Most commonly reported symptoms include:
1. cough
2. fever
3. sore throat
4. malaise
5. headache
“Rapidly progressive respiratory disease has accounted for most severe or fatal cases”
From the Chinese medicine viewpoint, this is due to transmission of external pathogenic factor from the Wei Level to the Qi Level with the pattern of Lung-Heat and then eventually to the Ying and Blood Level.
An influenza epidemic or pandemic is a typical Wen Bing disease. This is because it is very virulent and has a strong tendency to enter the Qi level (causing chest infections) very quickly.
Wei Level
The main symptoms of invasion of Wind-Heat are aversion to cold, shivering, fever, sore throat, swollen tonsils, headache and body-aches,
sneezing, cough, runny nose with yellow discharge, slightly dark urine, slightly Red sides of the tongue and a Floating-Rapid pulse. It is worth noting that in Wind-Heat too there is aversion to cold as this is due to Wind-Heat obstructing the Wei Qi which therefore fails to warm the muscles. This corresponds to the beginning stages of influenza when the patient has “aversion to cold”.With our treatment, we should always aim at expelling the Wind at the Wei Level: even though this may not be entirely possible, it will make the symptoms of the Qi Level milder and it will prevent complications.
Qi Level
At the Qi Level-Heat. Wind penetrates into the Interior and it changes into interior Heat or Phlegm-Heat. With influenza, this usually manifests with bronchitis or pneumonia. The Qi Level is a crucial level as the pathogenic factor can be expelled completely or it can get worse by penetrating further into the Interior at the Ying or Blood level.The Qi Level symptoms are symptoms of Interior
Full Heat: high fever, thirst, sweating, feeling of heat, red face.At the Qi Level-Fire, the tongue is Red with a thick-yellow coating and the pulse is Full and Rapid. As long as there is a coating, the patient is still at the Qi Level. When the coating falls off, the patient is at the Ying or Blood level.
Ying/Blood Level
At the Ying and/or Blood Level, Heat has injured Yin so that the tongue has no coating (and it is Red). The Ying or Blood Levels are always dangerous
because it may lead to mortality. Internal Wind may develop at the Blood Level and convulsion in children during febrile diseases always indicate the presence of internal Wind at the Blood Level.The symptoms of the Ying Level are fever at night, mental confusion, delirium, cold hands, Red tongue without coating. The symptoms of the Blood Level are fever at night, possibly convulsions, maculae, bleeding, Red tongue without coating.
TREATMENT WITH THREE TREASURES REMEDIES
EXPEL WIND-HEAT
Invasions of Wind-Heat manifest with aversion to cold, fever, thirst, sore throat, body aches, headache, tonsillitis, ear infection, cough, Floating-Rapid pulse and tongue red on the sides. This is the remedy for Wei Level. The dosage is at least 9 tablets a day. This is the remedy of choice for influenza: use 12 tablets a day. Expel Wind-Heat should be a stand-by remedy in any household with children.
Please note that this remedy is used only in the beginning stages when the external Wind is still on the Exterior: at this time, the patient will have “aversion to cold” as described above.
CLEAR METAL
Clear Metal was formulated to treat the Qi Level of influenza. The simplest and clearest sign that the invasion of Wind has moved from the Exterior (Wei Level) to the Interior (Qi Level) is that the patient feels no longer cold and does not shiver but feels instead hot and thirsty. The most common patterns at this level are either Lung-Heat of Lung-Phlegm-Heat so that the patient develops bronchitis or pneumonia.
Clear Metal was formulated to treat primarily Lung-Heat at the Qi Level when the patient displays the following symptoms: cough, slight breathlessness, fever, feeling of heat, thirst, tightness of the chest and upper back. Clear Metal has also a strong anti-viral action.
The dosage for an adult is at least 9 tablets per day. This dose can be exceeded in severe cases.
RINGING METAL
Ringing Metal, a variation of Qing Qi Hua Tan Tang Clearing Qi and Resolving Phlegm Decoction can be used for acute chest infections following an invasion of Wind, i.e. when the pathogenic factor is Phlegm-Heat in the Lungs at the Qi level. The main manifestations calling for this remedy in this context are: a cough following a cold or flu, expectoration of profuse sticky-yellow sputum, slight breathlessness, a feeling of oppression of the chest, possibly fever, thirst, disturbed sleep, a Full-Slippery pulse, a red tongue with sticky-yellow coating. The dosage is at least 9 tablets per day.
HERBAL SENTINEL
Herbal Sentinel is the remedy to take for prevention. It strengthens immunity and resistance to viruses and bacteria by tonifying Lung- and Kidney-Qi. It is to be taken continuously as long as the swine flu epidemic continues in dosages of 4 tablets a day (for an adult).
There are two Herbal Sentinel remedies: Herbal Sentinel - Yang and Herbal Sentinel - Yin. The former is for people with a tendency to Yang deficiency (with a Pale tongue); the latter for people with a tendency to Yin deficiency (with a tongue lacking in coating completely or partially).
