Do some thing about your cold or flu. You don't have to live with it.

Acupuncture and Cold and Flu

We can get concerned around cold and flu season when they are so common. Now days, a flu vaccine is available but the virus mutates so fast that the vaccine will become no longer effective. A better way to treat them is through the use of Traditional Chinese medicine by using acupuncture and Chinese patient herbal formulas. When you use TCM as your treatment form, you can help to prevent a cold or flu from coming on. Acupuncture can also treat the illness even when the symptoms appear. By greatly reducing the signs and symptoms as well as the duration you can recover much faster then just letting it run its own cause.

TCM can help prevent colds and flu by strengthening the immune system. Some individuals can have an underlying weakness. This inherent weakness is the reason why some people can catch a cold or flu very easily. TCM understands this aspect and it can help to boost the immune system so that the body can fight the onset of a cold or flu. In order to prevent illness and to build up the immune system, this can be achieved through the use herbal medicine along with regular acupuncture sessions. There are studies that indicate that after a session of acupuncture, the antibodies in blood stay at a higher level for at least 3 days after the session.

Acupuncture treatment sessions last for around 1 hour which includes the consultation. The session involves the insertion of needles in to the various locations of the body such as the arms, neck and the back. After insertion, the needles are left in the body for around 20 to 30 minutes. Most clients find that acupuncture treatments to be painless and can be quite relaxing.

In general there are two main types of colds in TCM theory which are wind/heat and wind cold. The wind heat is more common here due to our climate, were as a wind/cold is more common in colder climates like Melbourne. A wind/heat can change into a wind/cold and visa versa. Some symptoms associated with a wind/heat are a sore throat, thirst, headache, general malaise, green or yellow phlegm and chills and fever where as the wind/cold has muscle aches, occipital headache, sinus congestion or clear discharge, copious thin white or clear watery sputum just to name a few.

The herbal formula used in the case of wind/heat is the Yin Qiao Wan. This formula is also recommended to be stored at your home so at the first signs of a sore throat they can be taken. If taken early enough they can prevent a cold from coming on. They can be taken at any stage of a wind/heat attack and can reduce the signs, symptoms and duration. Yin Qiao Wan is a classic Chinese formula and there are studies that indicate that it has both anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects in the body. This can help to reduce inflammation and strengthens immunity. When treating a wind/cold the herbal formula Xiao Qing Long Wan is used. Both formulas can be combined with other formulas to help to treat more pacific symptoms like cough etc.

Acupuncture is very good for treating all types of conditions and when it is combined with herbal medicine, it can offer unbelievable results. TCM has been practiced for thousands of years now and the reason that it is gaining so much popularity in the western world is due to the success rate that it achieves when treating disorders like this.

References:
Can Acupuncture Prevent Colds and Flu
Chinese Herbs – Cold and Flu Season – Yin Qiao Jie Du Pian – Honeysuckle and Forsythia Pills
Herbal Supplements – Qiang Li Yin Qiao Jie Du Wan – Cold and Flu Formula

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