Treating Your Cold and Flu In The Summer - A Topical Herbal Treatment

Chinese Medicine Always Wants You To Think Ahead! Be Preventative About Your Health

My mom used to always say things like you have to take care of your health when you feel healthy. Take care of your yourself in the summer time so that you don’t get sick in the winter. What my mom was talking about was not just to be preventative but also specifically, dong xia bing zhi. Treat diseases of the winter in the summer. I remember when a teacher mentioned this concept in acupuncture school. Many ideas like this in Chinese Medicine also exist as broader concepts of knowledge in Chinese households.

Growing up my mom always emphasized being warm enough, not letting the body get a cold invasion. It can sound so weird if you didn’t grow up in an Asian home. I remember she used to nag my brother and I to wear a jacket, cover our necks with a scarf even when it was warm. She always said we had to protect ourselves from the wind. Well, I guess you can say I went to Acupuncture school for four years to study Chinese Medicine only learn that my mom was right about everything! (This is just one example of the constant irony I live in being a second generation Chinese American.)

That is why we use the summer months to boost immunity. In NYC many of us, tend to feel more healthy in the summer. The weather is warmer, some get to vacation a bit, laxer work lives, there is more daylight and we feel more at ease.

It’s true that a virus can invade us and cause infections. However, the missing part of this story is that usually when this happens to us it is because there is a weakness or an opening in our system that lets these viruses in. It is as if the two occur in the perfect scenario. This is an important point because Chinese Medicine really drives home the idea that prevention is much more important than we think. This is the reason why some people seem to be “immune” while others can seem to get more sick more easily. What I’ve learned from the current pandemic situation is that those who took early precautions more often than not, were able to avoid being sick thus far or dealt with milder symptoms for less days. Herbal Medicine played a huge role in this because I tried to educate my patients and communities early on on best practices for hygiene, mask wearing, cleaning and hand washing as well as having the right herbal formulas on hand. Luckily many of my patients came for San Fu Moxa treatments last Summer!

What is San Fu Moxa?

Some of you all may be familiar with moxa or moxibustion as it is a common practice in my clinic. It is the burning of prepared mugwort as a heat therapy applied to certain areas of the body or acupuncture points. San Fu moxibustion does not use mugwort at all, but it does use the concept of restoring yang or heat to the body. It is an herbal paste that is applied to acupuncture points on the three most yang days of the summer according to the stems and branches calculations of the lunar calendar. This practice dates back to the Qing Dynasty for the use of treating respiratory conditions like allergies and asthma. In modern times, research has shown that it can improve overall immunity, allergies and other conditions like digestion and arthritis.

What To Expect?

The herbal paste is applied most often on the back and knees but the points can be changed depending on your unique condition and constitution. The herbal paste feels cold and is affixed to the acupuncture points using a waterproof adhesive or tegaderm. You can wear the paste for up to 6 hours or remove them if the skin is feeling hot, irritated or itchy before the 6 hours. After removal there will be a red mark and it is common to have subsequent blistering. This goes away on its own after a few days. In my personal experience, during Winters that follow this treatment I have experienced less colds or no cold/flu at all. My patients who have received this treatment also reported similar experiences. Research studies show that those who have the herbal paste treatment for all three days in the summer will have diminished symptoms in the winter. Those who have had treatment on all three days for three years have a marked improvement, with some resulting in no asthma and seasonal allergy symptoms. As with all treatments, each person responds differently.

This Summer 2020

The dates for this year are July 16, July 26, August 5. Details for the schedule are here.

Immunity Boosting

This can be a controversial topic. For some Western practitioners, immunity boosting can sound like a bad thing. Meaning your immunity fighting cells get activate and cause autoimmune. This is not the same concept in Chinese Medicine. In Chinese Medicine, immune boosting is related to your upright qi or Zheng Qi. Many Chinese Medicine treatments with herbs and acupuncture are working to improve your Qi, body’s energy, but also the function of your Qi - how energy is used in the body.