In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that dampness can cause a sensation as if the head is wrapped. When damp-heat is not expelled, the large sinews become short and the small sinews become limp and elongated; shortness leads to stiffness, and limpness leads to flaccidity. Caused by qi, it leads to swelling, and when the four dimensions (limbs) fail each other, the yang qi becomes exhausted. Paying attention to 5 details in the morning can help you self-test for dampness in the body. For example, observing your stool during bowel movements, or feeling nauseous while brushing your teeth, are all details that can help you self-test for dampness in the body.
Morning self-test for dampness in the body: 5 details to pay attention to
Check your feeling upon waking
If you feel especially fatigued every morning upon waking, with a dizzy head and no energy to get going, or if you feel as if you're wearing damp clothes, feeling unrefreshed and lethargic... then you can be certain that you have dampness in your body.
Observe your stool during bowel movements
After your morning bowel movement, you can observe your stool. Does it stick to the toilet, requiring more than one flush to clear? If you can't easily observe the toilet, you can also check the toilet paper. Normally, one or two sheets should be sufficient. If you need three or five sheets and still can't get it clean, it also indicates dampness in the body.
In addition, the color and shape of the stool can also help determine if there is dampness in the body. A normal stool is golden yellow and banana-shaped, but nowadays, few people have such healthy stools. When there is dampness in the body, the stool is bluish, loose, and unformed, and there is always a feeling of not being able to evacuate completely. Over time, the toxins from accumulated fecal matter will build up in the body, leading to all sorts of illnesses.
Check your tongue during your wash-up routine
"The tongue is the sprout of the heart and also the external manifestation of the spleen." The tongue can sensitively reflect our body's condition. Before brushing our teeth, we might as well take a few seconds to look at our tongue in the mirror.
A healthy tongue is light red and moist, with a layer of thin, white, and clear coating. It should be neither too dry nor too moist, and neither slippery nor dry. If your tongue does not meet these criteria, it indicates that your body's functions are already compromised. If the tongue coating is thick, white, and looks slippery and moist, it indicates internal cold. If the tongue coating is rough, thick, yellow, and greasy, it indicates internal damp-heat. If the tongue body is red without a coating, it indicates that the internal heat has reached a point where it has damaged the yin.
Check for nausea while brushing your teeth
Do you feel nauseous when you brush your teeth in the morning? Some people feel the urge to vomit or feel nauseous as soon as they start brushing, always feeling a lingering, unclean sensation in their throat. Even if they spit up phlegm, this is a sign of dampness in the body.
Heaviness and soreness in the calf muscles
Do your calf muscles feel sore and heavy in the morning? When the calf muscles feel sore and heavy, this is also a typical sign of dampness in the body.