Colds and Flus: to Treat or not to Treat

‘If you treat a cold it will go away in a week, if you don’t it will go away in 7 days’. Is this adage true? And once an acute period of cold or flu is over, will it:

go away as if it never happened?
trigger complications? or,
make you feel better than before the cold?

In our experience, Acupuncture curbs the development of cold. Colourpuncture gives you a long remission and much milder symptoms on relapse. Adhering to Natural Health principles lets you emerge in a better health post-cold.

Untreated, cold or flu may surely go away – yes, in about 7 days or a week – but the outcome is varied and unpredictable. You may just recover. Or, you may develop complications, ranging from mild to severe. However, I’m yet to hear somebody comment on how great they felt after a bout of cold or flu. Commonly, people say they are tired and low in energy for some while post-cold.

Let’s take a brief look at different views on respiratory tract infections – commonly colds and flus – in different medical systems.

What exactly are respiratory tract infections?

Respiratory tract infections, colds or flus can affect your sinuses, throat, airways or lungs. They are sometimes divided into upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Upper respiratory tract infection involves throat and nose, lower respiratory tract infection involves lungs and bronchi. Common symptoms of flu: fever or feeling feverish, cough, sore throat, running/blocked nose, aching body, headaches and tiredness. Common cold symptoms are similar but usually milder than the symptoms of flu. Typically, there is a running/blocked nose and a sore throat.

Why respiratory tract infections can be dangerous?

Acute inflammation serves a regulatory purpose as a response to infection and biochemical mechanisms of it – cascade reactions – are self regulated in nature meaning they should run their course once activated and then exhaust themselves if the body is generally healthy. Various factors such as resources of the body including strength of immune response, individual constitution, predispositions, age, living conditions, general energy levels, existing health problems, work/rest balance play a part. Depending on these various factors and their combinations having an acute inflammation is like balancing on a tightrope. It requires fine skills, it’s challenging at best and sometimes it can go wrong.

What is ‘official medicine’ view on respiratory tract infections?

Well, ‘the week and the 7 days’. Popular observation is backed by most Western medical systems which agree that a common cold require neither medical attention nor treatment. Sort of ‘pretend you are OK, act as normal and it will go away by itself’. Sure vulnerable patients or these with longer colds or more severe symptoms are encouraged to visit a GP. NSAIDs as the first line to make it all more bearable and then antibiotics if your doctor is concerned are the common answer. If complications develop well….you will be treated for these complications. In Eastern European countries though there used to be a cautious saying by ‘official’ doctors ‘a small cold might lead to big complications’ as indeed sometimes an ‘easy’ cold could be traced down as an onset of serious lung disease or heart disease for example.

What is TCM views on respiratory tract infections?

Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM is one of the oldest medical systems in the world so it’s hard really to ignore a ‘traditional’ feel to it. TCM was in place and practiced successfully long before any medical system in the West. TCM considers colds and flus to be a result of ‘pathogens invasion’ and acknowledges that they can occur with or without fever naming them Cold invasion and Heat invasion accordingly.

TCM Acupuncture treats all kinds of colds and flus effectively and achieves quick recovery without side effects. The treatment strategy simply includes ‘expelling the pathogens’. When a patent is very weak it also includes boosting immunity and improving overall health.

Any Acupuncture session is well rounded by design – it will have a positive effect on many aspects of general health and builds up natural resistance to developing colds and flus. When somebody is receiving regular Acupuncture treatments for various problems not at all directly related to respiratory tract infections, a resistance to cold and flu is a byproduct and people often comment: ‘I didn’t seem to have many colds this winter’ or ‘Everybody around seems to be getting heavy flus and I only had one minor cold at the very end of flu season’.

If cold or flu already started, Acupuncture will help it to go away quickly, in 1 or 2 days. This already differs from common ‘agreement’ that most colds and flus go away in about a week and no treatment will help. In our experience Acupuncture gives quick results. Acupuncture at a start of cold will simply stop it. In 9 out of 10 cases we see people getting much better and cold going away the next day. A sheer amazement is a common reaction as people don’t really expect this to happen. What’s about that 1 out 10 ‘failure’? Most commonly there is a background of massive and long term stress before the start of the cold – which inevitably lowers immune function – and some violation of fundamental TCM principles such as getting outside into the cold with wet hair after shower.

Naturopathy states you should feel better than before the cold

Rest is vital. Stress reduction is important. Water and easy to digest food or little food or vegan food or better no food at all are best. Naturopathy maintains you are supposed to feel better than you did before the cold as Naturopathy considers colds and flus – as any acute illness – to be body’s natural regulatory reaction to wrong lifestyle and periodic toxins accumulation. Consequently any acute illness including respiratory tract infections are considering to be healing in itself. Body self regulates and is fully equipped to do so. Your part is to provide your body with optimal conditions: rest, water, light food.

Colourpuncture gives sustainable relief

Colourpuncture agrees with Acupuncture that the real reasons for colds and flus are present deficiencies of body systems such as Lungs. Colourpuncture also agrees with Naturopathy that an acute process – carefully managed and properly supported – is a healing in itself. A simple sequence of classic Acupuncture points treated with red or infrared light brings immediate relief. You can repeat the sequence every 4 hours – as you would take NSAIDs. Colourpuncture for colds and flus is highly effective and perfect for self help.

Colourpuncture also goes one crucial step further in recognising that an often hidden and unrecognised background stress, so ingrained that it makes a part of a person’s physiological make up causes recurrent infections of respiratory tract. This calls for addressing the source of stress and resolving it – ultimately forming new habits and making lifestyle changes.

