congee

Ingredients:

Job's tears (60g), japonica rice (60g)

Method:

Combine, add water boil and simmer.

Dosage:

One bowl every morning.

Function:

Dispels heat and pathogenic wind, relieves swelling and jointpaint. Only for shi han re bi (wind-damp-heart).

(Shanghai Daily October 16, 2007)