Wisdom of the Ages

It's the cold season and many people catch cold as the temperature drops. Sneezing, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, headaches - there's nothing worse than the common cold. And despite the wisdom of the ages and the sages, there's no cure.We all know you're supposed to stay warm. Traditional Chinese medicine also recommends drinking ginger soup - ginger contains hot yang energy - to warm you up inside and fight the invading culprit of "pathogenic cold.""Healthy energy can effectively defend us against ailments like colds," says Dr Fang Hong, chief physician of the Respiratory Medicine Department of Longhua Hospital. "But when healthy energy is weakened by fatigue or other serious ailments, pathogenic elements from outside can easily invade the human body through pores, the nose or mouth, and cause disease."Many people's immune systems have failed to cope with falling temperatures, he says.Western medicine says colds are caused by viruses - we can see them under a microscope. Antihistamines, cough suppressants, aspirin, throat lozenges and other medicine are prescribed for symptoms. Drink lots of liquids, stay warm and wait it out.TCM divides colds into four categories according to their four basic causes - pathogenic cold, wind, damp and heat. Cold and…