Thus far, I have posted two different blog entries related to the common cold and its treatment in Tibetan medical science. Most recently, the focus was on compounding medicines by making a decoction to treat the common cold, and before that, I wrote about the best way to treat a cold and flu. Today, we will go into more detail on the subject and discuss the four types of common cold, or cham pa in Tibetan medical science, and how to treat them.
First off, it should be stated that the canon of Tibetan medical science asserts that one gets sick with a cold through a combination of disagreeable Diet and Lifestyle practices, and environmental contamination (viruses, bacteria, and dust).
[Translation] The causes of common cold and flu are generally similar to those of contagious hot disorders, and in particular include an unhealthy Diet and Lifestyle, incompatible food combinations, exposure to dust and other contaminants.
The family of influenza viruses, or flu, is considered a variety of the common cold. The name for this variety in Tibetan is rims cham, or infectious cold. The other three are: gre cham [trachea cold], glo cham [lung cold], and sna cham [nose cold].
Each type of cold can easily be identified by its signs and symptoms. However, much like any other illness, it is subject to change–waxing and waning with time and shifting dietary, lifestyle, and seasonal conditions. What follows, therefore, is only a description of how the illness begins, and how to treat the illness in its early stages of manifestation.
gre cham [trachea cold]: Burning sensation in the throat, palate, and nasal cavity; followed by a runny nose, nasal congestion, and repetitive sneezing. It can be treated with only a proper Diet and Lifestyle.
glo cham [lung cold]: Sore throat and hoarsness, followed by persistent cough, headache, chest and back pain, and culminating in pneumonia (pus in the lungs). For treatment, prepare a cold decoction of stonecrops, licorice, and gentian root. Other helpful formulas include decoctions with clove as a principal ingredient for the sore throat and hoarseness. Finally, in the case of a chronic cold with persistent sputum, prepare a decoction with camphor as the main ingredient to uproot the remnants of the disorder. Cool and nutritious foods like fresh (raw) fruits and vegetables are also helpful to restore the cool energy of the lungs, namely green grapes or raisins.
rims cham [influenza]: Headache, joint pain, aching calf muscles, discomfort in the upper body, soreness in the waist and thighs, a bitter taste in the mouth, loss of appetite, chills, increased body heat at dusk, and frequent and unclear dreams. As most already know, the flu is deadly if mismanaged. Should the patient ignore the body’s natural inclination by consuming heavy foods and, or, performing strenuous activities, it can easily lead to death. Treatment for the flu is as outlined in this previous post: the disorder must be properly ripened with warming therapies, and subsequently cleared with cooling therapies. The following technique is particularly effective for even the most acute flu cases. Fast and drink boiled water, then ingest a decoction prepared from the three myrobalan fruits, moonseed, gentian, elecampane, and picroliv. Overdress to induce sweating, and ripen (break) the fever–usually over night. Finally, to clear the disorder completely, make a decoction consisting of two-parts of a mixture of rhododendron, tamarind, hippophae, black pepper, long pepper, ginger, cumin, piper chaba, cayenne pepper, and half-a-part betel nut, Sri Lankan ironwood, cinnamon, and green cardamom all mixed with cane sugar.
sna cham [nose cold]: Nasal inflammation and itching, and a severe runny nose. An effective treatment is to inhale the steam of roasted grains. Drinking barley water, plain chicken stock soup, thin oatmeal, yogurt, and buttermilk, as well as avoiding strenuous activities, daytime sleep, spicy, sour, salty, and heavy foods, are also helpful in treatment.
For more health tips, please see The Eight Principles of Good Health: Modern Health Advice from an Ancient Healing System, available in all formats on Amazon.
