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What Experiencing Chills Means

     I am frequently asked about chills and about frequent urination so I will write about these conditions here.
     First to be considered is the relationship between the physical human body and moisture. The human body not only takes in moisture through the mouth and drinking but also continually absorbs moisture by breathing air into the lungs. Without a moment’s rest, approximately thirty breaths are taken every minute, so the amount of moisture absorbed in this way is astonishingly large.
     Thus is the necessary amount of moisture absorbed into the body, and that which is unnecessary, eliminated. In addition to urine, elimination also occurs as perspiration which exits the body through the skin. As everyone knows, perspiration is a result of warmth, so the amount of perspiration eliminated during the hot summer months is great. Consequently, during the cold winter months, perspiration is much less, so at these times the amount of urine increases. Urine and perspiration thus are the same, hence the similarity in their odor.
     The relationship between urine and perspiration can be easily understood when observing what occurs in wet pleurisy. In wet or moist pleurisy space opens between two layers of pleura in the lungs. Urine accumulates in this gap, so one of the characteristics of wet pleurisy is a great amount of sweating that takes place while sleeping at night. The urine that has accumulated in the pleural cavities thus exits as perspiration.

Kyûsei, Issue 48, February 4, 1950
translated by cynndd