How to prevent a Cold

Now it’s the season again, where it seems everybody around you is sneezing and coughing. And you wonder how can you avoid getting caught by this invasion of germs flying around.

Well the thing is, probably you can’t. there are just to many in the air. Unless you live somewhere remote in the country side, chances are you will meet somebody who will cough or sneeze towards you.

But this doesn’t mean you will get sick as well.

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The best way to avoid getting sick is keeping your immune system strong. 

In chinese medicine, external wind and cold are the main reason to catch a cold in winter. Wind and coldness blocks the free flow of en Qi “life energy”, especially the defensive energy (Wei-Qi) which has the function of protecting the body against external factors like wind-cold, wind-heat and dampness.

Symptoms of Exterior Wind-Cold are: 

• Chills with low grade fever or no fever, 
• no sweating
• aching
• headache
• stiff neck
• stuffy nose
• fear of cold
• scratchy throat
• cough

An easy way to prevent or treat a cold or influenza in its early stage, is with a simple chinese tea recipe:

• Fresh Ginger Roots (Sheng Jiang 生姜) 9 gr (0.3 oz)
• Cinnamon Twig    (Gui Zhi 桂枝) 9 gr (0.3 oz)
• Red Date Jujube   (Da Zao 大枣) 5 – 12 pcs

Usually you get all the above things in a local food store, except maybe red dates, these you’ll usually  find in any asian food stores.

How to prepare
Boil about 1 litre (2.1 pt) water in a ceramic or stainless steel pot add the herbs and turn the fire back on simmer. Cook it for about 20 minutes. After you can fill it into a thermos bottle and drink it throughout the day. ​

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Fresh Ginger Roots (Sheng Jiang 生姜)
Is a commonly used food in many dishes, it has a mild function of inducing perspiration and stopping coughing. It is often used to treat mild or early stages of a cold or influenza.

Ginger has also the function of treating nausea and vomiting – use it together with cinnamon twigs (Gui Zhi) and red date „jujube“ (Da Zao)

Fresh Ginger eliminates toxins and treats food poisoning, characterized by vomiting and diarrhea. It works best by food poison due to eating shrimps and crabs.

Cautions
Fresh Ginger shouldn’t be used for a long time because of it’s warm and acrid nature it can damage Qi and Yin in the body. It shouldn’t be used if you have excess heat symptoms, or if you are sweating spontaneously with tiredness. ​

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Cinnamon Twig - Gui Zhi (Ramulus Cinnamomi)
One of the main herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat exterior cold wind.

Cinnamon Twig warms the meridians and dispels cold.  It is also indicated for wind-cold arthralgia, often neck and shoulder pain due of cold weather. 

Cautions
This herb induces heat, damages the yin and moves blood. It is prohibited for those with warm pathogens, like infections or other health problems with heat symptoms.

Use with caution in pregnant women.
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Red Date Jujube   (Da Zao 大枣)

Red date helps strengthening your Qi (Spleen/Stomach), nourishes the blood and calms the spirit. It also moderates and harmonies the properties of other herbs.

Cautions
In terms of TCM, Da Zao is inadvisable in cases of damp phlegm syndrome, indigestion, tooth disease, and parasite disease.

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Symptoms of exterior Wind-Heat are:

• Fever & chills w/fever predominating,
• sore throat,
• stuffy a/or runny nose w/yellow discharge,
• headache,
• slight sweating,
• thirst.

Some simple Chinese medicine teas for wind-heat type of cold

• Chrysanthemum Flower and Peppermint tea
  • Chrysanthemum (6g) NAME: JU HUA-菊花 -  FLOS CHRYSANTHEMI 
  • Peppermint (3g)  NAME: BO HE - 薄荷 - HERBA MENTHAE - PEPPERMINT

How to prepare
Boil the chrysanthemum (6g) with about 500ml of water. When brought to a boil, add in peppermint (3g) boil for 2-3 minutes. If needed you can add some Chrystal sugar to it. I prefer not to. Take the hot tea twice a day. It helps to relieve symptoms like sore throat, nasal congestion, headache and fever that occur in "heat" type flu.

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Over the counter Recipe for wind-heat type of cold.

A good over the counter herbal formula for expelling heat and relief flu.  Is the patent formula Yin Jiao Jie Du Pain, which you get in any drugstore in Asia or in China Towns all over the world. It is used for common cold, fever, headache, cough, thirst and sore throat.

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Chrysanthemum Flower - JU HUA-菊花

Herb Actions

• Releases Wind and Heat
  For Wind-Heat syndromes with fever, headache, and red, painful, dry eyes.
• Clears Heat in the Liver Channel
  Used for Wind-Heat affecting the eyes, or Yin Deficiency of the Liver and kidneys causing blurry vision, dizziness, and spots in front of the eyes.
• Stops Wind
  Used to calm the Liver and relieve symptoms of ascending Liver yang.

Cautions

• Caution in patients with qi Deficiency, diarrhoea, and poor appetite.

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Peppermint - Bo He 薄荷 (Herba Menthae Haplocalycis)

Herb Actions

• Disperses Wind-Heat, cools and clears the head and eyes and benefits the throat.
  For common cold due to wind and heat with symptoms of fever, headache, cough, sore throat, and red eyes.
• Reliefs Rashes
  For incomplete expression of rashes, especially useful for measles.
• Disperses Liver Qi
  For constrained Liver Qi patterns with pressure in chest and flanks, gynecological problems, and unstable emotions.

Cautions​​

• This herb is not recommended for nursing mothers. It may lead to insufficient lactation.
• Contraindicated for those with hiatal hernia.
• The essential oil should not be inhaled by small children.

So hopefully these tips helps you to get healthy through the winter time.