It may sound silly, but from a Chinese medicine perspective, many of the illnesses and symptoms we experience are from exterior influences such as heat and cold and wind and fire and dryness and summer-heat. When an acupuncturist diagnoses things such as the common cold or seasonal allergy or arthritis in the joints, he may label it “wind-cold” or “wind-heat”, for example.

Often times modern doctors scoff at the idea that to “catch a cold” literally means to catch a cold. We’ll talk more about that specifically in another article, but today I wanted to talk about actual “COLD”. You know the sitting on a metal bleacher for 3 hours kind of cold.

From a Chinese perspective, physical cold is considered a pathogen to the body. If you are exposed to cold for too long, your bodies “defensive qi” is exhausted and we are left open to having “external pernicious influences” enter the body and take hold.

I saw this myself just the other day. I went to watch my daughter play volleyball and sat on metal bleachers with my back leaning against a concrete wall at the top row. I noticed that the wall and metal bleacher quickly gave me a cold butt and back. The cool cinder block wall and metal bleachers literally sucked the heat out of me leaving my back cold to the touch.

The next day I woke up stiff and sore just as I expected that I would. What happens is that cold causes the body to constrict and tighten and this leads to tight muscles… especially the next day. I could be diagnosed with “wind-cold invading the bladder meridian” or “local painful bi- syndrome” (that “bi” is pronounced “bee”).

Think of it this way; what happens if you take a freezing cold shower or jump in an icy lake? Exactly; your whole body tightens and spasms and you struggle to control your breathing. Not good unless its in and out or you are practicing the Wim Hof method.

But now imagine slipping into a perfectly heated hot tub. What happens? Ahhhhh…. your body just melts into relaxation.  In the world of Chinese medicine, tightness and stagnation are the enemy of good health. Happily warm is where the body wants to be.

There is precedent worldwide for this sort of thinking; for example, many cultures do not want moms to leave the bed for several days after giving birth and the house for several weeks. The native Americans and Puritans and Russians and many other cultures followed this advice. This helps prevent cold from invading the body.

One of the things we learned in acupuncture school was that pregnant woman (and especially post partum moms) should not sit on cold floors or rock stoops. This is because the cold will have a very direct line to invade the uterus and cause all sorts of gynecological problems. Seems to be some truth to that. I remember a nurse at the local hospital telling my wife that same advice when we had our own child just a few years ago.

Its my belief that being exposed to wind or cold somehow fatigues your immune system in a way that makes you more susceptible to catching an actual viral cold or flu; not just causing stiff muscles. So while it is true that you don’t catch a cold from the actual cold, it does set you up and make you more susceptible to catching a cold.

So what should we do? Stay warm. Avoid cold breezes in winter (such as the central air furnace breeze or ceiling fan above your bed). Wear hoodies, scarfs, long johns and hearty socks. There have been several studies showing that wearing socks to bed leads to a better night sleep and long johns will decrease chronic low back pain by 15% all by itself; just by keeping those back muscles warm and toasty.

Also try to put some insulation between you and a cold surface such as a metal bleacher or concrete wall or concrete steps that will literally suck the heat out of you. Keep yourself warm and insulated from the cold.

If you are so inclined, there are also several herbs that can “push out” and prevent the cold from entering. Herbs such as ginger and black pepper and cinnamon are all great for warming you up from the inside out. Sipping on some ginger tea is a perfect idea for cold days at the game.

An acupuncturist or herbalist has access to many more exotic herbs such as fuzi and perilla and the dozens more herbs known to prevent invasion and expel cold from the body.

But be careful; not all “hot” herbs are good for this. Cayenne pepper will heat you up and make you sweat, but will open the pores so much that you “let the cold in” which is counterproductive. Drinking alcohol does the same thing; it makes you feel warm, but it will actually make you radiate off your own heat rather than keeping it in. Not good.

So keep you ginger brandy for the warm comfy nights by the fireplace.

So, I hope this was an interesting topic for you and it raised a lot of questions in your mind. Let me know if you have any questions and be sure to like our Facebook page.

And see you at the game…

 

Austin Acupuncture Jason…