Yin summer heat is more severe than summer heat
As the scorching heat arrives, while people are actively preventing summer heat, they should also guard against "yin summer heat." However, when it comes to yin summer heat, many people are quite unfamiliar with it. A host of questions such as "What is yin summer heat? What is the difference between yin summer heat and summer heat? How can it be prevented and treated?" swirl in our minds.
Yin summer heat, in contrast to summer heat (also known as "yang summer heat"), is a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM posits that yin summer heat is "contracted while at rest." It refers to a condition arising from excessive exposure to wind and cold for relief from summer heat, or from overindulgence in cold beverages, which weakens the body's internal energy (zhong qi). This allows summer heat and pathogenic wind and cold to invade the body, leading to illness. The main symptoms of yin summer heat include fever with aversion to cold, absence of sweat, a heavy and painful body, listlessness and fatigue, a pale tongue with a thin yellow coating, and a wiry and thin pulse.
Investigating the Causes: Know the Enemy and Know Yourself, and You Will Never Be Defeated in a Hundred Battles
"Yin summer heat is contracted due to cold while suffering from summer heat... hence the name 'yin summer heat.'" Therefore, TCM believes that the primary cause of yin summer heat is the invasion of the body by pathogenic wind, cold, and dampness. It often occurs during seasonal transitions due to excessive pursuit of coolness. If one avoids heat and chills too much, it can lead to the invasion of wind, cold, and dampness, causing "yin summer heat."
Because summer heat, dampness, and humidity are abundant, people's pores are open and their skin texture is loose. During sleep, afternoon naps, or seeking coolness, if one avoids heat and chills excessively—such as sleeping outdoors at night, sitting or lying in cold and damp places, staying in the shade of trees, a waterside pavilion, or on a balcony for too long, immediately pouring cold water over the head and body after exercise or physical labor, quickly consuming large amounts of cold water or iced beverages, or sleeping with a strong electric fan blowing directly on the body—it can all lead to the invasion of pathogenic wind, cold, and dampness, resulting in yin summer heat.