Overview of Wind-Heat Cold
Wind-heat cold is caused by the invasion of wind-heat pathogens that disrupt the body's surface and impair the harmony of lung qi. Symptoms include high fever, slight aversion to wind, a heavy sensation in the head, sweating, red, swollen, and sore throat, cough, sticky or yellow phlegm, nasal congestion with yellow discharge, thirst with a preference for drinking, a red tip and sides of the tongue, and a thin, slightly yellowish tongue coating. Wind-heat cold is most common in summer and autumn, resulting from exposure to external wind-heat pathogens. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), wind-heat cold is considered an exterior syndrome caused by the invasion of wind-heat pathogens.
Wind-heat external contraction often occurs in spring and summer. In spring, it is windy and the weather warms, so wind and heat pathogens often combine to cause illness. In summer, it is闷热 outdoors and relatively cool indoors, and the fluctuating temperature between the two environments also makes one susceptible. Wind-heat cold is a condition caused by wind-heat pathogens invading the lung-defense system, leading to disharmony at the body's surface and the lung's failure to clear and descend.
Symptoms of Wind-Heat Cold in Children
Wind-heat cold in children is primarily characterized by a high fever, but without a significant aversion to cold or wind. Other symptoms include nasal congestion with a thick, yellow discharge, a heavy cough, or sticky yellow phlegm, headache, thirst with a preference for drinking, a red, dry, or scratchy throat. Stools are dry, and urine is yellow. Upon examination, the tonsils may be swollen and red, the pharynx is congested, and the tongue coating is thin yellow or thick yellow, with a red tongue body and a rapid, floating pulse.
The onset of wind-heat cold is often due to constipation and frequently belongs to the Yangming meridian syndrome. Typically, it follows this pattern: constipation for two days, followed by a sore throat for one or two days, and then the appearance of cold symptoms. This is wind-heat cold (it can also be an exterior heat pathogen attacking the lung first). For wind-heat cold, cooling and lung-ventilating herbs with pungent and cool properties to release the exterior should be used, such as Sang Ju Gan Mao Pian (Mulberry and Chrysanthemum Cold Tablets) or Yin Qiao Jie Du Wan (Lonicera and Forsythia Detoxifying Pills), Ling Qiao Jie Du Wan, or Ling Yang Gan Mao Pian (Antelope Cold Tablets). Medicines like Qiang Huo Wan (Notopterygium Pills) or Li Fei Wan (Lung-Regulating Pills) should not be used, as their incorrect application can cause a higher body temperature and worsen a sore throat.
The treatment for wind-heat cold is, in most cases, to relieve constipation (combined with cooling and exterior-releasing medications, which usually provide quick results). There are many methods for this, such as drinking herbal cooling teas; taking heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs like Ban Lan Gen Ke Li (Isatis Root Granules). Chinese patent medicines include San Huang Pian (Three Yellow Pills), Yin Qiao Jie Du Pian combined with Niu Huang Jie Du Pian (Bovine Calculus Detoxifying Pills), Ban Lan Gen, etc. One can also take oral solutions like Jin Yin Hua Kou Fu Ye (Honeysuckle Oral Liquid) or Kang Bing Du Kou Fu Ye (Antiviral Oral Liquid) for treating wind-heat cold.