An article intended for practitioners of Chinese medicine:

A few words about constipation or, more precisely, the lack of emptying.

When patients say they have constipation, it's usually not the constipation we think of.

When I ask them to elaborate on their constipation, they usually explain that they have several bowel movements a day but are constantly accompanied by a feeling of incomplete emptying.

They actually complain of tenesmus - a need to defecate without going out, but define their problem as constipation.

There will be cases where I will diagnose a lack of emptying as qi blockages, but in my opinion, in most cases the diagnosis is dampness blocking the lower openings.

In such cases, there will also sometimes be mucus in the stool, the staining of soft stools, and of course other signs of dampness that we know from Chinese medicine: heaviness in the stomach or in the body in general, vaginal discharge, a coating on the tongue, and more.

If all the other symptoms lead me to Qi blockages (hard stools, difficulty passing stool, and all the other symptoms of Qi blockages), I will move on to treating Qi blockages and not dampness as I am going to suggest here.

Dr. Tan's treatment that addresses moisture in the digestive system and that I really, really like is:

One side of the body:

LI3, LI11, SP3, SP9

Second side of the body:

LU5, LU9, ST36, ST43

Of course, there is a long explanation for this treatment that comes from understanding Dr. Tan's method, but even if you look at this treatment through the eyes of the TCM that we are all familiar with, you can understand why it will improve hydration.

I have previously written about nutrition for moist conditions, so you are welcome to use this as well for appropriate patients :)

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