Prevention of Common Colds in Daily Life

During the transitory months when it changes season like these days (between Autumn and Winter), there is a big temperature difference between day and night and there also is a guest who visits. This guest is the cold virus which awaits people to come out of the office. Throughout the day, these office workers have limited movement behind their warm cubicles, with most of that movement restricted to the head and fingers. A common cold usually comes down on people when their righteous/antipathogenic Qi which warns off the pathogenic Qi drops due to a constitutionally weak body or overwork. People who are weak constitutionally with Qi and/or Yang deficiency usually don’t have a good appetite, dislike exercises, feel tired all the time, tend to feel chilly, and have cold hands and feet. Especially when the Spleen and Lung Qi are deficient, the antipathogenic Qi weakens and thus the immune system weakens. Therefore, tonifying/strengthening Spleen and Lung Qi is the way to prevent common colds as well as other illnesses.

Like all diseases, prevention is also important for common colds; it is best to not contract it. This method of preventing the common cold by strengthening Qi is rather easy and does not incur expenses. First of all, we need to have a regular lifestyle where we eat, sleep, work, and exercise at set times. Due to errands and circumstances, it may not always be possible to do all these things exactly at the same time. Up to +/- 30 minutes of difference is acceptable, but it will be difficult for our body to adjust past that. Secondly, we should complete equipment-free exercises and other aerobic exercises such as stretching and brisk walking for 30 – 60 minutes daily. 30 minutes is a rather short amount of time in comparison to a whole day. Even for a busy individual, 30 minutes of exercise can be incorporated into a daily routine just by waking up 10 minutes earlier to start the day with light stretches and choosing to get off one bus stop or a subway station ahead to walk the rest of the way home. Thirdly, we should consume unpolluted, unprocessed, seasonal foods. We will take a closer look at what foods can help strengthen the Spleen and Lung Qi below. Ingredient is not the only thing that matters, however. We should also take care not to overeat or overdrink and be picky. At the same time, we should lead a happy life.

For tonifying the body to maintain health and promote longevity, regular rustic but nutritious meals and light exercises are better than a course of herbal medicine. Nutritious foods that strengthen our Spleen and Stomach Qi to help us ward off the common cold are beef, legumes, mushrooms, carrots, Chinese/Japanese yam (look at the picture below for reference), milk, and date. For those who are Yang deficient and tend to feel cold usually, foods like chive, garlic, pumpkin/squash, onion, lamb, goat, shrimp, and walnut which all tonify Yang and warm the body are recommended. Foods like broccoli, cabbage, radish, radish green, persimmon, strawberry, and citruses like mandarin, tangerine, clementine, kumquat, lemon, and yuzu are rich in vitamin C while also promoting the function of internal organs and metabolism so they can also help prevent colds. We must also learn what foods we should not consume/avoid when we catch a cold. Tonic herbal medicines, greasy foods, plum/Japanese apricot tea, apricot, pomegranate, glutinous/sticky rice, ginseng tea, Solomon’s seal tea, and fried chicken all help “hold on” to the common cold. When the cold’s symptom includes runny and clear nasal discharge, lots of chills, itchy throat, and joint pain, we should avoid cold-natured foods like persimmon, radish, (yes, even though they help to prevent colds!), mung bean, mung bean sprouts, marsh/freshwater snail, raw sweet potato, pear, and chrysanthemum tea until the symptoms disappear. When the cold’s symptoms include swollen and sore throat/tonsils, high fever, and yellow and sticky nasal discharge, we should avoid warm-natured foods such as ginger, cinnamon, pepper, fennel, clove, and many other spices.

        Western medicine and Chinese medicine have different diagnostic theories and treatment methods for diseases, and each has its own strengths and limitations. Usually, Western medicine is useful for acute conditions and Chinese medicine is good for chronic illnesses. However, there are exceptions. For instance, a common cold is not a chronic illness but it is effectively and rationally treated by Chinese medicine diagnostics and treatment theories. Chinese medicine treatment for the common cold is also safe in pregnancy. While Western medicine may not focus too much on the etiology of the common cold as that does not affect how they treat it, that is not the case for Chinese medicine. The cause of contracture is very important, whether it is exposure to cold drafts, warm drafts, stuffy and muggy drafts, dry drafts, the lack of energy, cold body, or dry body. Depending on the cause, the symptoms vary (e.g. whether the throat is sorer or itchier, or whether chills are worse, or fever is worse) and naturally, the treatment method using acupuncture, herbal medicine, food therapy, and exercise therapy will also vary.

These days, the seasonality of the common cold in wealthy countries (with technological climate control equipment) is opposite to that of the past. In Canada, the typology of common cold patients was one where more Wind-Dryness-Heat pattern was observed than Wind-Cold pattern during the colder months and more Wind-Cold pattern was observed than Wind-Heat pattern during the hotter months. This means that natural patterns of the common cold have transformed over time, or rather, there was an invention of a new disease “air-conditioningitis”, due to the use of forced air heating/cooling systems. This method of heating is the reason why we commonly see sore throat as the main symptom when people catch a cold in winter. The dry and dusty air coming up through the air ducts affects our respiratory system including the throat region. It is for this reason that we need to modify the artificial environment where we mostly spend time, in addition to strengthening our own immune system. We should set the ambient temperature to 24 – 26°C in summer and not lower than that. In Canada where there are no tropical nights, we can turn off the air conditioner at night (10 pm – 10 am) and open the windows instead to make use of the natural breeze. In winter, we should maintain an ambient temperature of 18 – 20°C , not higher than that. We should also wear underclothes made from natural fibres (100% cotton) and convert the heating method from forced air to heated floor (take a look at the “Ondol/Korean heated floor” mechanism picture below) or baseboards if possible.

        Lastly, it also needs to be mentioned in this post-COVID times that those who don't catch colds easily will also not catch COVID easily either. The flu that comes each year does not affect everyone, even though it may be a variant that our body has never seen. The same goes for COVID. It may be a virus that our body has never seen, but if our body's antipathogenic Qi is strong enough, we will get over the symptoms quickly or it will pass us before we can even notice it.