Some Chinese folk prescriptions for wind-cold type common cold (2024)

Abstract

Although self-limiting, the common cold (感冒gǎn mào) is highly prevalent. There are no effective antivirals to cure the common cold and few effective measures to prevent it, However, for thousands years, Chinese people have treated the common cold with natural herbs, According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory (中醫理論 zhōng yī lǐ lùn), the common cold is considered as an exterior syndrome, which can be further divided into the wind-cold type (風寒型 fēng hán xíng), the wind-heat type (風熱型 fēng rè xíng), and the summer heat dampness type (暑熱型 shǔ rè xíng). Since the most common type of common cold caught in winter and spring is the wind-cold type, the article introduced some Chinese folk prescriptions for the wind-cold type common cold with normal and weak physique, respectively. For thousands of years, Chinese folk prescriptions for the common cold, as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM; 補充與替代醫學 bǔ chōng yǔ tì dài yī xué), have been proven to be effective, convenient, cheap, and most importantly, safe. The Chinese folk prescriptions (中國民間處方 zhōng guó mín jiān chǔ fāng) for the wind-cold type common cold are quite suitable for general practitioners or patients with the wind-cold type common cold, to treat the disease. Of course, their pharmacological features and mechanisms of action need to be further studied.

Keywords: Chinese folk prescription, Common cold, Wind-cold type, Complementary and alternative medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine

1. Introduction

The common cold (感冒gǎn mào) or common acute upper respiratory tract infection, is an acute viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract caused by rhinovirus, human coronavirus, parainfluenza virus, adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus, etc. Symptoms which often appear, such as sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, cough, and malaise, are usually worse in 1–3 days and can last 7–10 days, and sometimes as long as 3 weeks. Although self-limiting, the common cold is highly prevalent. The disease affects adults approximately two to three times/year and children under the age of 2 years, approximately six times/year.

Colds are also costly. It is estimated that direct medical costs in the United States, including physician visits, secondary infections, and medications for colds, were an estimated $17 billion/year in 1997. Indirect costs from missed work for illness or to look after a sick child were an estimated $25 billion/year.¹

Because there are no effective antivirals to cure the common cold and few effective measures to prevent it, treatment should focus on symptom relief. The most commonly used treatments include over-the-counter antihistamines, decongestants, cough suppressants, and expectorants. These treatments can be used alone or in combination.²

Treatment of the common cold in traditional Chinese medicine (中醫 zhōng yī; TCM) is based on pattern differentiation. According to the TCM theory, the common cold is considered as an exterior syndrome, which can be further divided into the wind-cold type (風寒型 fēng hán xíng), the wind-heat type (風熱型 fēng rè xíng) and the summer heat dampness type (暑熱型 shǔ rè xíng).³

The most common type of common cold often caught in winter and spring is the wind-cold type. For thousands of years, Chinese people have treated the wind-cold type common cold with natural herbs, some of which were quite simple, effective, widely used by folk ordinary people, and were called folk prescriptions. However, physical conditions of patients with the wind-cold type are different, i.e., some are normal and others are weak. Therefore, treatment should be chosen inaccordance with the patient's individuality according to the TCM theory. This article introduces some Chinese folk prescriptions (中國民間處方 zhōng guó mín jiān chǔ fāng) for the wind-cold type common cold with in patients with normal and weak physique.

2. Some Chinese folk prescriptions (中國民間處方 zhōng guó mín jiān chǔ fāng) for the wind-cold type (風寒型 fēng hán xíng) common cold (感冒gǎn mào) with normal physique

The typical wind-cold type common cold with normal physique, which is the majority of the wind-cold type common cold, is characterized by a history of catching cold, feeling cold, and nasal congestion with clear snivel (鼻塞流清涕 bí sè liú qīng tì). Treatment for the wind-cold type common cold with normal physique includes “expelling wind dispersing cold (祛風散寒 qū fēng sàn hán)” and “relieving exterior syndrome by diaphoresis (發汗解表 fā hàn jiě biǎo)”. The following are some recommended Chinese folk prescriptions, many of which contain ginger (生薑 shēng jiāng), an acrid and warm herb relieving exterior syndrome in TCM and also an edible food in China.

Ginger combined with scallion stalk (蔥白 cōng bái) and brown sugar (紅糖 hóng táng): 30g of sliced ginger, 10g of scallion stalk, and approximate 200mL of water are put into a pot. Then, the pot is heated softly by a fire until the decoction inside the pot is boiled. After that, add 100–160g of brown sugar into the decoction for a better taste. Drink the warm decoction (水煎服 shuǐ jiān fú) two to three times daily until the cold is cured.⁴

Scallion stalk and ginger: 10 g scallion stalks and 10 slices of ginger are put into a pot, immersed in water, and boiled for a while. Drink the warm decoction and lie down with covered with a quilt until sweating (出汗 chū hàn).

