How to Treat a Cold with Chinese Medicine

原创 2016-10-12 WK Ringy001翻译特工

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It’s now the middle of October and the temperature all over China is…dropping! We are getting closer and closer to winter. A kind reminder to all of our users: please leave a jacket in your office or bring a scarf with you in case you are “underdressed” and don't have enough layers on for the day. And if unfortunately you fall short and catch a cold, Ringy wants make sure you know how to treat it with Chinese Medicine.

Treating a Cold Caused by Wind Cold.

Identify if your cold is due to wind cold. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the common cold can fall under several designations, but the most common type experienced is the wind cold. The goal of treatment for wind cold is to shorten the duration of the disease and to provide immediate relief from the symptoms.

Some signs of a cold caused by wind cold are: cold intolerance, mild fever, absence of sweat, chest tightness or congestion, and runny nose with clear mucus.

Drink ginger tea (Jiang Cha 姜茶). Ginger tea is thought to help expel the ‘evil’, or pathogens that cause cold. The ginger is also said to promote a healthy appetite which is needed for speedy recovery.

Prepare ginger tea by shredding about 15 grams of fresh ginger.

Put the ginger in a pot of 200 milliliters of boiling water, and then add brown sugar to taste.

This tea should be served warm twice a day.

After taking the ginger tea, you should go to bed and make it a point to cover your body in warm blankets to ensure perspiration.

Take expellin extract (Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao Wan 川芎茶调丸). Expellin extract is thought to rid the body of wind cold. It also serves to relieve headaches caused by the invasion of exogenous wind, the type of headache that is experienced during rhinitis and sinusitis. This remedy is usually used to treat the early stages of common cold caused by wind cold.

This extract contains Japanese honeysuckle, burdock, forsythia, isatis, and lophantherum.

These ingredients are thought to expel heat and clear toxins.

Look into ginseng and menthol extract ( Ren Shen Bai Du Wan 人参败毒散 or Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Ye 藿香正气夜). Ginseng and menthol extract is used to expel or eradicate pathogens coming from the wind.

This can also help alleviate the stress of cold and damp conditions due to the imbalance of qi.

Determine if your cold is caused by wind heat.

Although most colds are cause by wind cold, sometimes wind heat proves to be the culprit. In this case, the treatment aims to help the body return to its balanced state, which means that heat inside the body should be expelled. Treatment options include the use of cold and flu formula, wind heat clearing, and lung heat clearing.

Some signs of a cold caused by wind heat are: speedy pulse (above 60 beats per minute), headache, dry, non-productive cough expectorating yellow mucus, irritability, sore and swollen throat, and fever.

Take Ganmao Qing感冒清. Ganmao Qing can dispel or reduce the symptoms caused of cold caused by wind heat. The use of this decoction is can also reduce the risk of inflammation. Additionally, it can get rid of fever caused by wind heat and provide heat clearing by expelling the presence of the pathogens caused by fire toxin.

Gunmao Qung is made up of three herbs: isatis root and leaf, as well as andrographis.

These herbs are endowed with antibiotic properties that can clear or expel heat and also expel the presence of fire toxin.

Try Yin Chiao Chieh Tu Pien 银翘解毒片. This decoction can dispel or eliminate symptoms of the common cold caused by wind heat occurring in the spring or summer. It can also be used to treat the early stages of fever.

It contains Japanese honeysuckle, platycodon, burdock, isatis, forsythia, and lophantherum, which can expel heat and even eradicate fire toxin.

Platycodon can soothe throat itchiness by coating the throat. It also has properties that can diffuse the lungs, resulting in better expulsion of phlegm.

Lophantherum, on the other hand, relieves thirst and encourages salivation.

Try isatis root granule (Ban lan gen板蓝根). Isatis root granule is able to expel toxic heat by lessening its presence in the blood. It has antibiotic properties, and is able to relieve sore throats and reduce swelling.

Alleviating a Cold with Other Remedies

Investigate other remedies with the help of a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Expert practitioners of Chinese medicine can employ a variety of other methods to help alleviate your cold. Other methods used to treat common cold include moxibustion or the burning of mugwort, and applying the remains to the skin to promote healing.

Additionally, massaging, cupping, or drawing blood towards the exterior of the skin with the use of oxygen depleted suction cups can provide relief from a cold.

Use diet to help treat colds. Dietary treatment for colds should first start with determining whether the cold is caused by wind heat or wind cold. To determine the source of your cold, eat ginger.

If you experience excessive thirst, dry mouth, sore throat, and sweating after eating, then your cold is caused by wind heat.

To alleviate this type of cold, eat foods that have cooling properties such as cucumber and watermelon.

In case you are experiencing cold intolerance, the only way to counter that is by eating warm foods like garlic and curry.

Do not overeat. Chinese traditional medicine maintains that proper diet can restore balance to the body and boost your immune system.

Stay warm! I sincerely hope you don't need to use this information :)

You can always ask Ringy for help when you are in the pharmacy as well!

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