Daniel: August 28, 2020, 1:34am
I am finding congestion in the head (sinus, nasal, ear, throat) in its varied manifestations is proving to be one of the
most variable in terms of appropriate and effective Sa’Am treatment. It is certainly not just or not even most often
that attending to ‘internal dampness’ (Excess Lung or Excess Spleen) yields results. Just as often, I find its much
more effectively handled by moistening internal dryness (Stomach or Large Intestine Excesses) or cooling and
moistening (San Jiao Excess) or really cooling (Heart Excess) or shifting down, cool and in (Gall Bladder Excess).
Head Congestion – what one might first consider to be internal dampness – is in my experience, truly the most
varied in what actually helps. Are others finding this?
michaelmax: August 28, 2020, 2:25am
Yes. Often patient complain about “congestion” but you have to dig in. Sometimes they can breathe just fine
through the nose and there is no sinus pressure. But they say they are “congested” when in fact I think their sinuses
are dry. dry and withering and they experience that discomfort as “congestion” as they don’t know what else to call
it. And no one else has inquired as to if the can actually breath through their nose.
So for those folks, yes… bring the fluids.
Case study – insomnia + sinus/migraines worse with damp weather
cassiopeia: September 3, 2020, 2:21am
Agreed! I feel the same way about coughing. Is it internal or external? moisture or dryness? does it need to be
descended or diffused? (so hard to tease out LU/ST differentiation) Does it need to go thunderously up and out, or
shuuuuthup sucked inward? @michaelmax, may we request a whole crowdcast specifically on cough?
michaelmax: September 17, 2020, 12:58am
Hi @cassiopeia
Love the idea of a Crowdcast devoted to coughs! We can put that on the roster once we finish up and digest the
Advanced Case Studies class.
By the way… Crowcast will soon go away and you’ll be able to attend video sessions right on the Qiological
website. (don’t worry, we’ll be migrating the previous content)
We are in the process of this transformation now, and it could take a few months but the new and improved
Qiological is going to have some pretty cool stuff.12/01/2024, 11:54The Many Faces of Head Congestion . . – Qiological Community
https://forum.qiological.com/t/the-many-faces-of-head-congestion/1247/print2/4
maeveodon: September 18, 2020, 10:11pm
Just to add to this I have had a few cases where Liv XS seems to have been the cause of congestion of sinuses and
+SJ has really helped to clear it out.
michaelmax: September 29, 2020, 3:04am
Sounds interesting @maeveodon, can you give us some details of what you were seeing and tell us how you came
found your way to this diagnosis?
“Allergies” is a very common complaint where I live and sometimes I think it is just that people don’t quite feel
right with themselves, but they blame it on “allergies.”
So I’d like to hear more!
maeveodon: September 29, 2020, 1:08pm
Sure Michael, I have 3 recent cases:
1. 14 YO girl, lifelong allergies to animal hair and possibly pollen and mostly in the spring and summer
watering/itchy eyes, dripping nose, sneezing…but all through the year her sinuses are clogged up. She had
very obvious internal damp signs when she came in so I started with +ST and then +LI and the main
symptoms cleared up quickly…but the sinuses were still stuffed up. She had very strong signs of both Liv
and SJ excesses so I ended up trying +Liv first to add some moisture back in case I had dried her out too
much. She did fine on the table but didn’t completely settle in, next day sinuses were way worse so I did +SJ
and she had a lot of flow for a few days and sinuses now feel great to her for last couple of weeks, really
freed out. Dripping nose is back a bit so need to look at that again.
2. 40 YO man, sinus congestion for many years, no signs of allergies. Sinuses not main complaint. Very
obvious damp signs but also very Liv XS type. Again +LI made big improvement but +SJ really cleared
them out.
3. 46 YO woman, extreme dizziness occuring at the same time as sinuses blocked up. Not many signs of damp.
This one took me a while to get to as she seemed so SJ excess to me (hugely controlling/organised/a lot of
self directed anger, poor sleep, anxious, very detailed reporting) and had a lot of other things going on too
that we were working on. She had a lot of cold signs and +HT made some improvement but +SJ was the one
that cleared out her sinuses and sorted out the dizziness. The only reason I tried +SJ was because she had
bloods done as part of yearly checkup and was told all her counts were on the higher side but nothing to12/01/2024, 11:54The Many Faces of Head Congestion . . – Qiological Community
https://forum.qiological.com/t/the-many-faces-of-head-congestion/1247/print3/4
worry about (B vitamins, iron levels etc) so i thought opposite of blood deficient. I’m trying to find some of
the Liv XS signs I may have missed now.
All 3 were worse in damp/heavy weather so while damp weather is definitely a factor, is it also that the air is more
“dense” with this dampness/muggy weather? And this adds to the denseness that is already part of their LIV XS?
I think someone else mentioned this in another post but SJ/Liv is definitely the channel pairing I struggle with most
KristinWisgirda: September 30, 2020, 12:57am
Thanks for the helpful cases @maeveodon. Liver excess density and dullness can be easily confused with damp.
maeveodon:
I ended up trying +Liv first to add some moisture back in case I had dried her out too much.
Toby calls Liver+ only slightly moistening and SJ+ only slightly drying. I certain left the intro class thinking this
way and only with later questioning did Toby clarify this. It is more helpful to keep to the qualities mentioned in
the intro Powerpoint. For Liver excess: dark, cool, inward, shielded, dense, heavy, impolite
Maeve’s cases show also that not everyone who needs SJ+ is a rude dull tree stump. It is so much harder for me to
see the subtler but way more common Liver excess presentations but a case today helped me out.
A woman returned to tell me she got about 1 day of partial pain relief from her left sided neck pain after a Liv+
treatment. For months she has had 0 degrees rotation of her head to the left. Her multitude of other health problems
made no improvement either. Hmm. She is very with-it: polite, a fabulous reporter, detail oriented, openly
responding to personal questions, with good presence in her eyes. Her body is neither dense or light. Her eyes at
the first visit were not dull but they weren’t exactly bright. Looking in those eyes again today I asked light/dark
and dense/open. The answers were clearly dark and dense. I needled SJ+ on the right. She got off the table and
easily turned her head about 60 degrees to the left! Thinking more about her, she doesn’t want to control others,
either.
A couple weeks back I was feeling fine but decided to treat Liv+. Being curious about Saam, when I treat myself I
will sometimes let the obviously not so good treatments play out and see what happens. As soon as the needles
went in, my brain and the area behind my nose felt like it was pulling way from my skull and being shrink
wrapped. Definitely densifying. It could easily be called a kind of head and sinus congestion. For the next day my
thinking turned obsessively to everyday things like my grocery list, giving them way too much attention.
Perseverating, I really didn’t notice my surroundings when I went hiking and speed walked tensely over the trails. I
was definitely agitated and had a hard time turning my mind off for sleep. The next day I counterbalanced with SJ±
so much better. A very interesting exercise not to be attempted by the poor of health or socially engaged.
3 Likes12/01/2024, 11:54The Many Faces of Head Congestion . . – Qiological Community