The reason that Oriental Medicine experiences much greater success treating the common cold, flu, and similar conditions has to do with the nature of the medicine itself. Modern medicine concerns itself primarily with killing germs and controlling symptoms, but antibiotics do not work on viruses. Oriental Medicine's primary concern is maintaining a state of balance within the human organism and in relationship to the outside environment. If you are in a state of balance both within yourself and in relationship to the world that you live in, your resistance to illness will be sufficient to keep you from contracting a cold or flu. We are exposed to viruses all the time, and often the people most likely to get sick have been under a lot of
stress, are over-fatigued, have allergies, or are generally out of balance.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are effective for prevention and treatment of colds and flu because they adjust this energetic balance, which forms the basis of the strength of your immune system. People that receive regular
acupuncture treatments get sick less often. If you have a cold or flu, acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you recover more quickly.
Dr. Lisa Fogel
For two thousand years, Oriental Medicine has been used successfully to treat and prevent colds and flu. The Merck Manual describes the common cold or upper respiratory infection as an acute, usually a febrile, viral infection of the respiratory tract, with inflammation in any or all airways, including the nose, sinuses, throat, larynx, and often the trachea and bronchi. Fever and more severe symptoms are characteristic of influenza (flu). Colds and flu are caused by hundreds of different viruses.
