How to treat the early stages of a cold with symptoms of heat?

Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
Updated on February 14, 2025
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Heat colds are a very common type of cold, often occurring in the hot summer months, most commonly caused by accidentally catching a chill or getting caught in the rain. The typical symptoms of a heat cold include fever, as well as headache, dizziness, and varying degrees of nasal congestion, runny nose, and sore throat. As for the initial treatment plan for a heat cold, it is commonly known that heat colds are often caused by viral infections. Therefore, early treatments for patients with heat colds mostly involve appropriate antiviral medications and drugs for clearing heat and detoxifying. Symptoms usually alleviate within about a week.

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Written by Huang Kun Mei
Pediatrics
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What to do if a baby catches a cold?

When a child catches a cold, it's important to consider their specific symptoms. If the cold lasts no more than three days and the child is in good spirits, you can treat them with anti-viral and heat-clearing Chinese patent medicines. Their diet should be light and easy to digest, and include plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. If the baby is exclusively breastfed and under six months old, the mother should ensure a balanced diet, consume easily digestible foods, and avoid overly greasy or spicy foods. If the child's cold persists for more than three days and symptoms like cough with phlegm appear, it's necessary to bring the child to the hospital for timely tests, such as a complete blood count and C-reactive protein, to rule out bacterial infections and provide appropriate treatment based on the child's condition. For infants with a cold, considering their underdeveloped organ functions and weaker immunity, even a common cold can easily lead to secondary viral or bacterial infections, potentially causing severe diseases like pneumonia. Therefore, it's best to take the child to the pediatric outpatient clinic for assessment and targeted treatment. If it’s inconvenient to visit a doctor, consider that most colds are caused by viruses, such as respiratory or enteroviruses. Therefore, you might treat the child at home with antiviral Chinese patent medicines and symptom-specific supportive treatments. It's also crucial to manage their diet well, as digestive functions can be compromised during a cold. Thus, meals should be small and frequent, and it's advisable to avoid hard-to-digest and potentially allergenic foods to prevent exacerbating symptoms. (The use of medication should be under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Han Shun Li
Pulmonology
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What should I do about nasal congestion from a summer cold?

There is currently no specific effective medication for colds. If the symptoms are mild, no special treatment is required, and they will improve on their own in a few days. However, if nasal congestion is severe, one option is to use compound cold medicine, or directly use drugs that can constrict the blood vessels in the nasal mucosa, such as certain drops, to alleviate the symptoms of nasal congestion. If nasal congestion is caused by excessive nasal discharge, then the nasal discharge should be cleaned promptly to relieve the symptoms.

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Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
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How to distinguish between bacterial cold and viral cold

Bacterial colds and viral colds can be distinguished by a complete blood count. A viral cold, generally caused by a viral infection, is characterized by symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and mild fever. Bacterial colds, on the other hand, often present with chills and high fever, sore throat, and pus in the tonsils. In viral colds, lymphocyte counts are elevated, and there is no significant increase, or no increase, in the total white blood cell count. Bacterial colds show an increase in white blood cells and neutrophils.

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Written by Zhang Shu Kun
Traditional Chinese Medicine
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Does Yin deficiency make one prone to catching a cold?

Patients with Yin deficiency are prone to catching colds. However, generally speaking, it does not cause colds. It might be that some individual patients are prone to colds, so it varies from person to person, and there is no specific situation. Yin deficiency mainly causes physical weakness, poor health, and reduced immunity, which can then easily lead to colds and other symptoms. Therefore, if Yin deficiency occurs, it is crucial to treat it promptly with medication and also to eat more foods that nourish Yin and supplement Yang in the diet.

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Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
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Physical cooling methods for colds

Fever symptoms caused by a cold can be treated with physical cooling methods. There are many commonly used methods in clinical practice. For adults, one can wipe the palms, soles, neck, and chest—areas where major blood vessels run—with warm water or alcohol. You can also use a cool towel or ice packs to compress the forehead. Drinking herbal concoctions like scallion water or ginger sugar water can also help reduce fever physically. Additionally, soaking feet in Sichuan peppercorn water can be effective. Regardless of the method used, it's important to drink plenty of water and recheck the temperature after two hours.