Here's the winter flu season again – more and more friends get
sick, influenza is in the news, and on the minds of many people. As common as
they sound – the truth is, the typical seasonal flu takes far more lives in the
United States every year than some less common diseases (on which lots of attention
and resources focus) ever have.
The number of seasonal influenza-associated (i.e., seasonal
flu-related) deaths varies from year to year because flu seasons often
fluctuate in length and severity. In December 2016, CDC posted estimates
of seasonal flu deaths from more recent seasons in the United States.
CDC estimates that from 2010-2011 to 2013-2014, influenza-associated deaths in
the United States ranged from a low of 12,000 (during 2011-2012) to a high of
56,000 (during 2012-2013). Death certificate data and weekly influenza virus
surveillance information was used to estimate how many flu-related deaths
occurred among people whose underlying cause of death on their death certificate
included respiratory or circulatory causes.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and other Oriental medical
practices have a long and successful history of treating and preventing winter
colds and flu. The most common way that Western medicine offers for dealing
with the potentially deadly complications of seasonal flu is to use
vaccination. The potential risks of vaccines have been well documented. While
vaccines have proven to prevent certain strains of the flu – one vaccine cannot
prevent all variants of the disease, and a flu shot does absolutely nothing to
prevent or lessen the severity of colds.
Oriental medicine, on the other hand, is designed to strengthen
the immune system when it is at its most vulnerable – during the winter and flu
season. Qi, when restored and strengthened, can prevent the acquisition of
colds, flu, and other seasonal viral infections. In the TCM tradition, the
symptoms of any flu are the result of pathogenic heat, cold, or dampness.
Oriental medicine has an old tradition of using herbal medications to boost qi,
and prevent these pathogens from gaining egress into the body. In fact, in
China, school children are served herbal teas during flu season to prevent the
spread of colds and flu.
Herbal
Medications and Flu
Various herbal formulas are used in TCM to treat the different
symptoms of the flu. Respiratory issues are treated with herbs such as Jiu ma
huang (aka Chinese ephedra). Other treatments for the respiratory conditions
associated with colds and flu used in China include an oral liquid called
Shuanghuanglian, which is a formula made up of baikal skullcap root,
honeysuckle, and forsythia. For the digestive distress that is also often
associated with flu, TCM suggests herbs in the family of Ge gen (radixpuerariae) and ageratum.
The fever that is common to viral infections such as colds and the
flu, is believed in TCM to be caused by a Heat pathogen. Heat pathogens are
traditionally and effectively treated in TCM with herbs such as Huang Lian
(Coptis chinensis), which has specifically shown promise against influenza
viruses in clinical trials.
It is interesting to note that viruses, such as those that cause
colds and the flu, mutate rapidly. Western medicine traditionally develops
ant-viral medications with a single active ingredient. TCM herbal medications
use many ingredients, with individual practitioners often developing their own
unique formulations. It is therefore much easier for mutated viruses to become
resistant to traditional pharmaceuticals, then to the herbal elixirs of TCM.
To really customize an herbal formula to what stage of a cold you
are at and your constitution, I would recommend an in-person consult. But even
if you can’t see a quality Chinese Medicine practitioner as we at WeCare Holistic sometimes help
recommend in person, there are some general nutrient and herbal formulas that
are balanced enough to be safe and effective in all generally healthy adults
who are trying to fend off impending coughing and sneezing.
Prevention First
Hands down, the best way to fight a cold or flu is to not get sick
in the first place!
It goes without saying that practicing good hygiene is the
first step – wash your hands with hot water and soap and cover your nose and
mouth when you cough or sneeze. Eating a nutrient-dense diet, getting plenty of
sleep, and regular exercise can also help keep your immune system strong
so that you effortlessly fight off anything that comes your way.
But Chinese herbs can be a secret weapon in preventing colds, too.
Herbs can help strengthen our immune systems and fight off colds before they
take root.
Diagnosis of Cold and Flu
|
According to the different signs and symptoms, cold and flu can be classified into two main types and other less common ones according to TCM disharmony patterns.  1. Wind-Heat Type Cold and Flu
This type is mainly caused by influence of both wind and heat
evils. It is commonly seen in the spring and summer and tends to be more
prevalent in the southern China region, because of a relatively hot climate.
Nasal congestion, sneezing and a minor fear of wind blowing are general signs
of an attack of a wind evil in cold and flu. These symptoms are usually thought
of as an exterior syndrome of the body.
Heat evils are generally characterized
by yellow and thick body secretions. For example, a fever or high fever,
sweating, sneezing with thick nasal secretions and a cough with thick phlegm
may indicate an influence of a heat evil. In the case of wind-heat invasion, a
thin yellow tongue coating and a rapid and floating pulse also indicate an
exterior syndrome pattern. Since wind-heat can easily consume body fluids,
individuals may experience a dry mouth and sore throat.
