Acupuncture for Colds, Flu & Frequent Colds

How Chinese medicine understands colds and flu

In Chinese medicine, a cold is an “invasion of Wind” from outside that gets past the body’s surface. The protective layer at the surface is called Wei Qi. When it is strong, you shake off what is going around. When it is weak, from tiredness, stress, poor sleep or a long illness, colds get in more easily and linger longer.

The first question is what kind of cold it is. The common patterns are:

• Wind-cold. Chills more than fever, a stiff neck and body aches, a runny nose with clear mucus, and no sweating. It feels better with warmth.
• Wind-heat. Fever more than chills, a sore, red throat, thirst, and yellow mucus. This is closer to a flu-like picture.
• Wind-damp or summer-damp. A heavy head, aching limbs, nausea or an upset stomach alongside the cold.

For frequent colds, the question is what is underneath:

• Lung and Wei Qi deficiency. Catching colds easily, sweating easily, a soft voice and tiredness.
• Spleen Qi deficiency. Poor appetite, loose stools and lots of phlegm with each cold.

A cold is treated by clearing it from the surface. Frequent colds are treated between colds by building up what is weak.

What treatment involves

The first visit includes a lot of questions: how often you get sick, how long each cold lasts, what it tends to turn into, your sleep, energy, digestion and stress. I also look at your tongue and take your pulse.

Chinese herbal medicine is often the main treatment for colds, because you can take it every day, and it can be started early. I write a formula for your pattern and dispense it at the clinic. A formula for the first days of a cold is different from one for building you up between colds.

Acupuncture can be used early in a mild cold, for a cough or congestion that lingers afterwards, and between colds, with points chosen for your pattern. Cupping on the upper back is a traditional treatment at the start of a cold, and moxibustion may be used between colds for a weak, cold pattern.

If a cold keeps settling in your sinuses, the sinusitis page covers that. The clinic is in Keswick. For frequent colds, plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress.

Between visits

• Wash your hands often, and keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Get your flu shot each fall, and the other vaccines your doctor recommends.
• Protect your sleep, especially in cold and flu season. Being run down makes it easier to catch what is going around.
• Rest when you are sick. Pushing through a cold often makes it linger.
• Keep warm and drink warm fluids. Cover your neck in wind and cold, and choose soups and warm drinks over cold food when a cold is starting.

When to see your doctor first

Most colds settle on their own in 7 to 10 days. Call 911 or go to an emergency department for:

• Trouble breathing, or chest pain.
• Confusion, severe drowsiness, or a seizure.
• Blue or grey lips, or signs of dehydration such as very little urine.

See your doctor promptly if you have:

• A fever above 39°C, or a fever that lasts more than three days.
• Symptoms that improve and then get worse again, with fever or coloured phlegm.
• A cough that lasts more than three weeks, or earache or sinus pain that does not settle.
• The flu and are pregnant, over 65, or have asthma, heart disease, diabetes or a weak immune system. Antiviral medicine works best when started early.