Is sweating good for you?

Sweating is called perspiration. It comes from our sweat gland in response to the weather, exercise, or even stress.  Is sweating good? During exercise, we sweat to remove heat from our body, which is a good thing.  Sweating can also occur when we are in anxious or have a fever. Hyperthyroidism, menopause, and flu cause sweat in our body as well.  I guest normal sweating is good, but how do we know whether it is normal sweating or abnormal sweating. 

 

The main function of sweating is to control our body temperature. So too much sweating is problem as well as no sweating is problem. 

 

  

 

How Eastern Medicine see the sweat

In the eastern medicine, the body fluid is called 津液(진액, JinYe), and it is divided into two category which is Jin and Ye. Jin(津진) means fluid in the yang part of our body and Ye (液액) is Yin part of our body. We call these fluid sweat when it comes out of our body. If we sweat without any reason, then imbalance of Yin and Yang causes sweating. 

 

In Eastern Medicine, sweating happens when the heat of the heart meets the dampness of the spleen. In terms of division through upper, middle, lower, the upper part sweats when the heat of heart is severe and the stomach energy is deficient. In the middle part, sweating happens when the heat of stomach is strong and phlegm-dampness exist in the stomach. Dampness body type may also sweat a lot. In the lower part, sweating happens due to wind invasion or kidney fluid deficiency.  Overall, sweating happens when our body cannot control heal, water, phlegm, and dampness

Kinds of Sweating in Eastern Medicine

• Day time Self sweating - Sweating anytime. This happens due to Energy deficiency, Dampness or Phlegm in our body. 
  When a person move a little bit, then the person gets sweat in face and whole body. It is called Self-sweating. This generally happens to the person who have Energy deficiency (氣虛 기허, Qi Xu). However, overweighted person or person who drinks alcohol and doesn't do exercise can also get this kinds of sweating due to disturbed Energy(氣) movement by Phlegm-Dampness and Damp-Heat.
   
• Night sweat (Burglar Sweats) - Sweating while sleeping. and It stops when a person wakes up. This sweating happens due to Yin-deficiency generally, and I also happens due to Heat in Liver and Gall Bladder organ.
   
• Sweat in Head only - Sweating in the head. When Yang is deficient and Evil Energy attacks, the fluid comes up to the head and we sweat in the head. This may happen by blood issue, dampness, heat in the stomach, tuberculosis as well. 
• Sweating after eating food - Sweating in the face when eating food. Some sweat when they even look at a chilly. This kinds of person has heat and phlegm-dampness in the stomach
   
• Sweating in hands and feet - This happens by heat in the digestion organ and emotional status. People who get stress easily can sweat like water in their hands due to deficient Heat in the heart. 

 

How acupuncture and Eastern Medicine can help sweating. 

Using acupuncture treatment, we help to move Energy (氣: 기, Chi, Qi), to promote Energy, and to remove heat, phlegm and dampness. Normally, acupuncture help organ to remove heat, phlegm and dampness. 

Herbal medicine is more specifically targeted. If tis is Energy deficient case, we use Energy tonifying herbs such as Ginseng. 

 

Health with Him acupuncture clinic (Camberwell) provides an acupuncture and herbal medicine services related to abnormal sweating.