Treated Conditions > Flu and Cold
Flu and Cold
Around 1,800 years ago, Dr. Zhang Zhongjing, one of the most famous Chinese medical doctors in history, wrote a book called Shang Han Za Bing Lun (Treatise on Cold Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases). Although Dr. Zhang treated numerous internal diseases during his time, almost two thirds of his book is about how to treat flu and cold correctly, what happens if flu and cold are treated in wrong ways, and how to correct the mistreatments of flu and cold. In his opinion, if flu and cold are not treated properly, they can lead to various internal conditions, even fatal conditions.
Instead of targeting viruses and bacterias as the cause of the flu and cold, Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses more on body constitutions. Catching the same flu or cold, different people present different symptoms. For example, two persons catch the same flu, one having spontaneous sweat, and the other not. The treatment principles for these two persons are totally different. And the herbal formulas for these two persons should be different, too. If the person with spontaneous sweat takes the herbal formula that is for the person without spontaneous sweat, his/her flu will not be relieved, but possibly get worse. And, vice versa.
Flu and cold symptoms include, but are not limited to,(note comma) chills, fever, body ache, fatigue, headache, rigid neck, sore throat, sinus congestion, and cough. Different herbal formulas are used according to presentations of symptoms. Below, I list a few basic herbal formulas and their main indications.
- CINNAMON TWIG DECOCTION (main indications: chills, fever, aversion to wind, spontaneous sweat, body ache, fatigue)
- MA HUANG DECOCTION (main indications: chills, fever, aversion to cold, no sweat, body ache)
- MINOR BLUE DRAGON DECOCTION (main indications: chills, aversion to cold, cough and/or sneeze with clear mucus)
- MAJOR BLUE DRAGON DECOCTION (main indications: chills, fever, aversion to cold, body ache, cough with yellow or green mucus)
- KUDZU ROOT DECOCTION (main indications: rigid neck and shoulder, sore throat, fever)
- HONEYSUCKLE FORSYTHIA POWDER (main indications: fever, sore throats, no chills)
- MINOR BUPLEURUM DECOCTION ( main indications: alternative chills and fever, nausea)
Derivatives of these basic formulas can be customized to treat unique cases. Although these herbal formulas have been used for more than one thousand years, their effectiveness have not been undermined by the mutations of viruses and bacterias throughout the years.
I cannot emphasize this enough: accurate diagnosis is the prerequisite of effective treatment. This is especially so for treating flu and cold.
Instead of targeting viruses and bacterias as the cause of the flu and cold, Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses more on body constitutions. Catching the same flu or cold, different people present different symptoms. For example, two persons catch the same flu, one having spontaneous sweat, and the other not. The treatment principles for these two persons are totally different. And the herbal formulas for these two persons should be different, too. If the person with spontaneous sweat takes the herbal formula that is for the person without spontaneous sweat, his/her flu will not be relieved, but possibly get worse. And, vice versa.
Flu and cold symptoms include, but are not limited to,(note comma) chills, fever, body ache, fatigue, headache, rigid neck, sore throat, sinus congestion, and cough. Different herbal formulas are used according to presentations of symptoms. Below, I list a few basic herbal formulas and their main indications.
- CINNAMON TWIG DECOCTION (main indications: chills, fever, aversion to wind, spontaneous sweat, body ache, fatigue)
- MA HUANG DECOCTION (main indications: chills, fever, aversion to cold, no sweat, body ache)
- MINOR BLUE DRAGON DECOCTION (main indications: chills, aversion to cold, cough and/or sneeze with clear mucus)
- MAJOR BLUE DRAGON DECOCTION (main indications: chills, fever, aversion to cold, body ache, cough with yellow or green mucus)
- KUDZU ROOT DECOCTION (main indications: rigid neck and shoulder, sore throat, fever)
- HONEYSUCKLE FORSYTHIA POWDER (main indications: fever, sore throats, no chills)
- MINOR BUPLEURUM DECOCTION ( main indications: alternative chills and fever, nausea)
Derivatives of these basic formulas can be customized to treat unique cases. Although these herbal formulas have been used for more than one thousand years, their effectiveness have not been undermined by the mutations of viruses and bacterias throughout the years.
I cannot emphasize this enough: accurate diagnosis is the prerequisite of effective treatment. This is especially so for treating flu and cold.