1. Wind-Cold ColdWind-Cold Cold refers to a condition where the body is affected by cold evil, leading to an imbalance. Cold evil encompasses all factors that can make a person feel cold. What changes occur in the body when it encounters cold evil? Generally, the organs that are affected by cold evil will contract and tighten, and severe contraction can lead to spasms and pain. We all have the experience that when we step outside and a sudden cold wind blows, we get goosebumps, our skin tightens, subcutaneous blood vessels constrict, blood flow to the skin decreases, the skin becomes pale, and the temperature of the skin drops. This is the initial response to cold evil affecting the exterior. The first symptoms of Wind-Cold Cold are chills and body aches. This chill is due to the contraction of the body surface caused by cold evil, preventing Yang Qi from reaching the surface normally, resulting in a loss of warmth, which is traditionally referred to as aversion to cold in TCM. Wearing more clothes cannot improve the contraction of the body surface, hence cannot alleviate this chill. The tightening of the skin and muscles affects the smooth flow of Qi and blood, leading to pain and discomfort. When the skin tightens and blood vessels constrict, the skin’s ability to dissipate heat is inhibited, making it difficult to sweat, which is why Wind-Cold Cold often does not involve sweating. Tightness in the head disrupts the circulation of Qi, blood, and fluids; the nasal mucosa, rich in capillaries, becomes congested due to poor circulation, leading to nasal congestion and clear nasal discharge. When cold evil invades the lungs, the lungs contract and cannot expand normally for breathing, resulting in symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, and even wheezing. The blood vessels are also constricted, leading to a tight pulse. The reason the body temperature can maintain a constant level is due to the balance between the heat production and heat dissipation systems within the body. The skin is the largest heat dissipation system; when affected by cold, the skin tightens, and its ability to dissipate heat is suppressed, causing an imbalance in heat production and dissipation, leading to an increase in body temperature. This is the mechanism behind Wind-Cold Cold. The treatment for Wind-Cold Cold is to restore the various organs and tissues that have tightened back to their normal state, at which point the series of symptoms will naturally disappear. TCM treats this condition by inducing sweating to release the exterior and dispel cold, which is the correct treatment method. However, both Western and Chinese medicine currently have erroneous treatment methods for Wind-Cold Cold, such as suppressing the body’s heat production to treat this fever. Although this can normalize body temperature, it disrupts the entire body’s functions, leaving endless sequelae. Therefore, it is essential to discern correctly; otherwise, one may suffer harm without realizing it. If Wind-Cold Cold is not addressed promptly in its early stages, it can trigger a chain reaction in the body, leading to more complex situations that are more challenging to manage, which cannot be explained in just a few words. The practical TCM training course by Zou Shizhen provides detailed explanations. Therefore, it is best to address the situation as soon as symptoms like clear nasal discharge and sneezing appear; the condition is not complicated and can be resolved quickly. A woman from Shanghai said: Previously, when her child had clear nasal discharge and sneezing, she knew the child had a cold but did not know what to do, so she could only watch as the child developed a fever and then went to the hospital, which took a long time each time. Now, as soon as her child shows clear nasal discharge and sneezing, she immediately prepares two bags of cold-dispelling tea, and the child recovers immediately without developing a fever.
