Symptoms of Wind-Cold Common Cold

1. Symptoms of Wind-Cold Common Cold

The Wind-Cold common cold belongs to the Taiyang (Greater Yang) syndrome, where the Taiyang is obstructed. Its characteristic symptoms include: strong pain in the back of the head, which is accompanied by stiffness in neck movement. There is a fear of cold and wind, and usually, one needs to wear many clothes or cover with a thick quilt to feel comfortable. The nasal discharge is clear, white, or slightly yellow. If there is nasal congestion without discharge, drinking some hot water may lead to a runny nose, which also falls under the Wind-Cold common cold. The tongue has no coating or a thin white coating. The voice is heavy due to nasal congestion. Symptoms include sneezing, clear nasal discharge, chills, no fever or mild fever, no sweating, body aches, and a cough with thin white phlegm. The tongue coating is thin and white, and the pulse is floating and tight. If you can take the pulse, you should be able to feel a floating and tight pulse, indicating that Yang Qi is on the surface, easily felt with light pressure.

2. Types of Common Colds

2.1. The common Wind-Cold common cold mainly manifests as sneezing, continuous clear nasal discharge, extreme fear of cold, joint pain throughout the body, and no fever or mild fever.

2.2. The common Wind-Heat common cold mainly manifests as continuous yellow and thick nasal discharge, high fever, sweating, and a tongue coating that has turned light yellow.

2.3. The Summer-Damp common cold mainly manifests as fever, dizziness, chest tightness, nausea, and overall fatigue.

2.4. The Exterior Cold with Interior Heat common cold manifests as chills and fever, cough, headache, and thick phlegm.

3. Herbal Formulas for Treating Wind-Cold Common Cold

3.1. Wu Shen Decoction (Five Gods Decoction)

Ingredients: 10 grams each of Jing Jie (Schizonepeta), Su Ye (Perilla Leaf), and fresh Ginger, 6 grams of tea leaves, and 30 grams of brown sugar.

Preparation: Chop Jing Jie, Su Ye, and fresh Ginger into coarse pieces, and brew them with tea leaves in hot water for a short while. Then add brown sugar and stir, and consume while hot. After taking, cover yourself with a quilt; if sweating is not smooth, you can take it again after an hour.

Effect: It can effectively relieve symptoms of fear of cold and body aches, effectively treating the common cold.

3.2. Ham, Tofu, and Mustard Greens Soup

Ingredients: 100 grams of tofu, 50 grams of ham, 1000 grams of broth, 10 grams of fresh ginger, 30 grams of mustard greens, and appropriate amount of salt.

Preparation: Cut the tofu into cubes and the ham into shreds, sauté them together with a little vegetable oil, then add broth and ginger to boil. Before serving, add mustard greens, pepper, and chopped cilantro, and season with salt to taste, then serve hot.

Effect: Besides fear of cold and body aches, the common cold often accompanies loss of appetite and a cold stomach with a bland taste. This soup uses mustard greens, cilantro, ginger, and pepper to disperse cold, while tofu and ham tonify the middle and harmonize the stomach, enhancing appetite and further accelerating the body’s self-recovery function.

Foods to Eat for Wind-Cold Common Cold

1. Fresh Ginger

Fresh ginger is warm in nature, spicy in flavor, and has the effects of dispersing cold, inducing sweating, and relieving the exterior, making it suitable for those with Wind-Cold common cold. Traditionally, 3 slices of fresh ginger with an appropriate amount of brown sugar brewed in hot water, commonly known as ginger brown sugar tea, is frequently consumed until sweating occurs for recovery.

For those with Wind-Cold common cold, drinking ginger brown sugar water can provide relief. At this time, it is best to peel the ginger, as the skin can hinder the full expression of its warming and dispersing effects, and has a sweating-stopping effect, which contradicts the treatment principle of inducing sweating for Wind-Cold common cold.

2. Green Onion Whites

Green onion whites are warm in nature, spicy in flavor, and have the effect of regulating body temperature, normalizing sweat gland function, and can reduce and prevent the occurrence of colds. They are suitable for those with Wind-Cold type colds.

A common remedy for Wind-Cold common cold is: 5 sections of green onion whites, 9 grams of fermented soybeans, and 3 slices of fresh ginger, decocted in water.

Self-Care for Wind-Cold Common Cold

1. Rubbing Hands

Due to the rich muscle at the base of the thumb (medically known as the thenar), which protrudes significantly when the palm is opened, it occupies a large area of the palm. The thenar is closely related to the respiratory organs. Rubbing it daily can greatly benefit those prone to colds. The method is to rub both thenars until they are warm. The rubbing method is similar to rubbing the skin of peanuts with both palms. One hand is fixed while the other rubs the thenar in an alternating manner. Rubbing the two thenars in opposite directions for about one to two minutes will warm the entire palm. This practice can promote blood circulation and enhance the body’s metabolism, thus strengthening the constitution and making it less prone to colds.

2. Nasal Washing Method

Regularly washing the nose with saline in the morning and evening can greatly reduce the occurrence of colds and has a good preventive effect. During a cold, repeatedly rinsing the nasal cavity with saline can wash out viruses from the nasal cavity, preventing them from proliferating and continuously invading the body. This method can cure a cold within 2 to 4 days without side effects.