What will happen if you take medicine for wind-heat cold when you have a wind-cold cold?

Written by Zhang Ying Ying
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Updated on March 24, 2025
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The treatment principle for colds caused by wind-cold is to use pungent and warm herbs to expel the pathogen through sweating and to disperse wind-cold. The medications for wind-heat colds mainly focus on using pungent and cooling herbs to expel the pathogen, and the treatment principles for the two are completely opposite. If medications for wind-heat cold are taken for a wind-cold cold, it might lead to a worsening of the trapped cold, causing mild fever, more severe headache, and body aches, along with nasal congestion and a runny nose with clear discharge. At this point, it is necessary to stop using the medication for wind-heat colds and switch to medications for wind-cold colds, or, if the condition is severe, seek a face-to-face consultation with a doctor.

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Can you eat watermelon when you have a cold caused by wind-cold?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that the common cold caused by wind-cold primarily occurs when the body's resistance is weakened, and the body is exposed to the pathogenic influences of wind and cold. These influences then linger within the body producing a series of symptoms. To treat a cold caused by wind-cold, it is appropriate to take medicines that expel wind and dispel cold. This means using warm-natured medicines to regulate and cure the cold. Therefore, during this time, one should not eat watermelon. Watermelon has cooling properties, which can cause the wind-cold to remain within the body instead of being expelled, potentially worsening the symptoms of the cold. Hence, eating watermelon should be avoided when suffering from a wind-cold type of cold.

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The difference between heat cold and cold cold in children

When children catch a cold, parents can use the following methods to determine whether it is a cold caused by wind-cold or wind-heat. Parents can observe the child's nasal discharge. Generally, children with a cold have a runny nose. If the discharge is clear, it usually indicates a wind-cold cold. If the nasal discharge is thick and somewhat yellow, it suggests a wind-heat cold. Starting with clear nasal discharge and then turning yellow indicates that the child has inflammation. Parents can also judge by observing how much the child is bothered by the cold. Generally, a wind-cold cold will show more obvious signs of being chilly, with an increase in body temperature, while a wind-heat cold doesn't show chilly symptoms as noticeably, or may not show any at all. It is important to watch for signs of the child shivering. Based on these identification methods, parents must timely administer appropriate medication to treat the child's symptoms.