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Carolina Acupuncture and Herbs, LLC
Articles
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Can Chinese medicine cure the common cold?.... Maybe!
By Fred Williams, Licensed Acupuncturist
In western medicine, the common cold and flu are caused by a myriad of viruses, each with no known cure. The symptoms of the
bug are just covered up by decongestants and analgesics. The disease is left to run its course costing millions of dollars in
medicines and countless sick days, not to mention sore red noses from too many tissues.
The Chinese have also been dealing with colds and flu for millennia and have come up with many ways to combat the common
cold. Textbooks written thousands of years ago have great insight in treating colds and have been slightly refined over the years
to make them quite effective.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we can not just call a common cold or flu just that, we have to identify a pattern. The
general patterns for these ailments are wind-cold and wind-heat. To give you an idea of the differences in these patterns a wind-
cold condition generally has more chills than fever, body aches, headache, clear or white mucous, no sweating and no sore
throat. A wind-heat condition has more feverish sensation than chills, yellow or greenish mucous, sore throat, and some
sweating. You probably see the heat and cold signs in each, but you are probably asking yourself “what does wind have to do
with it?” Bear with me for a second and forget what you know about western medicine while I explain wind. In TCM wind is
thought to “carry all evils” which means it carries cold, heat, damp and summer-heat. Traditional theory does not recognize
viruses or bacteria, only what was observable. So from observational evidence it was thought that someone who was exposed to
wind and cold could catch wind-cold.
Treatment is done with acupuncture, moxabustion, herbs and diet therapy. The general idea is to induce sweating for wind-cold
and sweat out the pathogens. For wind-heat we cool the body and release the heat. Everyone was given chicken noodle soup as
a kid when they were sick, well mom might have been slightly off, although I’m sure her intentions were good. For wind-heat,
chicken can make it worse because it is a “warm” food in TCM, a better soup would be pork, celery and carrots with a healthy
dose of salt (all of these are cooling foods). For wind-cold, chicken with garlic and onions and even a little jalapenos would work
to help sweat out the pathogen. Either way consult with your qualified TCM practitioner for a diagnosis and treatment.
Best of health and stay out of the “wind” this winter!
By Fred Williams, Licensed Acupuncturist
In western medicine, the common cold and flu are caused by a myriad of viruses, each with no known cure. The symptoms of the
bug are just covered up by decongestants and analgesics. The disease is left to run its course costing millions of dollars in
medicines and countless sick days, not to mention sore red noses from too many tissues.
The Chinese have also been dealing with colds and flu for millennia and have come up with many ways to combat the common
cold. Textbooks written thousands of years ago have great insight in treating colds and have been slightly refined over the years
to make them quite effective.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we can not just call a common cold or flu just that, we have to identify a pattern. The
general patterns for these ailments are wind-cold and wind-heat. To give you an idea of the differences in these patterns a wind-
cold condition generally has more chills than fever, body aches, headache, clear or white mucous, no sweating and no sore
throat. A wind-heat condition has more feverish sensation than chills, yellow or greenish mucous, sore throat, and some
sweating. You probably see the heat and cold signs in each, but you are probably asking yourself “what does wind have to do
with it?” Bear with me for a second and forget what you know about western medicine while I explain wind. In TCM wind is
thought to “carry all evils” which means it carries cold, heat, damp and summer-heat. Traditional theory does not recognize
viruses or bacteria, only what was observable. So from observational evidence it was thought that someone who was exposed to
wind and cold could catch wind-cold.
Treatment is done with acupuncture, moxabustion, herbs and diet therapy. The general idea is to induce sweating for wind-cold
and sweat out the pathogens. For wind-heat we cool the body and release the heat. Everyone was given chicken noodle soup as
a kid when they were sick, well mom might have been slightly off, although I’m sure her intentions were good. For wind-heat,
chicken can make it worse because it is a “warm” food in TCM, a better soup would be pork, celery and carrots with a healthy
dose of salt (all of these are cooling foods). For wind-cold, chicken with garlic and onions and even a little jalapenos would work
to help sweat out the pathogen. Either way consult with your qualified TCM practitioner for a diagnosis and treatment.
Best of health and stay out of the “wind” this winter!
17232 Lancaster Highway, Suite 112
Charlotte, NC 28277
704-543-8888
Charlotte, NC 28277
704-543-8888