Acupuncture and Herbs for Summer Heat Invasion

The summer heat invasion is about more than just making it through 100+ degree temperatures and slathering on sunscreen. A surprising number of people get colds in the warmer months, which can be just as miserable in the summer as in the winter. Acupuncture and herbs not only relieve summer cold symptoms, but they can also get you back to your summer vacation more quickly than other treatments.

Signs and Symptoms

There’s no worse time to start feeling ill than when you’re getting ready for a trip to the beach or spending time with family. The symptoms of summer cold creep in and make even the most relaxing getaways feel more like punishment. In Chinese medicine, the traditional cold and flu symptoms that you are likely familiar with are referred to as wind-cold, used to describe a cold, and wind-heat, used to describe symptoms associated with influenza.

The wind-cold symptoms you may experience first are a stiff neck, chills, slight aversion to cold, not much sweating (even in the high heat of the summer) and restlessness. If your immune system is compromised, perhaps due to medication to treat other ailments, your symptoms could become more severe with shivering, itchy throat, runny nose, headaches, muscles aches, mild fever and lack of thirst.

Wind-heat symptoms are usually stronger than with wind-cold. These symptoms include a higher fever, glandular inflammation, dry cough, sore throat, aversion to cold, alternating between being too cold and too hot, nausea, vomiting, exhaustion and a general heaviness. In wind-heat, your body produces great amounts of sweat to help reduce the fever and get the pathogens out.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs Melt Away Summer Cold Symptoms

While these symptoms of a summer cold may be unpleasant, they are your body’s natural way of expelling the ailment. You may be tempted to pop a pain reliever, but suppressing the symptoms with medication may actually slow overall recovery and make your body less efficient.

Acupuncture is excellent for summer colds, no medication required! The acupuncturist will focus on getting your lungs in excellent working order, regulating your defensive energy (Qi) and getting you to sweat properly (release the exterior).

Herbs are a great complementary treatment for cold and flu symptoms. Herbal recipes that are cooling in nature, like peppermint tea, help with cold symptoms, while herbs that are warming in nature, like ginger tea, help with flu symptoms. An herbal recipe that gets out the invading pathogens through sweating is always good.

When you’re dealing with a cold or flu, rest is important to help your body recover. Sleep as much as you can. Cupping may also work well with acupuncture and herbs to expel the pathogen and move congestion from the lung.

As soon as you start experiencing summer cold symptoms, contact Linda Lofaro and WholeSelf Acupuncture in Scottsdale to schedule a treatment. It’s key to dispel the pathogen early before it gets logged deeper in the body and becomes an infection. Linda will help your body fight and bounce back quickly – and without medication!