What are the symptoms of wind-cold and wind-heat type common colds?
Nov 21, 2024
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Ren Yi
Introduction
In general, the symptoms of a cold due to wind-cold invasion include chills, mild fever or no fever, clear nasal discharge, cough with phlegm, headache, and others. Symptoms of a cold due to wind-heat invasion include fever, dry throat and mouth, yellow nasal discharge, cough with phlegm, changes in tongue appearance, and others. It is recommended in daily life to maintain good living habits and avoid excessive fatigue and getting chilled. If cold symptoms appear, timely medical consultation is advised for targeted treatment.
Generally, the symptoms of wind-cold common cold include cold sensation, mild fever or no fever, clear nasal discharge, cough with phlegm, headache, and so on. The symptoms of wind-heat common cold include fever, dry throat and mouth, yellow nasal discharge, cough with phlegm, changes in tongue appearance, etc.
I. Wind-Cold Common Cold
1. Cold Sensation: In cases of wind-cold common cold, the exterior is closed by cold pathogenic factors, and yang qi becomes stagnant, causing the patient to feel very cold, although body temperature may not rise significantly.
2. Mild Fever or No Fever: During wind-cold common cold, the fever symptoms are relatively mild. Some patients may have normal body temperature or only slight fever.
3. Clear Nasal Discharge: Wind-cold pathogenic factors invade the body, impairing the lung's dispersing function, thereby disrupting the normal transformation of nasal fluids. The patient will experience watery nasal discharge, which may be abundant.
4. Cough with Phlegm: Wind-cold pathogenic factors constrain the lungs, causing dysfunction in the lung's dispersing and descending functions, leading to upward reversal of lung qi and coughing. The cough sounds heavy and muffled, and the phlegm is generally white and thin.
5. Headache: Wind-cold pathogenic factors invade the head's meridians, obstructing the smooth flow of qi and blood in the meridians, resulting in headache due to blockage of the head meridians.
II. Wind-Heat Common Cold
1. Fever: In cases of wind-heat common cold, the body is attacked by wind-heat pathogenic factors. As pathogenic factors enter the body, the body's immune response is activated to fight the invasion, producing heat and causing fever.
2. Dry Throat and Mouth: Wind-heat pathogenic factors easily consume body fluids, making the patient feel thirsty in the throat and dryness in the mouth.
3. Yellow Nasal Discharge: Invasion of wind-heat pathogenic factors causes nasal fluids to be scorched by heat, becoming thick and yellow.
4. Cough with Phlegm: Heat pathogens easily attack the lungs. The lungs, irritated by heat, develop coughing with thick, yellow phlegm.
5. Changes in Tongue Appearance: When there is heat in the heart and lungs, the tip and edges of the tongue become red. Tongue coating changes reflect the degree of internal heat. A slightly yellow tongue coating indicates the presence of heat pathogens but suggests they have not deeply penetrated into the internal organs.
Maintaining good lifestyle habits and avoiding excessive fatigue and exposure to cold are recommended in daily life. If symptoms of a cold appear, timely medical consultation is advised to confirm diagnosis and receive targeted treatment.
