How to Strengthen the Immune System to Prevent Colds and Flu in Winter

First it is important to identify that Chinese medicine does not see illness the same way as Western medicine. In Chinese medicine pathogens such as wind, cold, heat and/or damp attack the exterior of the body and manifest with symptoms, which would be diagnosed as a flu or cold. The wind pathogen usually combines with other pathogenic factors, notably cold and heat.

An attack of wind/heat is the most common form of cold and flu in Australia due to our warm climate.

In Chinese medicine the Lung organs and energy are in charge of the defensive aspect of the immune system, they are in charge of inhaling air and influence the skin. It is the intermediary organ between the person and the environment, via the nose and throat. For this reason, the Lungs are easily attacked by exterior pathogenic factors (wind, heat, and cold) and are sometimes referred to as the "tender" organ delicate and vulnerable to invasion by climatic factors.

The Lungs have the function of dispersing or spreading defensive Qi (energy) and body fluids all over the body to the space between the skin and muscles. This function ensures that defensive Qi is equally distributed all over the body under the skin, performing its function of warming the skin and muscles and protecting the body from exterior pathogenic factors. If Lung Qi is weak and its dispersing function impaired, defensive Qi will not reach the skin and the body will be easily invaded by exterior pathogenic factors.

The Lungs normally descend Qi; if this function is impaired then the Qi will not flow down and will accumulate in the chest causing cough, breathlessness and oppression in the chest. The nose is the orifice of the Lung; if Lung Qi is weak, or if the Lungs are invaded by an exterior pathogenic factor, the nose will be blocked, there may be a loss of the sense of smell and sneezing.

In order to prevent flu and colds, a practitioner would strengthen both the Lung and Kidney energies by the use of herbs and acupuncture, thereby increasing the person's immune system and offering more protection during the autumn and winter seasons.

In Chinese Medicine the Kidneys are also a major factor in ensuring a person's immune system is strong. The Kidneys are seen as the foundation of all other organs in the body. If a cold or flu is contracted, Chinese Medicine can also speed up the rate of recovery.