I’m very impatient. As soon as Christmas is over I think the daffodils should be waking up and I can pack away my winter coat. How wrong could I be? We’re heading towards the end of March and I’m still wearing a hat indoors! Maybe that says more about our poor insulation or my tendency to feel the cold but, honestly, you’d think we could have even a little bit of warmth by now.
The Winter brings it’s own beauty of course and those bright, crisp days are gorgeous to be out and about in. In Chinese Medicine, ‘Cold’ and ‘Damp’ can invade the body if you’re not wrapped up warmly enough. It can manifest in shivers and turn to heat (ie a fever), it can cause runny noses and blocked sinuses, and affect the bones and muscles (arthritis and back ache).
The language of Chinese Medicine can sound out of date, but it stems from the need to try and explain illness without having access to microscopes or knowledge of viruses and bacteria (although they did attribute some illness to ‘external factors’ and knew they could be airborne or spread by other means). They described what they saw and treated accordingly.
So, the various patients I have seen over the last few weeks with sinus issues and some with headaches, can be treated by ‘moving Damp’ which just describes using acupuncture to unblock sinuses and relieve pressure in the face and head, and also by ‘expelling Cold’ which is done by use of heat.
Acupuncture can remarkably effective in these cases, whichever way you describe it, and relieving sinus pain and post-nasal drip as well as chronic headaches is very rewarding because you can make a difference quickly.
While we all wait for it to warm up, just make sure you’re wrapped up warmly to keep out the damp and cold. Any problems however, just pop me a line and hopefully I’ll be able to help.
