Cold

As Winter starts to turn to Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, we may want to start wearing lighter clothing and venturing outside. But Cold, as a potential disease-causing factor, can still cause problems for us even as the temperature heats up.

Cold in Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the External Pathogenic Factors (EPFs for short). Cold typically enters the body with the help of Wind, and is one of the causes for holiday colds and flus. Cold contracts, and injures our natural ability to warm ourselves (think about how it makes your muscles contract until you shiver, feel pain, or just want to curl up and stay in bed).

But Cold doesn’t have to wait until the colder parts of the year to lurk around the corner. In our modern societies with air conditioned buildings, Cold is always present. As the temperatures start to warm up, we naturally want to wear lighter clothing to keep from overheating. Unfortunately, we also tend to blast that A/C on high to cool us down quickly. But remember Wind, and how Wind plus Cold often equals a Cold invasion? My best recommendation is to own a loose scarf. TCM believes there are certain points where Wind can invade the body easily (bringing in Cold or other EPFs); these are typically around the head and neck. So if you need to have the air on blast, just keep a thin layer over your neck as well.

Photo by NoonBrew on Unsplash

Already have a Cold invasion? Plenty of natural herbal ingredients fight Cold by warming the body.

• If it’s juts a light chill, you can try cayenne and black pepper in some black or green tea.

• If you are feeling cold from the inside out, try making a tea from ginger instead by chopping up fresh ginger and steeping it in boiling water. You don’t need to peel it first; it’s so easy to make.

• If you have Cold in your joints or muscles, using moxibustion or can help. Your TCM practitioner can show you how to safely and effectively use moxa to warm your joints and muscles. Don’t have moxa? Any infrared device will do, but be careful and avoid burns!

Ways to avoid cold in your every-day life:

1. Keep covered (as I mentioned above). Try to regulate your body temperature when you enter and leave buildings.

2. Avoid eating excessive amounts of cold-natured foods. Examples include seafoods, ice creams, iced coffees, smoothies, iced water or tea.

3. The hardest advice for all of us is probably best - turn off the A/C and stay hydrated.

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By the way, if you want to learn more about TCM theory, always check what I’m posting as references. These are great sources I recommend reading or owning. Full disclosure, I am not attached to these in any way and receive nothing from sharing them, I just like them.

References:

Beinfield, H., & Korngold, E. (1991). Between heaven and earth a guide to Chinese medicine. New York: Ballantine.

Leggett, D. (2005). Helping ourselves: A guide to traditional Chinese food energetics. Totnes, Devon: Meridian.

Parts of a Treatment

Is it your first time trying acupuncture? Here is a short list of what you can expect during your visit:

The flow of most visits to your acupuncturist will follow the same general outline. 

1. After check-in, the first step is the Intake where we discuss your complaint and symptoms. This is just like it is at your regular doctor’s office. Part of the intake which may be unfamiliar are what may be called “the 10 questions.” There could be more or less than 10 - the number is not important - but it helps us figure out how your system is doing in relation to your current environment and complaint. We will also check your tongue and pulse in the traditional Chinese method.

   • As a note, try not to brush your tongue the morning before you see your acupuncturist. Brushing or scraping your tongue can be helpful to reduce “bad breath,” but we actually use it to see what is going on in your digestion and metabolism - if it’s thick and greasy, that’s OK!
     

2. The main part of your visit is the Treatment itself. There are many modalities or treatment approaches and techniques we might use in the course of your treatment; you could benefit from one or more of these. Commonly seen are acupuncture needles, moxa, cupping and gua sha (this is a scraping technique). No matter who you see, your acupuncturist will be trained in these and more ways to benefit your condition. If you have questions, just ask - we want to help you, and we want you to be active in your own healthcare.
   

3. The last part of your treatment is simple: discussing herbal or dietary options and establishing a Plan of Care. This part of the visit can vary from practitioner to practitioner, and from patient to patient. Contrary to popular belief, acupuncture is not a magic-bullet, even though it can be much cheaper in the long run. For many complaints, regular acupuncture treatments can effectively reduce symptoms and strengthen the body for the future. Because every situation is different, you should talk with your acupuncturist and discuss your options.