Ginger and brown sugar: three slices of ginger and an appropriate amount of brown sugar are put into a cup and stewed with boiling water. Alternatively, 15g ginger and 30g brown sugar are put into a pot, immersed in water, and decocted. The warm decoction can be drunk frequently. Usually, the common cold is cured when sweating.

Garlic (大蒜 dà suàn) and ginger: 15g garlic and 15g ginger are processed and taken in by the same way mentioned above for scallion stalk and ginger.

Fermented soybean (豆豉 dòu chǐ) stewed with scallion stalk and ginger: scallion stalks with roots (帶鬚蔥白 dài xū cōng bái) 30g, three ginger slices, and 10g fermented soybean are put into a pot, immersed in water, and boiled. Then, 30g yellow wine (黃酒 huáng jiǔ) is poured into the pot. Continue boiling and drink the warm decoction.

Pepper (胡椒 hú jiāo) and scallion stalk: half a pepper and three grams scallion stalks are processed by the same way mentioned for scallion stalk and ginger. Drink the warm decoction once or twice daily.

Orange peel (橘皮 jú pí), ginger, and brown sugar: orange peel and ginger, both 15g, are processed by the same way mentioned above for scallion stalk and ginger. Drink the warm decoction after adding 10–20g of brown sugar.⁵

Ginger, tea (茶 chá), brown sugar, and vinegar (醋 cù): two pieces of ginger, 3g tea, 10g brown sugar, and 10mL vinegar are put into a cup, and then brewed with boiling water for 5 minutes. The upper liquid can be drunk three times daily.⁶

Hot noodle soup with white pepper (白胡椒 bái hú jiāo) powder and scallion stalk: a bowl of hot noodle soup is cooked, and appropriate amounts of white pepper powder and scallion stalk are added to it. Eat the noodle while it is hot and lie down covered with a quilt. After sweating, the cold is cured.⁷

Simple decoction 1: Radix Saposhnikoviae (防風 fáng fēng), Schizonepeta (荊芥 jīng jìe), Peucedanum praeruptorum (前胡 qián hú), Radix bupleuri (柴胡 chái hú), Rhizoma et Radix Notopterygii (the rhizome and root of Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H.T. Chang or Notopterygium forbesii Boiss; 羌活 qiāng huó), Platycodon grandiflorum（桔梗 jié gěng) all 10g, Fructus Aurantii (the unripe fruits of Citrus aurantium L.; 枳實 zhǐ shí) 5g, and Ligusticum wallichii (川芎 chuān xiōnɡ) 3g are decocted together with water. The obtained water solution can be taken for the wind-cold type cold.⁸

Simple decoction 2: Schizonepeta 10g, perilla leaf (紫蘇葉 zǐ sū yè) 10g, tea 6g, and ginger 6g are decocted together with water. Add 20g brown sugar into the decoction. The decoction can be used to treat the wind-cold type common cold especially characterized by headache, fever, and a stuffy nose.⁹

Simple decoction 3: the mixture, which consists of honey (蜂蜜 fēng mì) and ginger juice at a ratio of 1:1, can be taken to treat the common cold without type differentiation according to the author's opinion. However, honey and ginger are warm heat (溫熱 wēn rè) according to TCM, so the mixture is actually more suitable to treat the wind-cold type cold.¹⁰

3. Conclusion

For thousands of years, Chinese folk prescriptions (中國民間處方 zhōng guó mín jiān chǔ fāng) for the common cold (感冒gǎn mào), as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM; 補充與替代醫學 bǔ chōng yǔ tì dài yī xué), have been proven to be effective. Similarly, CAM products such as Andrographis paniculata (Kalmcold; 穿心蓮 chuān xīn lián), Echinacea purpurea, and Pelargonium sidoides (geranium) extract (Umcka Coldcare) were reported effective for the common cold in adults.¹⁴ They are also convenient, cheap, and most importantly, safe; some of them are even daily edible foods such as ginger, scallion stalk, and porridge, i.e., there are no obvious untoward reactions compared with the abovementioned treatments like over-the-counter drugs. Chinese folk prescriptions for the wind-cold type common cold are quite suitable for general practitioners or patients with the wind-cold type common cold to treat the disease. Of course, their pharmacological features and mechanisms of action need to be further studied.

Conflicts of interest

All contributing authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Footnotes

References