Be careful to prevent "heat cold" in summer!

In the hot summer, the human body's metabolism speeds up. In order to dissipate the heat in the body, the body's epidermal blood vessels and sweat gland pores expand, so the amount of sweating will increase. At this time, people often turn on the air conditioner or fan to sleep, take a cold shower, and suddenly enter a room with a very low temperature. Little do they know that this can easily lead to "heat colds."

What ordinary people call "heat cold" refers to the common cold in summer. There are two types of colds: common cold and influenza. Heat cold is a common cold in summer. What is the difference between heat cold and the cold we have in autumn and winter? The colds in autumn and winter are mainly caused by the cold evil. Summer colds are usually caused by internal heat in the body and the invasion of wind. Most colds in summer are caused by heat and dampness. The internal causes of heat colds include being too hot, over-consumption, poor sleep due to hot weather, and too little exercise. External factors include showering with cold water, air conditioning that is too low, sleeping without a blanket, and using a fan for a long time.

1. What is the difference between summer colds and winter colds?

1. Summer colds are summer-heat and dampness colds.

Summer colds are also called summer-heat colds in traditional Chinese medicine, which are different from winter wind-cold colds and wind-heat colds. Wind-cold colds are mainly caused by the influence of wind and cold evil. Wind-heat cold is caused by the evil wind-heat, and is more common in spring. The characteristic of summer-heat and dampness cold is that it is hot and humid in summer. At this time, everyone tends to cool down, such as using air conditioners, and feels the evil of wind and cold. In terms of symptoms, the symptoms of wind-cold cold, wind-heat cold and summer-heat cold include nasal congestion, runny nose and fever. The difference is that wind-cold colds and wind-heat colds mostly occur in autumn and winter and spring and autumn, with mild fever and severe chills.

2. Summer-heat and dampness cold is a heat cold unique to summer.

Summer-heat and dampness cold is a cold unique to summer, which is commonly known as heat cold among the people. The fever caused by heat cold is different from the cold in autumn and winter. The fever is severe and the chills are mild. Generally, patients do not feel cold, but just have fever and sweat a lot but the fever does not go away. Therefore, if you take antipyretics for a summer cold like you do for a winter cold, the effect will not be good and there will be certain side effects.

3. Heat and cold can trigger the onset of some diseases.

Influenza is contagious, but colds are not influenza and are not contagious. However, heat colds can trigger the onset of some diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, etc. In most outpatient clinics, acute attacks of illness have certain triggers, such as cold, fatigue, emotional factors, etc., which are related to heat colds.

2. Causes of heat cold

"Whenever the seasons change, the number of patients suffering from heat colds will increase significantly, and citizens should pay special attention at this time." Experts said that there are many causes of heat colds, such as excessive greed for coolness. At this time, the temperature sometimes rises quickly, resulting in high temperatures. The human body's temperature regulation center is out of balance, the heat dissipation function is reduced, and the body temperature will rise accordingly. At this time, if you enter a low-temperature environment, such as using air conditioning or electric fans, or taking a cold shower, resulting in alternating hot and cold, the capillaries will suddenly contract, causing the body's balance to be disturbed, which is easy to cause heat colds. In addition, allergies caused by contact with pollen, mold, etc. can also reduce respiratory immunity and cause heat colds. When the human body sweats a lot, consumption is high, appetite is lost, and nutrition intake is insufficient, it is easy to get a heat cold. Most patients with heat colds experience moderate or above fever, with body temperature reaching 38.5℃-40℃, cough, sore throat, sputum, nasal congestion, runny nose, general fatigue, aches and pains accompanied by a feeling of heaviness, heavy head, dizziness, and occasional nausea and vomiting.

3. Treatment of heat cold

"Traditional Chinese medicine believes that there are two types of heat colds: wind-cold and summer-heat and dampness." Experts said that if a cold is caused by summer-heat and dampness, the right medicine can be Huoxiang Zhengqi water or capsules, Yinqiao Jiedu tablets, or some Chinese herbal medicines that can remove dampness, relieve exterior symptoms, and dispel heat can also be used. If wind-cold attacks the surface of the body, Tongxuan Lifei Pills can be used, and at the same time anti-allergic, antitussive and expectorant drugs can be used. The treatment time for heat cold is relatively long, and it is recommended to use Chinese medicine as the main treatment at the beginning. Once you have a heat cold, you can use 3 to 4 scallions in the early stages, boil them into a decoction and drink it frequently, or take Huoxiang Zhengqi Water. If you have a red and sore throat, irritability, thirst, red urine, etc., you should use Chinese patent medicines such as Isatis root granules and Yinqiao Jiedu tablets. You can also boil 10 grams each of mulberry leaves, chrysanthemums, mint, forsythia, and bamboo leaves in water and take it in 2 doses, or take 1 packet of cold granules 3 times a day. After experiencing cold symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, and high fever, you should go to a regular hospital for a routine blood test; if the white blood cell count is low, it may be a viral infection, and the use of Isatis Root Granules, Cold and Heat-clearing Granules, Shuanghuanglian Oral Liquid, etc. can be symptomatic; if the total white blood cell count or neutrophil count is elevated, it may be a bacterial infection; if the fever exceeds 38.5℃ and does not subside for a few days, in addition to taking conventional cold medicines, you should also take antibiotics; if the condition develops into a lower respiratory tract infection, you should go to the hospital in time to avoid pneumonia.

4. Be careful to prevent catching cold again after a heat cold

If you have a cold, you should pay attention to the following points:

First, don’t catch a cold again and keep quiet. Colds start from the throat. Only by taking a good rest can we enhance the body's resistance and increase the blood flow in the throat, so that the capillaries in the infected throat area will no longer expand and compress the nerves, and the sore throat will gradually ease.

Second, pay attention to reducing activities. The physical energy consumed by suffering from a heat cold is almost the same as that of doing heavy physical labor, so people feel weak all over. At this time, if the amount of activity is still the same as usual, the body will release a hormone that affects the production of antibodies, which is not good for restoring health;

Third, it is best to drink some hot acidic beverages, such as tomato soup. Drinking hot acidic beverages can acidify the throat, thereby controlling the reproduction of viruses in the throat. Heat colds often consume a lot of vitamin A in the body. Therefore, it is best to take some cod liver oil or vitamin A tablets, so that the disease will heal faster.

5. Patients with colds should not take a bath after sweating

After a heat cold occurs, you should pay attention to adjusting your diet and lifestyle, which will help treat the disease. When you have a cold and fever, gastric motility slows down and digestive juice secretion decreases. A high-protein, high-fat diet will cause a loss of appetite and even cause indigestion. Therefore, when you have a cold, you should eat light, easily digestible foods such as porridge and vegetables. Treating a cold often requires sweating and reducing fever. Some patients take a bath quickly after sweating, which causes them to catch cold again while bathing, making the condition worse.

After sweating, you can wipe off the sweat stains with a towel, change your underwear, and take a shower after you recover. In the early stages of a cold, you should avoid strenuous physical exercise or physical labor, otherwise it will increase the body's consumption, reduce resistance and aggravate the condition. Tobacco and alcohol irritate the respiratory and digestive tract mucosa, causing blood vessels to dilate and aggravating upper respiratory tract symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, and cough. Therefore, during a cold, you should quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption.