Three Mini Courses This Week Break Down Damp Heat Into What It Actually Is
Dr. Krystal Lynn Couture, DPT, LAc, Founder, The Pelvic Acu
Damp heat is a single TCM diagnostic name that actually covers three distinct clinical problems, discharge conditions, viral latency conditions and structural mass forming conditions, and most acupuncturists were taught to treat them all the same way. Next week The Pelvic Acu is teaching all three separately, live, free for the first 72 hours after each session.
Monday, July 20, 9am EST, Damp Heat Discharge
BV, Candidiasis and Trichomoniasis get grouped together constantly, but they are not the same pattern. Candidiasis is excess damp heat, self contained, and clears when treated. BV and Trichomoniasis carry a Spleen Qi deficiency underneath the damp heat, which is why they keep recurring even after a successful course of antibiotics. A 2025 gene expression study found 6506 genes differentially expressed in vaginal tissue from women with recurrent candidiasis compared to healthy controls (Hasselrot et al, 2025). This course covers the full differential, root versus branch treatment strategy, and point selection by pattern.
Wednesday, July 22, noon EST, Viral Damp Heat
HSV and HPV are not infections you clear once, they are latency conditions. An estimated 70% of the global population carries HSV1, 10% carries HSV2, and most never have a symptomatic outbreak. This course covers the Liver and Gallbladder channel damp heat toxin pattern, the zheng qi building strategy, and the psychosocial layer.
Friday, July 24, 6pm EST, Structural Damp Heat
Bartholin's abscess and Hidradenitis Suppurativa present as a mass, not a discharge, requiring palpation and structural assessment. A VA clinical trial on Battlefield Acupuncture found more than 75% of participants reporting immediate pain relief, tested specifically for HS pain (NCT04218422).
Why this matters: Recurrence, latency and structural presentation are three different clinical problems. Treating them the same way because they share a TCM label is how a client keeps coming back with the same complaint.
Join us in Seattle: Next in person Practical is September 12 and 13, Seattle, Washington, 20 PDAs, capped at 16 acupuncturists. Discovery calls open now.