Acute upper respiratory tract infection, referred to as "upper respiratory infection," is a general term for acute inflammation from the external nares to the lower edge of the cricoid cartilage, including the nasal cavity, pharynx, or larynx. The primary causes of upper respiratory infections are viruses, with a minority being bacterial. Modern medicine believes that when the body is exposed to cold, rain, excessive fatigue, and other inducing factors that reduce the body's overall or local respiratory tract defense functions, viruses or bacteria that already exist in the respiratory tract or invade from the outside can multiply rapidly, causing this disease, mainly manifested as inflammation of the nasopharyngeal area. The common cold is mainly caused by rhinoviruses.
Acute respiratory infections fall within the category of "common cold" in Traditional Chinese Medicine. TCM believes that this disease is caused by the invasion of the body by the six evils and seasonal viruses, which is an externally contracted disease.
Wind-Cold Type: Headache, sore limbs, nasal congestion with rhinorrhea, itchy throat with cough, expectoration of thin sputum, aversion to cold with fever (or without fever), absence of sweating; the tongue coating is thin and white, and the pulse is floating and tight.
Wind-Heat Type: Fever with sweating, slight aversion to cold, cough with thick phlegm, sore throat, thirst, and dry nasal passages; the tongue coating is thin and slightly yellow, and the pulse is floating and rapid.
Summer-Dampness Type: Body heat is not pronounced, sweating is not smooth, limbs feel heavy and sore, head feels heavy as if wrapped, cough with thick phlegm, chest and epigastric fullness and discomfort, poor appetite with loose stools, and short red urine; the tongue coating is thin, yellow and greasy, and the pulse is moist and rapid.
Deficiency of Yang, Deficiency of Qi.
Sore throat and swollen tonsils.
It is recommended to perform moxibustion once a day, targeting 2 to 3 acupoints each time, with each acupoint being treated for 30 to 40 minutes. Rotate the points treated, with a 10-day period constituting one course of treatment, and then rest for 2 to 3 days before continuing with the next course.
(If time permits and there is a need, more acupoints can be treated with moxibustion. The specific duration should be adjusted according to one's own physical needs.)
Green Onion and Jujube Soup: 6 grams of fresh ginger, 3 sections of green onion whites, and 4 jujubes. Wash all the ingredients with clean water, slice the ginger, crush the jujubes, and boil them in water. This soup can be consumed once daily for 3 consecutive days. It is traditionally believed to help with symptoms associated with colds and flu, especially those with wind-cold type of common cold. However, it's important to remember that while traditional remedies like this can be supportive, they should not replace professional medical advice or treatment for persistent or severe symptoms.