It’s sweater weather and cold and flu season is upon us! How do you protect yourself from illness?
East Asian medicine states “the wind carries 100 diseases”
This quote means that wind can bring illness and virus into the body. There is a concept of external wind entering the body and disrupting the harmony. We can think of this as a cold or pathogen entering the eyes, nose, and mouth. Typically, when a pathogen enters the body, there’s an initial immune response. Which is when your eyes and nose get itchy and watery and sneeze. Eventually the body will mount a fever and sweat it out. The next step is often the alternation of chills and fever. These are all signs the immune system is working in our benefit!
There are many ways we can protect ourselves from “wind invasion” to avoid getting sick!
Prevention is the best medicine and easier than fighting an infection.
Reference info: https://kanherb.com/products/jade-windscreen/
External protection includes wrapping the body with scarves and hats to protect the ears and neck. This creates a barrier against the cold wind. Here at LiveWellSLO we have a beautiful array of handmade sweaters, scarves, beanies and headwraps to keep your body protected from the cold wind! You can check out her work on Instagram @MoQtCreations.
Internally we can use immune protective formulas like Yu Ping Feng San to reduce our susceptibility to illness.
Once sick, we can use immune stimulating herbs like yarrow, rosehips and echinacea, to activate a quick and efficient immune response. Medicinal foods like bone broth, cooked vegetables and easy to digest meals like congee are excellent this time of year. When possible, include some warming herbs to move the blood like ginger or rosemary either added to food or as a daily tea. We can follow the rhythms of nature and wake early with the sun to exercise earlier in the day, before the coolness and winds arrive.
Here is a great bone broth recipe to try!
The Kosmic Kitchen-Bone Broth with Burdock Root
With acupuncture, we can boost our immune response & expel wind invasion at the first sign of infection, utilizing wind points to “release the exterior” and push the pathogen out of the body before it has an opportunity to set roots.
When external wind is not treated properly it has the potential to go deeper in the body, weaken the immune response and transform into internal wind. Symptoms of internal wind include sensations like headache or joint pains that move around the body. They can also come and go, alternating between fever and chills, and twitching or tremors in the body. Long term wind can manifest as stiffness in joints and in extreme situations, paralysis manifests in conditions like frozen shoulder and trigger finger.
Prevention is the best medicine! Stay healthy and warm with your team at LiveWellSLO.
Acupuncture in San Luis Obispo – LiveWellSLO
Call our office in San Luis Obispo and schedule an appointment today! 805-548-8800
