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The common cold is an upper respiratory tract infection that can be
caused by any of over 200 viruses. Common symptoms include aches and
pains, head and chest congestion, coughing,
fever, headaches
and sneezing.
A healthy adult generally
gets one or two colds per year that clear up within a week or so. However,
if greater freqency occurs, it could be an indicator of potential immune
system deficiency.
Children are much
more susceptible to colds because their immune systems are not fully
developed to fight all of the viruses that cause colds.
Occasionally a cold
can become more serious illness such as bronchitis,
flu
or pneumonia.
Traditional Chinese
Medicine views the common cold and flu as a result of "external
cold wind", which causes the pores of the skin to contract.
A cold with chills
is a "cold" type of illness, whereas a "heat" sort
of cold gives us a sore throat and high temperature.
For either type,
TCM treats the cold with herbs and food to open the pores and sweat
the illness out of our system.
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