When the seasons change, the temperature fluctuates up and down, and most people start to dress randomly. At this time, it is most likely to catch a cold, so the phenomenon of indiscriminate medication is blooming everywhere.

Many people are used to treating symptoms such as runny nose, cough, and sore throat as common colds, but common colds are only a type of upper respiratory tract infection. Once the wrong medicine is used, not only will the disease not be cured, but it may also cause more harm to the body!

So, what is the difference between an upper respiratory tract infection and a cold?

Learn to distinguish between upper respiratory tract infection and cold

Upper respiratory tract infection is a general term for acute inflammation of the nasal cavity and throat. The main pathogens are viruses, and a few are bacteria. The infection sites include the nose, pharynx, and throat. The symptoms include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat, etc. It is not a single finger. A certain disease, but a variety of diseases.

What we usually call a cold is one of the types of upper respiratory tract infections. Others include acute viral pharyngitis or laryngitis, acute herpetic angina, pharyngeal conjunctival fever, bacterial pharyngitis and tonsillitis.

• The common cold is a common cold, which is mostly caused by viral colds, but it usually heals on its own in 5 to 7 days, so it is a self-limited disease. It is often ridiculed that "it can be cured without taking medicine for 7 days, but it can be cured with taking medicine for a week."

• Acute viral pharyngitis or laryngitis is mostly caused by rhinovirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, etc. The most obvious symptoms of the former are itching and burning in the throat, but the pain is not obvious; the latter is manifested as hoarseness, speech Difficulty, with obvious sore throat when coughing.

• Acute herpetic angina mostly occurs in summer, and the main infected population is children, with obvious symptoms such as sore throat and fever. There are gray-white herpes and superficial ulcers on the surface of the soft palate, uvula, pharynx and tonsils.

• Pharyngeal conjunctival fever is mainly caused by infections such as adenovirus and coxsackie virus.

• Bacterial pharyngitis and tonsillitis have symptoms of sore throat, chills, fever, obvious congestion of the pharynx, and enlarged tonsils.

Learn to distinguish between colds and other upper respiratory tract infections, and be confident when taking medication. However, although colds are common, even if they know that they are suffering from a common cold, some people will still use the wrong medicine. The reason is that there is no distinction between the types and the right medicine.

Cold has "cold" and "hot", dialectical medicine is the key

From the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine, the pathogenic qi of wind-cold, wind-heat and rheumatism invade the human body, injure the Wei qi, cause the lung qi to lose its declaration and the Wei qi to be lost, and it will cause a cold. And "wind-heat cold" points.

1. Cold and flu

Wind-cold cold is caused by cold and cold. Because of the cold in the body, it is easy to show symptoms of cold hands and feet. In addition to common symptoms such as nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, and headache, there are often chills, runny nose, thin white phlegm, thirst for hot drinks, and thin white fur.

Treatment should be based on pungent warming, dispelling the surface, dispersing the lungs and dispelling cold, such as drinking ginger brown sugar water, soaking feet in warm water, and covering the quilt with multiple coats, etc., all of which can achieve the purpose of dispersing the cold in the body. In terms of medication, Guizhi Decoction mentioned in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" can effectively relieve symptoms, and Chinese patent medicines can choose Ganmao Qingre Granules, Tongxuan Lifei Pills, etc.

When suffering from cold and cold, some people are always sore all over the body, which means that the body is too cold and damp, so on the basis of medication, you must pay more attention to rest, you can put a few more slices of ginger when boiling ginger brown sugar water.

2. Wind heat and cold

The main cause of wind heat and cold is getting angry, and the body is full of fire, so in addition to the general symptoms, there will also be some symptoms of getting angry, such as severe fever, sweating, thick and yellow sputum, sore throat, sore throat, and yellow and blue nasal discharge. , constipation, etc.

Then to relieve symptoms at this time should be based on the principle of Xinliang Jiexi. After a cold, the body will be more tired, pay more attention to rest, drink more water, and have more bowel movements. You can add some salt to the water, which can eliminate internal heat and help relieve sore throat. It is also more suitable for drinking pear water to moisten the lungs and clear heat.

In terms of medicine, you can buy Lingdancao yourself and boil it to drink. It has the functions of clearing away heat and detoxification, reducing swelling and pulling pus, and can be antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiviral. Or directly take the Chinese patent medicine Lingdancao granules, the main component of which is Lingdancao, which has the effects of clearing away heat and dispelling wind, detoxifying and sore throat, relieving cough and expectorating phlegm, and can not only effectively relieve the sore throat and lung heat cough caused by wind-heat evil poison. , Also suitable for acute pharyngitis, tonsillitis, upper respiratory tract infection.

In terms of diet, it is necessary to focus on light and fast food that is thick, greasy, and spicy.

> > References: >

> > 1. Zhao Jing.Clinical diagnosis and treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infection[J].Electronic Journal of Clinical Medicine Literature,2019:48. >

> > 2. Wang Zhiqiang. Divide wind-cold and wind-heat first and then take cold medicine [J]. "Health and Preservation of Traditional Chinese Medicine", 2018: 61-62. >