Every fall, I start to hear the same handful of complaints in the treatment room. Lips that won’t stop cracking, hands that feel like paper, a tickle in the throat that lingers for weeks, eyes that feel gritty by the end of the workday. Most people assume these are just the small annoyances of cooler weather, something to put up with until spring.
In Chinese medicine, these symptoms tell a clearer story. Each season carries its own climate, and the climate of autumn is dryness. Once you understand how dryness affects the body, it becomes much easier to get ahead of it, and to move into winter feeling comfortable rather than parched.
Autumn and the Climate of Dryness
Chinese medicine describes six climatic influences that can affect our health when they become excessive: wind, cold, heat, dampness, summer heat and dryness. Each one is most active in a particular season, and autumn belongs to dryness.
As the moist warmth of late summer gives way to cooler, thinner air, humidity drops and the body’s fluids can become depleted. Modern life adds to the effect. We turn on forced-air heating, we drink less water because it isn’t hot outside, and we often reach for an extra coffee to make up for shorter days. Each of these quietly pulls moisture from the body, so by mid-autumn many of us are running a little dry without realizing it.
Why the Lungs Feel It First
Autumn is the season of the Lungs, and in Chinese medicine the Lungs are known as the “delicate organ.” They prefer to be moist, and they are the first to suffer when the air is dry. If you’ve read our post on keeping your lungs happy in the fall, you’ll know how central they are to this time of year.
The Lungs also govern the skin and open into the nose, and they are paired with the Large Intestine. That is why autumn dryness rarely shows up as a single symptom. More often it appears as a cluster: dry, itchy or flaky skin, chapped lips, dry nasal passages and the occasional nosebleed, a dry cough with little phlegm, a scratchy throat in the morning, tired and dry eyes, harder stools or constipation, and a thirst that water doesn’t seem to quench. If several of these sound familiar, your body may be asking for more moisture and more yin, the cooling, nourishing side of our physiology.
How to Rehydrate From the Inside Out
The good news is that small, consistent changes make a real difference. Food is the place I usually start. Chinese medicine favors foods that generate fluids, such as pears, apples, honey, sesame seeds, almonds, white fungus, soy milk and congee. Cooked foods are easier to digest than raw ones as the weather cools, so a poached pear or a warm bowl of oatmeal with almonds is a better choice than a cold smoothie. For more ideas, take a look at our autumn recipes to nourish your yin.
It also helps to go easy on drying foods. Spicy dishes, alcohol, coffee and fried foods all tend to dry the body out. You don’t need to give them up entirely; simply balance them with moistening choices.
Hydration matters too, but how you hydrate matters as much as how much. Sipping warm water, broth or gentle teas throughout the day is absorbed more easily than gulping ice water, which Chinese medicine believes can weaken digestion. A humidifier in the bedroom is one of the simplest ways to protect your lungs, skin and sinuses overnight. Short, warm showers followed by a rich moisturizer on still-damp skin will help lock moisture in. And don’t forget to breathe. A few minutes of slow, deep breathing on a crisp morning supports the Lungs and helps qi move freely.
When to Get Support
If dryness lingers, or comes with a persistent cough, frequent nosebleeds or ongoing constipation, it’s worth a visit. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas can help nourish yin and restore fluids, and treatment can be tailored to your constitution so that you’re supported through the whole season.
Curious how Chinese medicine could help you feel your best this fall? At Yinova, our practitioners look at the whole picture of your health to create a plan that works with the season, not against it. Schedule an appointment online or email us to get started.
