What is the difference between cold and wind-heat cold and how to treat it

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, colds are divided into three types: wind-cold colds, wind-heat colds, and gastrointestinal colds. Traditional Chinese medicine is the best way to treat colds. Many Chinese patent medicines say they can be used to treat wind-cold colds or wind-heat colds. It is difficult for an ordinary person to distinguish whether his cold is caused by wind-cold or wind-heat. You can't always go to the doctor when you catch a cold, so it is necessary for everyone to understand the difference between a cold caused by wind and cold and a cold caused by wind and heat.

Wind-cold colds are superficial. Most patients will have body aches, no sweat, clear nasal discharge, no sore throat, and a slippery tongue coating. Wind-heat colds can cause dry mouth, yellow nasal discharge, sore throat, sweating, and a high-pitched cough.

The key to treating a cold is to sweat a little. There are many ways to do this, including taking a sauna, soaking your feet in hot water (preferably with some wine), playing a game of basketball (if you still have the energy), covering yourself with two layers of quilts, drinking ginger and sugar water, drinking ginger porridge, eating a spicy hot pot, etc. The main prescription for treating colds caused by wind and cold is Guizhi Decoction, the first prescription in Treatise on Febrile Diseases, also known as the king of harmonizing prescriptions (Mahuang Decoction is also the main prescription for treating colds caused by wind and cold, but it should be used with caution in the south). Below I will copy the recipe of Guizhi Decoction. Interested friends can write it down for future use.

10g of cinnamon twig, 10g of white peony root, 6g of roasted licorice root, 3 slices of ginger and 6 red dates. It is a very simple recipe and costs only two or three yuan. My master once said that if you understand Guizhi Decoction, you will have learned how to prescribe medicine to treat diseases. It is really worth studying.

The treatment for wind-heat cold is very simple, just drink some herbal tea and take some heat-clearing and detoxifying medicine such as Isatis root. Chinese patent medicines include Sanhuang Tablets, Yinqiao Jiedu Tablets + Niuhuang Jiedu Tablets, Isatis Root, etc. You can also take some honeysuckle oral liquid to treat wind-heat colds.

Many people think that a cold is a minor matter and they can just go to the pharmacy and buy some medicine and it will get better. In fact, if you take the wrong medicine, the cold will become more and more serious. Think about it, it is a wind-heat cold, so you should take cold medicine. If you take fever medicine, it will aggravate the condition. Colds must be carefully differentiated based on symptoms, and you must read the drug instructions carefully before buying medicine at the pharmacy.