Zhonglibaren - Summer is the right time to cure winter diseases

The King of Medicine Sun Simiao said : "The best doctor treats illness before it occurs, the middle doctor treats illness that is about to occur, and the worst doctor treats illness that has already occurred." The so-called "illness that is about to occur" is a disease that has not yet occurred but will definitely occur at some point in the future. That means we must quickly eliminate the conditions that will inevitably lead to its occurrence before it occurs - either the main cause or the inducement. To eliminate the main cause is to change your physical constitution, and to eliminate the inducement is to change the environment.

I passed by a traditional Chinese medicine hospital a few days ago and saw that people queuing for treatment lined up to the door. It turned out that the acupuncture department was using acupuncture to apply plasters on the acupoints during the dog days of summer to treat asthma, which is common in winter. Treating winter diseases in summer , making good use of the right time is indeed a very clever treatment.

The King of Medicine Sun Simiao said: "The best doctor treats illnesses that have not yet occurred, the middle doctor treats illnesses that are about to occur, and the worst doctor treats illnesses that have already occurred. " The so-called "illness that is about to occur" is an illness that has not yet occurred but will definitely occur at some point in the future. That means we must quickly eliminate the conditions that will inevitably lead to its occurrence before it occurs - either the main cause or the inducement. To eliminate the main cause is to change your physical constitution, and to eliminate the inducement is to change the environment. Although some people's physical condition did not improve, their physical problems were cured without any medication after changing their living environment.

"Winter diseases" are diseases that are prone to occur in winter. People who are prone to this disease are mostly those with a weak and cold constitution, which is commonly known as "lack of fire power." Common symptoms include cold hands and feet, fear of cold and preference for warmth, fear of wind and cold, fatigue and drowsiness, etc. Traditional Chinese medicine calls this "insufficient yang energy", which means that the body's own heat (energy) is insufficient, heat production is insufficient, and cold is generated from within. Such people have to sleep under a quilt and wear socks even in midsummer.

Why should winter diseases be treated in summer? It is because the constitution of patients with winter diseases tends to be weak and cold, and the external environment in winter is also icy. The double cold makes it impossible to thaw. Therefore, treating colds in winter is like hanging clothes on a rainy day, which is very difficult. However, in midsummer, the outside is hot and sunny, and the heart fire is strong inside the body. At this time, the accumulated cold hiding in the bladder meridian and joints on the back is most easily driven out. However, if the Yang Qi is weak and there is no force pushing forward in the body, you will miss the great opportunity to expel the cold. In addition, many people have insufficient yang energy in their constitutions. In the summer, they drink a lot of cooling drinks, such as iced beer, herbal tea, etc., and then work in air-conditioned rooms all day. This will not only prevent the old cold from being eliminated, but also add new cold.

Remember, cold air will accumulate, and where the cold invades the body, Qi and blood will stagnate. This is called "blood stasis caused by cold." If the cold air stays in the joints, it will cause pain; if it stays in the internal organs, it will easily cause swelling; if it stays in the meridians, it will block the meridians and the circulation of Qi and blood will be blocked. Not only will the limbs be cold, but there will often be symptoms of numbness in the hands and feet. Therefore, if the accumulated cold is not eliminated in the summer, when the autumn wind blows and the external cold comes back, you will be trapped both internally and externally again.

So how do you get rid of accumulated cold in the summer? The method is very simple, which is to "use warmth inside" and "dispel wind and cold outside".

"Using warm medicine internally" means taking warm food. Some people think that eating hot food on a hot day will make them feel irritable. Yes, the key is that there is a correct way to take warm medicine - we can take hot medicine cold. For example, brown sugar ginger soup is originally warm and stomach-warming, but if we take it in summer, we can pour it into a plastic bottle and then soak it in cold water. At this time, although we are drinking a cold drink, it becomes a hot medicine when it reaches the stomach. For those who do not sweat or are afraid of wind after sweating, you can mix several bags of "Yupingfeng Powder Granules" into a bottle, let it cool, and drink it frequently every day. It can stop excessive sweating, relieve sweating when you don't sweat, and prevent wind. It really kills three birds with one stone. You may as well give it a try.

