1. Chills and Sensitivity to Cold: Patients with a wind-cold common cold often experience chills due to the coldness of wind and cold enveloping the body, which suppresses the body’s Yang energy. Therefore, patients typically exhibit coldness, aversion to wind, and the symptoms of fever are relatively mild, sometimes even absent.
2. No Sweating: Due to the wind-cold constraining the exterior, the body’s Yang energy cannot express outwardly, and the pores are suppressed by the wind and cold. Thus, individuals with a wind-cold common cold generally do not sweat. However, with appropriate treatment, once the wind-cold is dispersed, patients often experience slight sweating, which alleviates various discomforts associated with the cold.
3. Head and Neck Pain, Body Aches: Those suffering from a wind-cold common cold usually present with symptoms such as head and neck pain and general body aches. Although the body’s Yang energy is suppressed and feels cold, the exterior may feel warm. The lack of sweating combined with the stagnation of cold leads to an imbalance in the flow of Qi and blood in the meridians. When this imbalance reaches the head, it results in head and neck pain; poor circulation of Qi and blood in the meridians manifests as limb aches.
4. Nasopharyngeal Congestion, Runny Nose, and Sneezing: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) holds that “the lungs govern Qi and control the skin and hair.” When wind-cold constrains the exterior, it prevents the Qi within the lungs from dispersing, leading to symptoms such as nasal congestion, a heavy voice, itchy nose, sneezing, and occasionally a clear runny nose.
5. Cough: Most patients with a cold will exhibit coughing symptoms. In cases of wind-cold common cold, the cough is often accompanied by a scratchy throat, with occasional coughing up of thin, white phlegm.
6. Preference for Warm Water: Due to the invasion of cold pathogens, patients typically crave warm water to dispel the cold when they feel thirsty.
7. Coated Tongue and Pulse Characteristics: Patients with a wind-cold common cold usually present with a thin, white, and moist tongue coating, and their pulse is often floating and rapid or simply floating.
