Strengthening our Defensive Qi
By Katherine Rowe
Almost everyone I encounter at our clinic is either sick or very anxious about getting sick. Which is understandable since it is impossible to turn on the TV or read a newspaper without an update on the current H1N1 crisis. Nor can you go out and about without encountering people who are stricken with what appears to be a particularly bad batch of colds going around. In preparing to write this article, I reread the basic material outlining infectious disease in Chinese Medicine and I was as usual, startled by the simplicity of the situation when put in eastern terms. The eastern interpretation is that there are two basic ways you can become ill, either the infecting factor/virus is very strong or the body’s immune system/qi is very weak. We are seeing this play out before our eyes; relatively weak people (the young and elderly or medically compromised) are getting very sick from these strong viruses as we would expect. But what I see more of is that patients who normally get just an average cold or flu, are getting slammed with a debilitating cold that lasts 1-2 weeks. In other words, I’m seeing that our qi or immune system is particularly weak this year leaving us more vulnerable. So maybe the cold season has some exceptionally virulent strains but arguably the bigger problem is that our bodies are not ready to fight for us because of weakened immunity.
You don’t have to look far to find reasons for weakened immunity. We are a population that has been through an enormous economic crisis causing fear, uncertainty and financial instability. We then work harder to preserve our job and endure an unpleasant work environment as morale sinks. Globally we’re fatigued from the ordeal of fighting two wars and ongoing terrorism in general. The food industry is under constant attack for not only contamination issues but for feeding an obesity epidemic with foods that leave us sugared up and strung out. Stress is at an all-time high but we are taking much less care of ourselves with diet and exercise because we’re too exhausted. It is clear that we are stressed, overworked and undernourished and this is having a huge impact on how well we’re fairing through this year’s cold and flu season.
As your devoted practitioners of Chinese Medicine, we implore you to act quickly at the first sign of a cold or flu. Our greatest chance of helping you avoid full-blown sickness with acupuncture and herbs is during the very first stage when your defensive qi is initiating a fight against the virus or bacteria. After you’ve been sick for several days we can treat your symptoms but more importantly at that point, we will make sure that by the end of the sickness, your immune system is stronger and you don’t have chronic issues like cough or sinus congestion.
With our herbal remedies we have formulas in pill form to address many common cold/flu symptoms:
- Acute and chronic sinus congestion
- Earaches
- Sinus headaches
- Itching skin, excema flare-ups and hives
- Sore throat
- Stuffy and/or runny nose with clear or yellow/green phlegm
- Acute and chronic bronchitis and asthma
- Cough with or without phlegm
- Early stages of flu with fever, aches, sore throat, etc.
If you haven’t been to see us in a while, we highly recommend a seasonal tune-up. Getting your body balanced and boosting your immune system now is the best way to ensure you’ll stay healthy this winter. Prevention is the key and we have several herbal products that you can begin taking now to keep your immune system strong. Click here for a special package we put together. Remember the goal is to have the strongest qi possible so that no matter what kind of seasonal virus attacks, your body is ready to defend you.