In summer, the pores are wide open and sweating is most likely to occur. Sweat is the fluid of the heart, which can relieve excessive heart fire and also expel the cold evil that invades the skin in time. Therefore, sweating is the best way to eliminate the cold evil in the body. To borrow the first sentence from the "Nine Yin Scriptures" mentioned in Mr. Jin Yong's novel: "The way of Heaven is to reduce the surplus and supplement the deficiency", which just reflects the natural regulating function of the human body in response to the time of nature: draining the Qi and blood (fire) of the heart meridian to supplement the weakness (cold) of the bladder meridian. The heart belongs to the element of fire in the five elements, and is most active in summer. The bladder meridian is the barrier of the human body. It is a barrier against external cold and a channel to clear internal cold. Therefore, sweating in the summer is a natural therapy given to us by God. It can not only clear away the cold, but sweating itself can also expel a large amount of toxins from the body.

However, because we are greedy for cold drinks in the summer, there is a lot of cold air in the stomach and intestines, and the heart fire that was originally used to sweat is instead used to warm the stomach and intestines. At this time, the body lacks qi and blood to resist the invasion of external evil. The so-called external evil is also created by us, that is, the cold air from the air conditioner. Cold air enters through the skin, and cold drinks enter through the stomach and intestines. Although the heart fire is strong, it cannot resist the two colds . It can neither digest well nor sweat well. As a result, the so-called "gastrointestinal cold" occurs: fever without sweating, vomiting and diarrhea. At this time, we can take "Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills", which is warm in nature, can dispel wind-cold externally and eliminate cold-dampness internally, achieving two goals with one medicine. But if it is a true case of heatstroke, with heat both inside and outside, this medicine is not suitable.

What has been said above seems to have nothing to do with treating winter diseases in summer. In fact, it is not. Only by telling you the mechanism of the entry and exit of cold evil can you have a long-term coping strategy. Let's be more specific:

If you feel your stomach is cold, like to eat hot food in summer, and are afraid of wind and cold, you should take some Fuzi Lizhong Pills to warm up your stomach first. In summer, few people buy this medicine in drugstores for fear of getting a sore throat. However, some people are naturally cold and weak, so if this fire is put in, it will probably be extinguished immediately! Using moxa sticks to moxibustion Zhongwan, Guanyuan, and Zusanli is also very effective. Some people don’t like the smell of moxibustion, and some people are afraid of the smoke, so you don’t have to use it. There are many other methods, just find the effect that you are most happy with.

If you feel cold on your back and are afraid of the wind, you can first do scraping on your back . If you can soak your feet in hot water at the same time, and then drink a bowl of sweat-inducing ginger and red dates soup, or pepper and white radish soup, the cold will be easily expelled.

There is also the sneezing method, which is the best method for people with cold body, especially those who sneeze easily, in which case they should do it more often. Do this each time until you can no longer sneeze and start to sweat slightly. Expelling the cold from the body is a long-term process, sometimes even taking several years. Because deficiency and coldness is a physical condition that is brought from the womb. If we follow the innate growth inertia and do not change it, then it will continue to grow in a crooked direction like a sapling that is originally tilted. The so-called “treating illness before it occurs” means starting with the congenital constitution and correcting the imbalance of yin and yang. "Reducing the excess and replenishing the deficiency" is the basis of curing diseases.

Some people say that although I am afraid of cold due to my weak constitution, once I take hot medicine or eat hot food, I will get a sore throat, and my face will get blisters and my gums will become swollen and painful. I must take anti-heat medicine immediately. What is the reason for this? That's because your external cold is too severe. Even if you take hot medicine, it's like "ice covering fire". The external cold cannot be relieved, and the internal heat goes straight to your head and face. External cold refers to the cold of the bladder meridian. As long as you scrape the back or cupping to "break the ice and melt it", and then eat hot medicine or hot food, the heat will have a place to go and will be sent to the back to keep out the cold, instead of running to the head and face.

Of course, here I am only telling you an idea. When using it, you should choose and add according to your own feelings. Don't copy it blindly. In fact, there is no better or best, as long as it is just right, it's fine.