My experience:

Background:

Colds and flus seemed to be my middle name (well, symptom wise, one of them…) since I was born. Colds/flus were frequent, long and severe. Pain from sore throat was unbearable for 3-4 days at the start. I cried a lot as nothing seemed to help. If I were to list top 5 totally demoralising experiences respiratory infections would feature at the very top.

When I felt the next one coming I had to cancel everything I planned. Most difficult were the days when my children were very young and I didn’t have any strength to look after them for several first days of cold. This was not just demoralising – it was soul destroying.

‘Experiment’:

Once, I had a typical cold: overwork and cold exposure combined. What was not typical was that I decided to challenge ‘7 days vs 1 week’ rule and do something differently. After more than 40 years of accepting colds and flus as part of my reality I was highly sceptical. But… I both ‘suffered enough’ and was intrigued at a possibility that you can get better after a bout of cold. So I gave myself (a lot of) Colourpuncture. I stayed in bed for the whole day. I had very light vegan food. The day or two after I took it easy.

The first result was impressive: I recovered quickly but most importantly I did feel such a surge of energy and happiness after!!! In a month or two I had my next cold and did Colourpuncture but didn’t even stay in bed as symptoms were much milder.

‘Provocation’:

The next cold came in about 8 months and I tried a ‘provocation’ – contrary to the TCM principles but well, an an ex scientist I couldn’t resist. Day 1 I did Colourpuncture and rested. By the end of the day I felt great. Day 2 I tried a cold plunge (we happened to stay at the spa) and I was totally fine – the cold was over. Now, I won’t advise anyone to do the same but I was highly curious and happened to have a chance. The TCM rule is clear: you shouldn’t try provocation and generally Cold and Damp combination is frowned upon in Acupuncture.

Follow up:

Afterwards, for 2 years in a row I had no colds/flus whatsoever. That was even more impressive bordering on ‘strange’ – I was so ‘used to’ colds. Elated at possibilities I learned to recognise early signs of cold coming as by then I knew it was possible not to have a ‘flu season’. If I would start feeling first symptoms I would take some extra time to rest, put a hot water bottle to my feet, had some light glucose balancing food, wrapped a wool scarf around my neck, slept warm and would woke up with no soreness in my throat, no running nose, nothing. I needed neither Acupuncture or Acupressure or Colourpuncture.

To treat or not to treat?

If you or somebody close to you are suffering from frequent colds/flus I would encourage you to experience healing power of Colourpuncture and Natural Health. All you need is to learn simple treatments of Colourpuncture for Cold/Flu, have an open mind, be willing to try things differently and observe. Colourpuncture, by nature addressing the roots of a problem, will give you a sustainable effect and long remission. With Acupuncture and Acupressure you might need to repeat treatments of Acupuncture points.

When somebody is saying ‘I don’t believe in Colourpuncture. I don’t believe in Acupuncture or Acupressure. I don’t believe in Natural Health’ it doesn’t cease to amaze me. Have you tried?? A therapy – no matter how ‘alternative’ or unfamiliar it sounds – is a therapy. The therapy will either help you or it won’t. The therapy is not a religion. There is no need to ‘believe’. Just try and see.

If you suffer from frequent colds or flus and nothing helped you much all you need is to try. No amount of belief alone will stop already developing cascade inflammatory reactions. Probably my main lesson from my experience was not even freedom from pain of colds and flus an days lost to illness though this alone changed my perception of life dramatically. It’s simply freedom. Colds and flus used to feel like a periodical prison sentence with no options no matter how ‘good’ you tried to behave. When you know that you can take simple, timely, proactive steps – and get better as a side effect – this is freedom.

What can you do to help yourself?

The earlier you start treating cold or flu the better and quicker results you will have. This includes recognising early signs of imminent cold. One step further: stay warm and rest when you feel just week or overworked.
The cold/flu treatment includes providing the best conditions for the body to cope with infection. This includes:

Acupressure or/and Colourpuncture:

Acupuncture points LI4 and Lu7 are most important first point of call for ‘expelling the cold’. Acupuncture points SJ5, LI11 and Ki 27 are also good. St36 is a must bringing overall improvement of general resistance to any diseases if you are feeling very tired or weak.

Rest is vital, nice nurturing bed rest for at least one day is ideal and is often enough. It is best to use this time to quietly reflect on your life and what you are stressed about, short and long term and may be reconsider current priorities.
Keeping warm, having plenty of fluids and only minimum light food
Strategically, we need to consider what sort of underling stress or lifestyle aspects brings frequent colds/flus in the first place. General weakness, stress – including both current acute stress and hidden chronic background stress from things such as professional dissatisfaction or relationships problems or financial instability as well as ‘inherited’ enhanced response to stress all need to be clarified and dealt with.

The goal is to emerge from cold/flu in a better health and spirit.

The potential for it is there, the work to do is simple and only takes a decision and willingness to learn. Recently I came across a special note about people who live in northern countries. Having originated and evolved in warmer climates we generally lack warmth we need so much …physical, emotional, as well as warmth of love and relaxation.

I learnt from my therapy practice that a deep inner contentment comes from owning and integrating our life experience and following our natural gifts. These are the best remedies against everyday anxiety, unhappiness and ultimately, susceptibility to diseases. Join us at Cafe Self, where you come to feed your Soul – and also uncover main emotional entanglements – a source of our silent background stress.

Any questions – please get in touch using the form below, I’ll be happy to share what I learnt about Colourpuncture 🙂 If you don’t have your Colourpuncture Perlux yet, don’t worry: Acupressure on Colourpuncture points will give very good results. Wishing you cold-free days, flu-free seasons, warmth of love and relaxation – and informed bold action should you need to heal yourself from any.

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