2. Wind-Cold Type Cold and Flu
This type is mainly caused by an influence of both wind and cold
evils. It may be more prevalent in winter or in cold environments such as those
with air-conditioning. Cold evils lead to feeling cold, making things contract
and obstructing the flow of qi. Therefore, a fear of cold and an absence of
sweating are major signs of cold invasion.
Cold evils are also often related to
clear body secretions, nasal congestion, sneezing with clear discharge, absence
of fever or a low-grade fever and a cough with white and thin phlegm. A thin
white tongue coating and a floating and tense pulse are common signs of cold
evils. As cold evils obstruct the flow of protective qi in the skin and
muscles, individuals may often experience myalgia (muscular pain).
3. Other Type
In addition to wind-heat and wind-cold type cold and flu, there
are other types caused by evils such as dampness and summer-heat evils. It may
likely be accompanied by some other disharmony patterns such as a qi deficiency
and or yin
deficiency too. Typically, they occur in summer.
Individuals with the cold
and flu caused by Dampness pathogens will constantly feel the presence of Heat
in the body but have no significant increase in body temperature. Other
symptoms include constant thirst with mild sweating; fatigue; lethargy and an
occasional chest tightness.
Damp-heat type is mostly seen, which presents with a fever, slight
aversion to cold, absent or only mild sweating, a heavy and distending pain in
the head, chest oppression, thirst, nausea, limb soreness or pain and scanty
and yellowish urine.
|
Home Remedies
My favorite
home remedies for preventing wind-cold type of cold and flu are ginger brown sugar
hot drink, and “five tiger soup”. Treatment methods such as herbal remedy,
acupuncture or cupping are usually employed to ease the wind-cold symptoms.
Herbs used will usually be warm in nature, such as Folium Perillae (Zi Su Ye, 紫苏叶) and
Ramulus Cinnamomi (Gui Zhi, 桂枝), which aim to induce sweating to dispel the cold and wind
pathogenic factors from the body.
For wind-heat type of cold and flu, warm chamomile and peppermint tea would be naturally
healing. Treatments are aimed at expelling out the heat and cooling the body.
Examples of herbs which are used include Fructus Forsythiae (lian qiao, 连翘) and Flos
Lonicera (honeysuckle flower, 金银花).
Note: For Chinese readers, I have discussed the recipe details in our WeChat post about cold and flu.
Note: For Chinese readers, I have discussed the recipe details in our WeChat post about cold and flu.
For ready-to-eat products, an American TCM practitioner’s
preferred formula for taking throughout cold and flu season to strengthen the
immune system is Yu Ping Feng Wan. This traditional Chinese formula contains
lots of Astragalus, an herb which helps to increase circulating white blood cell counts and
increases cytokines in our immune system that help ward off viral infections. Depending
on the brand and concentration of the formula, and the dose for adults is sometimes
2 tabs 2-3 times daily through cold and flu season.
What If I’m Already Sick?
With any Chinese Medicine formula, the quicker you start to take
it, the better results you can expect. Personally, I will sometimes take a few
doses of the herbal formulas for the first stage of a cold if I have had
significant exposure to someone who is currently sick, just to make sure I
don’t come down with the same thing!
But even if you don’t catch it before symptoms set in, the sooner you start treatment, the faster you’ll feel better.
But I know what you’re thinking – the last thing you want to do
when you already feel bad from a cold (and maybe have a spouse with the man-flu
and kids who need your attention, too) is try and decipher labels at a Chinese
herb shop without a Chinese friend who knows about this like me! That’s why that
practitioner recommend keeping some herbal formulas on hand during the winter
months. These are tablets that you can keep in the cupboard, just like you
would a bottle of cold syrup. That way, when a cold or flu strikes, you’re
already prepared.
Contact us at WeCareHolistic.com and leave what you would like to
get. If (most often) your symptoms can be solved simply by utilizing ingredients
in the nearby grocery store if not your fridge, we will let you know the recipe’s
too.
It should be noted here that a high fever in any type of cold
and flu, especially one that is persistent for more than eight hours and is
not responding to either Chinese or Western medicine should be reported to
your health care professional to be evaluated.
|
Sources:
http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2016-06-03/doc-ifxsvexw8328998.shtml
http://www.tcmpage.com/hpcoldflu.html
https://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/11/10/om-prevention-and-treatment-flu
https://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/11/10/om-prevention-and-treatment-flu
http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/lifestyles/tcmrole_cold_flu_diagnosis.html
https://www.euyansang.com
https://www.euyansang.com
No comments:
Post a Comment