Detox A Summer Cold
Detox A Summer Cold
Who likes being under the weather in the glorious summer? Definitely NOT me. I am basically intolerant of being sickly, and that drives my lifelong interest in natural health.
Recently the temperatures went from 90s to 50s in a day. I got the first cold I’ve had in about 8+ years. Luckily it lasted for only ~3 days.
My symptoms were lethargy, sniffles, strong aversion to cold, and a feeling of stiffness in my upper back. I recognized these as a Wind-Heat pattern in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).
“The clinical manifestations of external wind greatly reflect wind in nature; it affects the top half of the body (like a tree being blown by wind), has a rapid onset (intense action), the migration of signs and symptoms from one area of the body to another (swift movement and lightness) and it ascends, pervades with its upward, outward movement (Beijing University of TCM 1998, State Administration of TCM 1995, Wu and Zhu 2002).”
“Wind is the most important class of exogenous pathogen and one that heads the six evil qi. The other five types are seasonal, whereas wind exists all year round and causes disease whenever the defensive ability of the body declines (Chen 1997). Wind acts as a vehicle for the other five pathogenic evils to enter the body (Cheng 1999).”
If you’ve been a health nut for a long time, you may have your own products, and protocol.
This was mine, informed from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).
Speed is of the essence, before the pathogens travel to deeper layers of the body. For me, the imbalance started in the form of carbohydrate cravings like macaroni & cheese, or cereal- -things I don’t typically eat. It also started at the same time as my cycle, which is when immunity is lowest for women. The imbalance can mimic premenstrual food cravings but because I also had sniffles and lethargy, I knew I had to take this seriously.
“Women are particularly vulnerable to wind attack, especially before the start of their menstrual cycle. During this time, wind is given an opportunity to enter the blood chamber, as the Shang Han Lun explains: ‘When a woman with wind strike has fever and aversion to cold, and the menstrual flow happens to arrive, [then] seven or eight days, [after] contracting [the illness] the heat is eliminated, the pulse is slow, and [there is] generalised coolness, fullness under the chest and rib-side, [and] signs like chest bind and delirious speech, this means that the heat has entered the blood chamber. “
Detox A Summer Cold – What I Did
Day 1
Laid around and drank collagen broth. Really felt sickly.
Supplements:
1) Wellness Formula
2) Andrographix
3) Elderberry Tonic
Day 2
1) Gentle walk (30 min)
2) No supplements (was feeling better)
3) Release heat by Gua Sha of collarbones and upper chest with diluted Purifying Synergy EO
4) Full body dry brush
Day 3
I still felt an aversion to cold but I knew I needed to move so I put on sooooo many clothes in 80F weather, and went for a 1 hour walk. More excessive sweating. Followed with Hot Mustard Bath and lots of water.
Probably should have started with this but I couldn’t bear shedding layers of clothing due to the cold aversion. This is truly one of the most important products that I will never be without. I LOVE THIS STUFF. Not only do you sweat out whatever ails you, it is deeply relaxing for muscles and joints.
Day 4 – I felt it was nearly gone.
Day 5 – It was gone.
*A side note, if constipation accompanies Wind-Heat pattern, I may add on these products to accelerate elimination – Triphala, a senna tea, or magnesium oxide cleanse.
I’ve written about how to boost immunity here and here.
I hope this helps someone today!!!
Namaste, Catherine
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