2. Wind-Heat Cold
1. Wind-Cold Cold transforming into Heat is not Wind-Heat Cold. Many people, including many TCM practitioners, say that Wind-Cold Cold with clear nasal discharge and white phlegm, after a long time, transforms into Wind-Heat Cold with yellow nasal discharge and yellow phlegm. This statement is incorrect. Yellow nasal discharge and yellow phlegm occur because cold evil tightens the body surface, preventing the smooth flow of Qi, blood, and fluids; prolonged stagnation generates heat, which steams the fluids, turning them yellow. This heat is fundamentally different from the heat evil of Wind-Heat Cold. Generally, removing the cold evil from the body surface does not require clearing heat; this heat will naturally dissipate. Even if the heat is significant, adding a little Huang Qin (Scutellaria) to the dispersing Wind-Cold herbs is sufficient. So, what exactly is Wind-Heat Cold? Wind-Heat Cold refers to a condition where the body experiences an imbalance after being affected by heat evil. Heat evil is anything that can make a person feel hot. When a person is overheated, blood vessels dilate, blood flow accelerates, sweating occurs, thirst increases, and fever develops. Cold evil harms Yang Qi, while heat evil harms Yin fluids. Wind-Heat Cold is caused by the invasion of heat evil; however, if the symptoms purely reflect heat evil, it is generally not referred to as a cold but as heat stroke. During hot summer days, prolonged exposure to the sun can lead to profuse sweating and fainting, which is true heat stroke. Nowadays, people refer to nausea, vomiting, chest tightness, and dizziness in summer as heat stroke, but in reality, it is cold-damp evil obscuring Yang Qi, which can be resolved with Huo Xiang Zheng Qi (Agastache) formula. True heat stroke cannot be treated with Huo Xiang Zheng Qi. 3. Wind-Heat Cold in its early stages must also have cold evil. In the early stages of Wind-Heat Cold, patients exhibit symptoms of heat evil while also having cold evil present. Why must cold evil coexist in the early stages of Wind-Heat Cold? The reasoning is explained in detail in the introductory course of Zou Shizhen’s practical TCM training. Since cold evil must coexist in the early stages of Wind-Heat Cold, the commonly used formula for treating Wind-Heat Cold, Yin Qiao San (Yin Qiao Powder), includes not only heat-clearing herbs but also warming herbs like Jing Jie (Schizonepeta) to help dispel Wind-Cold. If Wind-Heat Cold is treated solely with heat-clearing herbs like Jin Hua (Lonicera) and Lian Qiao (Forsythia), although the heat evil can be cleared, the condition is not completely resolved, as the changes caused by cold evil remain unaddressed. The presence of cold evil in the early stages of Wind-Heat Cold can vary in severity. This is why I say Ban Lan Gen (Isatis) cannot treat Wind-Cold Cold and should not be used alone for Wind-Heat Cold. 4. How to diagnose Wind-Heat Cold? Diagnosing Wind-Heat Cold requires focusing on the characteristics of heat evil. The characteristics of heat evil include causing the body to swell, fever, sweating, and harming bodily fluids. However, since cold evil must coexist in the early stages of Wind-Heat Cold, not all patients will necessarily sweat, but there are generally signs of heat harming fluids, such as thirst and dry throat, with a rapid and forceful pulse, flushed face, red tongue, and nasal vessels affected by heat evil, leading to snoring sounds. It is worth noting that sometimes, if cold evil is too strong, it can suppress heat evil deep within the body, and the patient may not initially show signs of heat evil. If the patient has significant dampness, the tongue may appear white and swollen, making it difficult to observe any redness even if heat evil is present. In such cases, even skilled TCM practitioners may not be able to determine the presence of heat evil immediately. However, it is not a problem if it is not identified at first; as long as cold evil or dampness is removed, heat evil will naturally become apparent. Therefore, I repeatedly advise students of Zou Shizhen’s TCM Academy that when treating cold and fever, one should not just prescribe several doses of medicine and then neglect the patient. It is essential to monitor the patient’s response closely; if the fever does not subside after taking the medicine for two hours, they can continue to take it. One should not take the medicine slowly, just twice a day. 5. There is a fundamental difference between Wind-Cold Cold and Wind-Heat Cold. From the analysis above, it can be seen that although both Wind-Cold Cold and Wind-Heat Cold present with fever, the nature of the fever is entirely different. The fever in Wind-Cold Cold is due to the contraction of the body surface by cold evil, preventing the heat produced by the body from dissipating, leading to an increase in body temperature. The fever in Wind-Heat Cold is due to external heat evil entering the body. Therefore, treating Wind-Cold Cold requires only dispersing the cold evil from the body surface to restore heat dissipation, allowing body temperature to normalize naturally; treating Wind-Heat Cold requires using heat-clearing herbs to eliminate the heat evil that has entered the body. In the early stages of Wind-Heat Cold, Chinese patent medicine such as Yin Qiao Jie Du Wan (Yin Qiao Detoxifying Pill) can be used, dissolved in warm water for administration. However, it is important to note that the ratio of heat-clearing herbs to cold-dispelling herbs in Yin Qiao Jie Du Wan is fixed, with fewer cold-dispelling herbs. If the patient’s cold evil is not severe, the patent medicine can be used directly; if the cold evil is significant, additional cold-dispelling herbs should be added. 6. Medication methods for treating colds. When treating colds, patients must pay attention to their reactions after taking the medicine and adjust the medication as needed. If the direction of treatment is correct, and the fever does not subside after taking the medicine for two hours, they can continue to take it; one should not take it slowly just twice a day. 7. Gypsum should not be used for fever in the early stages of Wind-Cold Cold. Gypsum should not be used to reduce fever in the early stages of Wind-Cold Cold or Wind-Heat Cold. Nowadays, there are many articles and lectures popularizing TCM knowledge, and some people who do not understand TCM, having read a few TCM books without any practical experience, come out to conduct TCM training, leading to many errors. For example, some people say that when body temperature reaches a certain degree, one must use Bai Hu Tang (White Tiger Decoction), which contains gypsum and other herbs; this is very incorrect. Even if Wind-Heat Cold requires heat-clearing, gypsum should not be used indiscriminately. The types of heat that Bai Hu Tang (gypsum) clears and those that Yin Qiao San clears are strictly differentiated, as explained clearly in the introductory course of Zou Shizhen’s practical TCM training. It is not appropriate to use gypsum just because of high fever. 8. Precautions. This is merely a popularization of TCM knowledge; without systematic study and training, do not treat according to the above methods. For cold and fever, it is essential to find a knowledgeable TCM practitioner to use the correct methods for treatment promptly. Delaying treatment can lead to a chain reaction in the body, complicating the condition further, and using incorrect methods can leave sequelae. Therefore, everyone must grasp some correct TCM knowledge to make informed decisions when choosing therapies, hospitals, and doctors.
