Get Relief from Cold Symptoms Today

The nagging headache I suffered from this weekend was in my upper back. The pain moved up my left side of the neck, and into my ear. I thought about every twinge. “What new kind of hell is this?” I generally don’t get headaches, and this one was odd. The headache started Saturday night, and I fell asleep on Saturday. However, when I woke up Sunday morning, it was gone. It was gone until I went outside. Then the pain returned.

Aha! Aha! You see, when we go outside in Minnesota in December, baby, it’s cold. I mean cold enough that things freeze in a matter of hours. Saturday morning, shortly before the headache pain started, I had been working out outside. When I got home, my jacket was still on, so I went outside and took my jacket with me. Although it was stupid, I was only five minutes away from my home. Anyway, I was very chilled.

Chinese medicine said that my pain was due to the cold. While this may sound strange, in reality, I see people in the clinic who have symptoms related to the cold all the time. In Chinese medicine, cold can cause illness. However, this is more than just the theory that if you get a chill, you’ll catch a cold.

Pathogenic cold can be described as too much cold energy, or a lack thereof. Cold can cause things to contract or slow down, which can lead to physical problems. Your body’s cold can also cause contraction and stagnation.

Pain is one of the most common signs of a pathogenic cold. The cold can cause a domino effect, where the cold causes energy stagnation which in turn causes pain. In the clinic, one of the most obvious signs that a patient’s pain is caused by cold is that the painful area feels cold—much colder than the rest of their body. A sign that cold-related pain is causing it is when it becomes more severe or worse in colder weather. For example, many people who suffer from arthritis find that it’s much worse in cold weather.

One of the most common patterns in Chinese medicine is that cold can be the root cause. Some people feel cold to the core. This is because their Yang (or internal pilot light) is low. People who are cold to their core may feel slow, crave warm foods and drink warm beverages, have pale or bluish skin, loose stool, and/or clear urine.

There are many factors that can cause pathogenic cold. First, there are people who feel cold. Their body constitution tends to be cold; they haven’t done anything wrong to cause their chilliness. Many people are affected by their environment and have issues with cold. They live in cold areas (uh, that would me), eat cold food too often, or don’t exercise enough.

It’s not rocket science to know that if you have symptoms caused by cold, you need to warm things up. It’s all about the how. These are simple ways to alleviate symptoms and create warmth.

• Heat is an effective treatment option. Many practitioners resort to moxibustion in the clinic. This is where you apply heat to burn herbs close to the pain area or acupuncture points. Moxibustion pretty much smells like you’re smoking pot, which tends to not work out so well in an office building, so I use a far-infrared heat lamp in the clinic. You can heat rice bags, a hot water bottle or heating pads at home.
• Heat is also created by movement. You can increase your energy, generate heat, and move more easily by doing a little exercise. Massage and stretching can also help you to relax and ease your symptoms.
• Warm up in any way possible. You can get warm with layers of clothing, a sauna or hot tub, as well as a warm-weather vacation.
• Discuss warming herbal formulas with your doctor. There are many options available depending on what your symptoms are. You may also have cloves, ginger and cinnamon in your kitchen.
• Chinese food therapy is another way to warm up. While it might take some time, warming up with energetically warm foods is possible. Warming foods include spicy and pungent foods, soups, and food that has been cooked for a long time (roasted). Avoid eating raw or cold foods. You can ask your practitioner to help you select foods that are best for you. Simple Steps See below for a complete list of energy-heating foods.
• My personal plan to avoid another headache episode includes not going outside when I’m sweaty and chilled, lots of layers of warm clothing, and eating plenty of soups.

Republished in AcupunctureTwinCities.com

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