Common cold according to Chinese Medicine

In Chinese Medicine, common cold is sometimes associated with Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs, a so-called "patterns of disharmony". Chinese Medicine sees the body as a system, not a sum of isolated parts. A "pattern" is when the system's harmony is disrupted. It is not equivalent to the Western concept of "disease" because both concepts arise from totally different ways of seeing the human body.

To understand whether someone's common cold might be caused by the pattern Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs, one needs to look for signs and symptoms associated with the pattern beyond what one might typically experience from common cold alone. Indeed if common cold is caused by Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs, patients also experience symptoms such as headaches, chills without sweating, stuffy nose and dry throat. Similarly, patients with Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs typically exhibit wiry (Xian) pulses as well as a tongue with thin white coating.

We've listed below a more detailed description of Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs so that you can have a better understanding of where common cold might find its root according to Chinese Medicine.

Once identified, patterns are often treated using herbal formulas. Drinking herbal infusions is the most common remedy in Chinese Medicine, together with acupuncture. Here we detail below ten formulas that can help treat Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs.

Exterior Dry Cold invading the Lungs, a "pattern of disharmony" associated with common cold

The ten herbal formulas that might help with common cold