The Research Of Dryness Syndrome

Dryness syndrome is a common one in traditional Chinese medicine. But it did not be pay much attention to since two thousand years ago. The clinical application and discussion of dryness concept from documents and doctors of all the past dynasties are relative insufficient. The meanings and concepts of these items such as dryness-qi, dryness-evil, dryness syndrome, internal dryness, external dryness, autumn dryness, warm dryness, cool dryness, dryness heat, dryness cold, are not well focus. So there are many different opinions and disputes offered by scholars in the later period. We research these issues from the ancient books, records and modern Chinese medicine journals, then try to application the dryness syndrome treatment concept in clinical.The origin and development of dryness syndrome theory could simply divide into three stages. First, the issues about dryness theory before the Han dynasty almost focused on the seven major articles in Nei-Jing. Based on the principles of five movements and six qi the relationships of yang-ming, dryness-gold, weather and human body was interpreted. The other articles which discussed about dryness were focused on the figures and phenomena. Till the east-Han dynasty Chang chong-ging had expressed some issues of dryness in his books which talk about six-channels and complicated diseases. In this stage the theory of dryness syndrome was not well established. But the basic concepts of etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment principles of dryness syndrome had been well discussed. Second, Ging-Yang dynasty the theory of dryness syndrome had been presented more than before. Such as Liu he-geng wrote some special articles which talked about the pathogenesis of dryness and firstly setup formulas for the treatment of dryness syndrome. The later Li don-yang, Ju dan-shi and Shiu yan-chuen all had discussed about the patterns and the major treatment principles of dryness syndrome. Third, after Ming-Ching dynasty the theory of dryness syndrome upgraded into dryness disease. Doctors started to discuss about the five viscera dryness syndrome, especially when Autumn-dryness became a kind of warm disease. Their records and issues of dryness disease had enriched the diagnosis and treatment principles of dryness syndrome theory and became a systemic novel. We can roughly summarize that the development of the theory of dryness syndrome is according to the order: pathocondition, pattern, disease from Nei-Jing to Ching Dynasty. The modern scholars add a lot of opinions about meteorology, physiology, pathology, etiology, constitution theory and epidemiology into the theory of dryness syndrome and the connection of phenomenon and innate character became more clear.The meaning of dryness syndrome includes infected of dryness evil and/or diffciency of body fluid. The characters of dryness patterns are dyr mouth, dry nose, sry skin, dry hair, dry stool, and usualy divided into external and internal two types. Externnal dryness pattern is caused by climatic dryness, commonly manifested by dry skin, dry nose, mouth and throat or dry cough. Externnal dryness pattern can differenciated to warm dryness pattern and cool dryness pattern by pathogenesis and clinical menifestations. Warm dryness pattern caused by exopathic warmth and dryness in autumn, marked by fever with slight aversion to wind and cold, dryness of the nasal cavity and lips, thirst, dry cough with scanty expectoration, fidgetiness, thin yellowish tongue fur, and rapid and floating pulse, and cool dryness pattern due to coolness and dryness in autumn, marked by headache, more chills than fever, absence of sweating, dryness of the nasal cavity and lips, cough with scanty expectoration, thin and dry whitish tongue fur, and floating and tense pulse. The internal dryness pattern due to consumption of body fluids, manifested by emaciation, withered skin, dry throat, parched lips, thirst, oliguria, constipation, furless reddened tongue and rapid fine pulse.There are three kinds of etiology of dryness syndrome. First, the external natural enviroment such as the change of climatic factors: wind, cold, summer heat, dryness, dampness. Second, the factors of social enviroment such as intake, daily life, drugs, treatment and so on. Third, the internal enviroment od human body such as constitution and status of body. Only correctly understanding the eitology of dryness syndrome we can make a accuracy strategy to prevent and treat it.The pathogenesis of dryness syndrome includes insufficiency and poor distribution of body fluid. Usually, insufficiency of body fluid caused by unenough synthesis and over consumption such as poor intake, dysfunction of GI system or other factors that consume too much body fluid. Poor distribution of body fluid frequently caused by cold congealing, qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm and rheum accmulation. The dryness figures will appear when those factors obstract the body fluid distribution chnnels. To have a clear regonision of pathogenesis of dryness syndrome is important to get the effect of pattern identification as the basis for determining treatment.The major treatment principles, formula and medicine of dryness syndrome should match to the itiology and pathogenesis.Remove the cause of disease first, then choice formula and medicine under treatment principle for pathomechanisms. It isimprotant to make principles, methods, formulas, and medicinals matching each others. For autum dryness as an example, when the dry heat evil damage the lung qi we can choice the Dryness-Clearing Lung-Rescuing Decoction to clear lung heat, nourish yin and moisten dryness.It is not difficult to prevent dryness syndrome after knowing its etiology, pathomechanisms and treatment principles. The traditional Chinese medicine always emphasize: "The best doctor treat disease before it formation." We should teach those people who are candidates of dryness syndrome how to prevent it. And carry out relative public health eduaction and mesurements in the season and place which will easily happen dryness syndrome.Under the guidance of Yan-jing teacher, I research origin and development of dryness theory, etiology, pathomachanisms, pattern identification as the basis for determining treatment and prevention of dryness syndrome. In order to have more clear cognition of dryness syndrome treatment there are three clinical cases discussed at the end of this paper.