Feeling Sticky, Hot, and Nauseous? Understanding Damp-Heat.

What is "Damp-Heat Invading the Spleen"?

In Chinese Medicine, your Spleen system is your digestive center. It works best when it is warm and dry. This pattern occurs when two pathogenic factors, Dampness and Heat, get tangled up together and obstruct your digestion.

Imagine your digestive system as a warm, functional kitchen.

  • Dampness is like a thick, greasy, sugary sludge being poured over everything. It's heavy, sticky, and cloying. It's often created by eating too many rich, greasy, or sugary foods.
  • Heat is like turning the thermostat up way too high. It creates a hot, stuffy, and unpleasant environment. It's often generated by consuming alcohol, spicy foods, or from underlying frustration.

"Damp-Heat Invading the Spleen" is when your internal "kitchen" has become a hot, sticky, greasy mess. This creates a very specific set of uncomfortable symptoms.

You might be experiencing:

  • Digestive Discomfort: A feeling of fullness or distension in the abdomen and upper stomach, but often without a desire to eat.
  • Nausea: A key symptom. You may also experience a sticky, unpleasant taste in your mouth.
  • Thirst, but no desire to drink: You feel thirsty from the Heat, but the Dampness makes you feel full and bogged down, so you don't actually want to drink much.
  • Stool: Stools are typically loose, have a very strong, offensive odour, and may have a burning sensation.
  • General Signs: A feeling of heaviness in the body and limbs, a dull frontal headache, and a low-grade fever that is worse in the afternoon. Your skin may look sallow or have an oily sheen.

Your acupressure treatment was designed to clear the Heat and, most importantly, drain the sticky Dampness that is binding it.

Lifestyle Advice: Cool the Heat, Drain the Damp

Your diet is the number one priority for resolving this pattern. You must stop adding fuel to the fire and sludge to the system.

1. You MUST Change Your Diet:

  • Strictly AVOID All Heating & Damp-Producing Foods: This is non-negotiable for recovery. You must eliminate or strictly limit:
    • Alcohol: This is a primary cause and must be avoided.
    • Greasy, Fried & Oily Foods.
    • Sugar & Sweets: Sugar feeds both Dampness and Heat.
    • Dairy Products (milk, cheese, yogurt).
    • Spicy Foods: Chillies, hot sauce, pungent curries.
  • Actively EAT Cooling, Draining Foods:
    • Legumes: Mung beans and aduki beans are superstars for clearing Damp-Heat.
    • Grains: Barley is excellent for draining damp.
    • Vegetables: Celery, cucumber, radish, watercress, lettuce, and bitter greens.
    • Fruits: Small amounts of cranberry (unsweetened) or watermelon can help.

2. Manage Your Environment:

  • Avoid Humidity: If you live in a damp climate, a dehumidifier can be helpful. Avoid saunas or steam rooms until this pattern is resolved, as they can worsen the Dampness.
  • Choose Cooling Movement: Gentle exercise like swimming or walking in a cool environment can help circulate energy without adding more heat.

3. Acupressure at Home:
This combination is designed to target both aspects of the pattern.

  • Spleen 9 (Yinlingquan): The master point for draining Dampness from the body.
    • Location: On the inside of your lower leg, in the depression just below the bulge of your knee bone (the medial condyle of the tibia), behind the shin bone.
    • How to: Press firmly into this often-tender spot for 1-2 minutes.
  • Large Intestine 11 (Quchi - "Pool at the Crook"): A major point for clearing Heat from the body.
    • Location: At the outer end of your elbow crease when your arm is bent.
    • How to: Press deeply into this point for 1-2 minutes.

Resolving Damp-Heat requires diligence, especially with your diet. By "cleaning up" your internal environment and no longer adding to the mess, you can effectively clear these uncomfortable symptoms and feel clear, light, and comfortable again.