3. Damp Evil Cold
In this recent epidemic, people have generally become aware of a pathogenic factor called damp evil. What is damp evil? Any factor that leads to an increase in the water content of the body’s tissues can be termed damp evil. Frequently being caught in the rain, being in a damp environment, soaking in water, or excessive daily water intake, as well as infections from certain bacteria or viruses that can affect internal water metabolism, can all lead to an increase in tissue water content. When the water content in tissues exceeds normal levels, the transmission of information, energy, and substances between cells encounters resistance, leading to disease. To date, Western medicine has no understanding of damp evil and lacks any diagnostic indicators related to tissue water content; thus, there are no corresponding treatment methods for diseases caused by damp evil. Any disease caused by damp evil is considered a difficult disease in Western medicine. Even the simplest damp evil cold can take many months of treatment in Western medicine without resolution, let alone the prevalent epidemic. Here, I will briefly introduce damp evil cold to give everyone a preliminary understanding of it. If you wish to have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of all pathogenic evils, including damp evil, you can enroll in Zou Shizhen’s TCM External Pathogenic Disease Essence Class. Damp evil cold refers to the imbalance in the body caused by the invasion of damp evil. Patients with damp evil cold often feel weak, heavy, have a poor appetite, may not have a fever or may have recurrent low-grade fevers, typically occurring in the afternoon. This type of fever is often ineffective in Western medicine, and patients may undergo treatment for several months without resolution. However, TCM practitioners who understand the theory of damp evil can often resolve the fever with just two or three doses of herbal medicine. Some TCM practitioners are regarded as miraculous doctors because they encounter such cases. How to determine if it is damp evil cold? First, let’s discuss the characteristics of damp evil. Cold evil causes the body to contract and tighten, leading to poor circulation of Qi and blood, preventing heat from dissipating. Damp evil slowly permeates the body, increasing the water content in the skin, muscles, and other tissues, increasing resistance to Qi and blood flow, making it difficult for internal heat to dissipate. If we compare the body’s Yang Qi to a beam of light, cold evil compresses the space where this light exists, making it invisible; damp evil, on the other hand, is like fog that obscures the light. Therefore, although both cold evil and damp evil are Yin evils that affect the operation of Yang Qi, the manifestations of these two types of patients are different. Cold evil patients experience overall body aches, while damp evil patients feel weak and heavy. Fever caused by cold evil is persistent, while fever caused by damp evil generally worsens in the afternoon. The pulse of cold evil patients is typically tight and forceful, while the pulse of damp evil patients is usually thin and weak. When encountering prolonged fever that does not respond to treatment and Western medicine cannot identify the cause, one should consider the possibility of damp evil cold. If it is indeed damp evil cold, using Ma Huang Xing Ren Yi Yi Ren Gan Cao Tang (Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Job’s Tears, and Licorice Decoction) or San Ren Tang (Three Nut Decoction) can generally resolve the fever with just a few doses. A patient who has been treated in the hospital for several months without resolution may be cured with just a few doses of medicine, leading to them being regarded as a miraculous doctor. However, one must be clear about whether they are truly a miraculous doctor; do not be swayed by others’ praise. Patients without fever, only feeling weak, heavy, and unable to eat, may be declared healthy by Western medicine if no cause is found. Those diagnosed with viral infections may be labeled as asymptomatic carriers. Such patients can be treated with Huo Xiang Zheng Qi or similar formulas to dispel dampness.