A Brief on Chinese Patent Medicines for the Common Cold
The common cold is generally divided into wind-cold cold (the ordinary cold) and epidemic cold (influenza); it occurs in all four seasons, hence also called four-season cold; but most often in winter and spring. The main clinical signs: aversion to cold (chills), fever, headache, nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, even body aches. These vary in severity. The mild is called wind-injury; the severe — often spreading in a period across all ages and sexes with similar signs — is epidemic cold.
A winter cold is generally caused by external wind-cold. But each person's constitution, diet, routine, and exertion differ; under the same wind-cold, the signs may differ. Typically divided into wind-cold and wind-heat types.
Wind-cold type cold: aversion to cold, no sweat, headache, nasal congestion with clear watery discharge, sneezing, no throat pain, no fever or low fever (under 38°C), perhaps cough, white thin phlegm, or body aches. Take Ganmao Soft Capsules, 2–4 capsules per dose, three times a day. Drink hot rice porridge or hot noodle-soup; drink hot water; after sweating (not only head sweat, but whole-body sweat), lie down under covers; avoid further wind-cold exposure. If the wind-cold cold has heavy cough, rapid breathing with hoarseness, clear runny nose, chills without sweat, mild fever, weakness in the limbs — take Tongxuan Lifei Wan, 1–2 pills per dose, twice daily. Wash down with light ginger soup or warm water. If cough is heavy with much phlegm, wash down with pear soup or white-radish soup.
In wind-cold type, if there is lung-and-stomach heat — dry painful throat, fever, slight sweat — take Ganmao Qingre Granule (sugar-free version available) and Banlangen Granule, one packet of each, dissolved in hot water, three times daily.
Wind-heat type cold (not in fact contracted from wind-heat evil but, by constitutional difference, after cold-exposure rapidly appears as fever — fever below 38.5°C, slight aversion to wind-cold, may have sweat, headache, nasal congestion, turbid nasal discharge, dry mouth with mild thirst, throat pain, perhaps cough with thick or yellow phlegm, body soreness): take Yinqiao Jiedu Pills (Tablets) or Lingqiao Jiedu Pills (Tablets), 1–2 pills (4–8 tablets) per dose, three times daily; if fever is mild but cough is heavy, with dry mouth and sore throat, take Sangju Ganmao Pian, 4–8 tablets per dose, 2–3 times daily, with warm water. If thirst and throat pain are heavy, add Banlangen Granule one packet, dissolved in hot water.
In wind-heat type, if lung-and-stomach heat is exuberant — heavy cough, much thick yellow phlegm, dry mouth and tongue, swollen sore throat — use Lingyang Qingfei Wan, 2 pills per dose, twice daily, with warm water.
These two types of wind-injury cold and epidemic cold are simple colds. If a cold causes other illness — high persistent fever from pneumonia, or vomiting and diarrhea from GI involvement — go promptly to hospital; do not delay.