If you are feeling the affects of flu or a common cold, you could think about turning to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in addition to drinking hot water and getting some rest.

Lin Yang, a TCM doctor based in Beijing, divides the common cold into two different types according to the causes. Click to read Causes of Infant Asthma in TCM.

He says that most people's colds in the autumn and winter are caused by the cold weather. But a cold can also be caused by excessive heat, or weak yin factor or indigestion.

To treat the cold caused by cold weather, doctors need to use medicines to dispel the cold wind and open up the surface of the body. One example is Ganmao Chongji, a granule medicine to be taken after being mixed with boiling water.

For the cold caused by excessive heat in the body, he prescribes medicines to dispel wind and clear heat, such as VC Yinqiao, Lingyang Gaomaopian and Shuanghuanglian Koufuye.

One thing people need to know is that a cold caused by cold weather, if not treated in time, can develop into another category, because there will have been a build up of too much excessive heat. In that case, different medicines should be used. Click to read Chinese medicine Treatment for Infant Asthma.

Using vinegar smoke can help people with a weak yin factor prevent getting flu, not because vinegar kills bacteria but because vinegar is believed to help strengthen people's yin factor.

Doctor Yang also advises people to drink tea made of Maidong (dwarf lilyturf), chrysanthemum, and honeysuckle to prevent flu. To prevent an ordinary cold caused by cold weather, drink boiled water with black sugar and raw ginger slices, or boiled water with the white part of a spring onion along with its roots.

Article source: chinadaily