The season of the common cold is back. A cold is a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract that causes various symptoms such as chills, fever, cough, nasal congestion, body aches, and headaches. If you take a good rest and manage your life rather than special treatment, you will get better soon, but if you get the flu, you may experience discomfort in your daily life.
ColdㅣSource: Getty Image Bank
Colds during the change of season, why do people have different symptoms? Chinese medicine ‘cold’
The speed at which a cold heals varies from person to person. The reason is that the basic immunity level, body constitution, and overall health condition are different. In oriental medicine, the causes of colds are classified into wind, cold, and physical deterioration.
Wind refers to contagious causes such as viruses and bacteria, and cold refers to a rapid drop in temperature. If these two are external causes, physical strength deterioration refers to internal causes. Therefore, if you want to treat a cold with oriental medicine, it is important to get the most suitable treatment following figuring out the internal and external causes.
How to treat a cold with oriental medicine?
For general colds or old colds, excluding the flu, oriental medicine treatment that considers both immunity and self-reliance is effective. Typical oriental medicine cold prescriptions include Ssanghwapaedoksan and Ssanghwasamsoeum. Ssanghwapaedoksan is used when there are cold symptoms and severe systemic pain and fever, and Ssanghwasamsoeum is used for chronic colds and coughs and colds accompanied by low energy.
It is recommended to take Ssanghwatang if you feel cold or have minor cold symptoms due to overtime work or frequent physical activity. Ssanghwa-tang, well known as an oriental medicine for colds, is originally used when both yin and yang are weak due to damage to qi and blood. If mild cold symptoms such as residual cough still remain following recovering from a cold, Samsoeum, Jaeumganghwatang, and Saengmaeksan can help relieve symptoms.
Samsoeum: Effective for colds where the body is cold and indigestion is difficult, and only a slight cough is left
Jaeum Kanghwatang: Helps relieve dry cough or cough symptoms accompanied by a small amount of sticky phlegm
Saengmaeksan: Effective when weak symptoms such as thirst and dry cough persist
Cold, life management is more important than treatment
Life management is more important than cold treatment. If you have a cold, you should get enough sleep and exercise lightly, and it is recommended to eat warm tea or fruits to take in water and vitamins. In order to prepare for the daily temperature difference, wear several layers of thin clothing so that you are not too cold or too hot, and you must maintain the temperature well.
Written = Haidaq Medical Reporter Mo Min-ju, Director (Oriental Medicine Doctor)
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