English
Because cold symptoms vary from person to person they need to be treated differently. For example. Those with aches, chills, a mild fever, running nose, sneezing and a cough are usually treated with pungent herbs with warm properties.
Perilla leaf, schizonepeta herb, ephedra and cassia twig can help the body expel the pathogens by inducing sweating.
Notopterygium root, pubescent agnelica root and ledebouriella root are used to relieve headaches and pain. Phlegm and cough can be treated with dried ginger, pinellia tuber and tangerine peel.
Fever, slight chill, headaches, sore throat and cough, nasal congestion, thick nasal discharge and thirst are usually treated with herbs with pungent and cool properties. Mulberry leaf, chrysanthemum and peppermint can relieve mild fever and coughs. Honeysuckle flower, forsythia capsule and great burdock fruit are used for high fever and sore throat conditions, and reed rhizome, bamboo leaf and snakegourd root help to replenish body fluids exhausted by the head.
If there are digestive problems such as nausea, poor appetite, abdominal distention and diarrhoea, aromatic-pungent herbs such as mosla herb, cablin patchouli herb and fortune eupatorium herb can help.
Many classic prescriptions for different types of cold symptoms can be bought over the counter. But if you consult a traditional Chinese medical practitioner, they can modify a formula to meet your needs. People often say they feel better after only one or two doses of herbal medicine,
Another benefit of taking herbal decoctions is that they’re 100 per cent natural. Proponents say these treatments don’t cause drowsiness or other side effects.
Before taking any medicine, consult your TCM or medical practitioner
Rose Tse and Jenny Eagleton
info@shen-nong.com
Edited by Suzanne Harrison suzanne.harrison@scmp.com
Published: March 19, 2007
Source: South China Morning Post
