5 Chinese Herbs That Help Colds

If you come in and tell me that you have a cold I can’t just give you a pill, not even an herbal formula or a point combination, because you may have very different signs and symptoms to the next person that comes in with a cold. If you have a runny nose with clear, watery mucous, chills, sneezing, and dizziness, I would prescribe an acupuncture point combination and an herbal formula for you. If you had a sore throat, thick, yellow, sticky mucous and fever I would prescribe a completely different acupuncture point and herbal formula combination. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) allows each person to be treated individually.

Here are just a few herbs that could help people suffering from a cold or influenza. Often these herbs are used in combination with other Chinese herbs for best results. Some of the herbs are easy to get and others, only your TCM practitioner can get for you. Please consult your TCM practitioner before taking any of the following herbs.

Gua Lou Pi

This is the herb that will dissolve very stubborn phlegm that is stuck in your chest. You may experience a cough with no phlegm begin coughed up, difficulty breathing, lots of chest congestion and possible chest pain that is worse with pressure. If you do cough up phlegm it will thick, yellow and sticky.

Sang Bai Pi

This herb is best for a cold where you have a cough and wheezing with copious amounts of yellow phlegm. You may also have facial edema or swelling of the arms and legs, slight breathlessness, red face, fever and a chest ache.

Xing Ren

This apricot seed herb is very lubricating so it is good for a cold where there is a dry cough with painful or difficult breathing, accompanied by a lot of wheezing. Xing Ren is good for both an acute or chronic cough and if you happen to become constipated during your cold, this herb will also “lube the tube!” and get your bowels moving.

Jie Geng

When you have a cough with copious amounts of phlegm, a sore throat and a hoarse voice, this herb should be a part of your formula. You may also have a fever, stuffy nose, very much dislike the cold and experience a headache or two. This herb is great for someone suffering from pneumonia, bronchitis or who has lung abscesses with chest pain.

Ban Xia

In TCM we believe that the Spleen creates phlegm but the Lungs store it so when the Spleen does not properly dissolve the phlegm, it will affect the Lungs and you may have a cough with copious amounts of phlegm and some difficulty breathing. Although this isn’t necessarily an herb for a cold, it does deal with similar symptoms.