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)