Chinese Medicine for the common cold, COVID, and the Flu

By Chelsie Black L.Ac

Chinese Medicine for the common cold, COVID, and the Flu

Chinese medicine categorizes the common cold into two sub groups depending on one’s symptoms:

wind-cold or wind-heat 

Symptoms of Wind-Cold may include:

-Runny Nose

- Aversion to cold

- Chills

- Neck stiffness

- Headache

 

Wind-Heat symptoms include:

-Sore throat

-Feeling of warmth

-Sweating

-Yellow sputum

-Red eyes


    When the illness progresses to a deeper level in the body it can have more of a dampness component such as a lot of yellow phlegm or nasal discharge.

    When it’s at an even deeper level it can have more flulike symptoms such as :

    -Diarrhea

    -Nausea

    -Vomiting

    Or components such as dryness with signs like dry eyes or a dry cough

      Mild dry signs can come with a cold, but severe dry cough is often when the illness has been with someone long term and the fluids have been depleted. 


      What would a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner typically recommend for the common cold or flu?

      Depending on what your symptoms are they would recommend foods and herbs to balance your body back to health as well as acupuncture.

      In general all types would likely benefit from:

      - Bone broth or vegetable broth with high quality sea salt to replenish minerals and electrolytes

      - Plenty of warm water

      -Lots of rest

      Herbal prescriptions would depend on the individual, but these are extremely effective if diagnosed correctly

      Chinese Medicine is very pro cooked warm foods at all times, but especially in times of illness.

      Avoid sugar, dairy, and processed foods

      Stay warm and cover up

      Sweating is preferred to detox the pathogen out, but without overheating

       


        General recommendations for wind-cold symptoms may include:

        -Warmer herbal teas such as ginger, fennel, cinnamon, or tumeric tea
        -onions and garlic added to foods

        Wind-heat recommendations may include:

        -colder herbal teas such as peppermint
        -citrus foods
        -mulberry
        -avoid spicy

        When one has a component of dryness, pears and moist fruits are often recommend to replenish fluids.

        When one has damp signs avoiding the dairy and grease is key to not making the dampness worse.

        References and Sources:
        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5234349/

        https://www.allinahealth.org/healthysetgo/care/fight-the-cold-and-flu-with-chinese-medicine

         

         

         

         

         

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        Chelsie Black L.Ac.

        Board Certified Acupuncturist

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