Out of curiosity. Why does cold symptoms appear differently in everyone? For example, when we catch the flu, my husband always gets the sore throat while my nose gets all plugged up and I sneeze a lot. Does that also mean alternative treatments for the cold also varies for everyone, instead of just taking Tylenol?
Concerned Reader
The Common Cold
Waking up with a sore throat, fatigue, and muscle soreness is something we all dread. And the moment it visits us, we follow-up with remedies taught to us by friends and mothers, intaking all sorts of things from pills to home-brew remedies; all in good hope that we might cheat ourselves this time from hitting it big with the flu- the high fever, the dripping nose, and the dreaded bronchitis.
Well, what causes the Common Cold?
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), cold is caused by the combination of external and internal factors. External factors are wind and/or cold, or the summer’s actual heat. Internal factors are examples of fatigue, digestive problems, stress, or weak constitution, inducing moments of low-defenses in the immune system.
Types of Colds
Body Type, Lifestyle and Behaviors
Our bodies, lifestyle and behaviors play important parts in deciding what type of cold we end up carrying.
Wind-Cold Candidates
seniors
toddlers
low-immune/very sick patients
chronic diarrhea
fear of cold
generally, not easy to sweat
Wind-Heat Candidates
young to middle-age men
fear of heat
carnivores
over-eating/indigestion/constipation
Heat-Humid Candidates
any age group can be susceptible to this type of cold
Dear Fran,
Out of curiosity. Why does cold symptoms appear differently in everyone? For example, when we catch the flu, my husband always gets the sore throat while my nose gets all plugged up and I sneeze a lot. Does that also mean alternative treatments for the cold also varies for everyone, instead of just taking Tylenol?
Concerned Reader
The Common Cold
Waking up with a sore throat, fatigue, and muscle soreness is something we all dread. And the moment it visits us, we follow-up with remedies taught to us by friends and mothers, intaking all sorts of things from pills to home-brew remedies; all in good hope that we might cheat ourselves this time from hitting it big with the flu- the high fever, the dripping nose, and the dreaded bronchitis.
Well, what causes the Common Cold?
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), cold is caused by the combination of external and internal factors. External factors are wind and/or cold, or the summer’s actual heat. Internal factors are examples of fatigue, digestive problems, stress, or weak constitution, inducing moments of low-defenses in the immune system.
Types of Colds
Body Type, Lifestyle and Behaviors
Our bodies, lifestyle and behaviors play important parts in deciding what type of cold we end up carrying.
Wind-Cold Candidates
Wind-Heat Candidates
Heat-Humid Candidates
Wind-Heat (Weak) Candidates