Tibetan traditional medicine on common cold
In dealing with the common cold, Tibetan medicine has a similar approach to our ancestors. There’s nothing to be surprised about here: human beings function the same way irrespective of their nationality or race, they also have universal reactions to outer stimuli such as weather, viruses, etc.
The first phase of the disease
When you’ve caught a cold, your first task is to “cook” the “rising” disease or inflammation as quickly as possible. Figuratively speaking you have to add fuel or more fire to the inflaming fire. This helps the flames to grow and burn the disease with its cause (the viruses). Here the well-known means are at hand: hot water, herbal teas, a shot of strong alcohol. Good are spices and foods that induce fire, such as ginger, sour fruits, and berries (e.g. black currants, cowberries, lemon). In addition to their beneficial nutritional composition, their sour taste has a warming effect.
In Tibetan medicine, there also are many specific herbs that can be successfully used for “cooking” the cold, such as different forms of myrobalans: Black Myrobalan, Emblic Myrobalan, Beleric Myrobalan. A brew of those plants is an effective cure for the common cold and different viruses. In Estonia, you can buy a mixture of those three plants based on one of the most famous formulas, Drebu Sum Thang. The mixture is called Padma Hepaten.
Another famous formula is Norbu 7. Here we can offer it under the name of Cold & Flu tea Trulthang
In addition to warming drinks and herb mixtures, all hot-inducing procedures are useful, such as warming compresses and sweating in the sauna or under a pile of blankets. The moxibustion therapies are also used.
Ripe disease with a fever
When the disease has already materialized, one has to” extinguish the fire”: now drinking boiled, but cooled water, cooling with wet compresses, etc., are used. In Tibetan medicine, they also use blood-letting and copping, but it’s difficult to do it at home by yourself. Here, the therapists from Tibetan Health Centre Men Ling can help you.
Prevention of virus diseases
In Tibetan medicine, there are two main pillars that are used in fighting the virus diseases – the diet and lifestyle. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that processed and one-sided food isn’t useful for the immune system. Less, though, is known that in contemporary Western culture people are hurting themselves by eating too much raw and fresh food in the cold seasons. Raw food exhausts and cools the digestive fire that should be able to burn all the viruses an organism meets.
An organism with a strong digestive fire will easily absorb the nutrients that are necessary for producing high-quality cells and build up an immune system. That’s why we should eat freshly made warm and heavy food in the wintertime. Mutton and ghee are good for it. Local sea fish also has a warming effect.
But there’s also an easy habit that, if introduced, might have an astonishing result: drinking a glass of hot, boiled water before having breakfast. This washes your digestive tract and kidneys, reduces edema, ignites the digestive fire. Drinking hot water prevents sour throat, asthma symptoms, and the production of excessive phlegm. But the strongest resilience comes from a balanced and pressure-free life – it’s a triviality for some, but unrealizable for most of us.
Author: Silva Soobik
Sowa Rigpa Therapist in Men Ling Center
