According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), coughs colds and flu can result from a deficiency in the lung meridian. This is because in TCM the function of the lung in the body is to protect the skin. Chi runs around the skin, helping our circulation and protecting our body. ‘We’ means protection, so the energy protecting our outer body is called ‘we chi’. This energy acts to prevent any outside attacks from harsh weather, viruses or bacteria from entering the body.

 

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) usually classifies colds into three types:

 

Wind Heat: symptoms of wind heat include fever, runny bunged up nose, headache, thick phlegm like cough, sweating and sneezing. and severe headache.

 

Wind Cold: symptoms of wind cold are feeling mildly feverish, feeling cold, itchy and sore throat, pain in various parts of the body, runny nose and sneezing.

 

Damp Heat: symptoms of damp heat include feeling tired, having little energy, headache, loss of appetite, feeling nauseous and a heavy sensation in the chest.