What are the methods for removing dampness from the body?

Generally speaking, the main methods of removing dampness include adjusting diet, moderate exercise, improving the living environment, cupping therapy, and moxibustion. Detailed explanations are as follows:

1. Adjust Diet

Reduce the intake of sweet, greasy, and raw cold foods, as these types of food can hinder the spleen and stomach's ability to transform and transport nutrients, leading to the retention of dampness in the body. Eat more foods that help eliminate dampness. For example, red adzuki beans can strengthen the spleen and remove dampness, winter melon can clear heat and promote diuresis, and corn silk can promote urination and reduce swelling. Reasonable combination and consumption of these foods can help expel dampness and maintain the body's water-dampness balance.

2. Moderate Exercise

Choose exercises such as brisk walking, swimming, and cycling. Consistently engaging in these activities can accelerate blood circulation, enhance organ function, and promote sweating. Through perspiration, dampness within the body can be expelled, while simultaneously strengthening the transforming and transporting functions of the spleen and stomach, thereby reducing dampness formation at its source.

3. Improve Living Environment

A damp living environment can easily allow external dampness to invade the body. Therefore, windows should be opened frequently for ventilation to maintain indoor air circulation. Use dehumidifiers to lower air humidity, promptly close windows and doors during rainy or humid weather, and frequently sun bed sheets and quilts to prevent environmental dampness from entering the body and worsening damp-related conditions.

4. Cupping Therapy

Cupping therapy involves creating a vacuum inside cups that are then applied to the skin's surface, stimulating meridians and acupoints such as Dazhui (GV14) and Fengmen (BL12). It can unblock meridians, promote the circulation of qi and blood, and facilitate the expulsion of dampness and cold from the body through skin pores, thus relieving symptoms such as muscle aches and heaviness caused by excessive dampness.

5. Moxibustion

Moxibustion involves applying the warmth generated by burning mugwort sticks to acupoints such as Pishu (BL20) and Shenshu (BL23). It warms and tonifies the yang qi of the spleen and kidneys, enhances the spleen's function of transforming and transporting body fluids, promotes the transformation and elimination of dampness, and improves conditions caused by excessive internal dampness.

In addition, methods such as acupressure massage and ensuring adequate sleep can also assist in removing dampness. In daily life, long-term adherence to healthy habits is necessary to effectively regulate internal dampness.