Flu and coffee

[Guest guest]

I am thinking about the possibility of a retained pathogen " coming to life " in

the presence of conditions which mimic its nature. ie, a hot damp pathogen

retained, that is " dormant " , but becomes active again in the presence of hot,

damp conditions. There would be vacuity which allows the pathogen to remain.

There is also excess (internal damp heat). It is also possible to have a

chronic phlegm heat condition in the lung, which may not involve any external

pathogen. So when we are talking about colds, it helps me understand better

what we mean if we are saying external invasion due to vacuity or internal

generation due to constitution, diet, smoking, or other habits. Both situations

are pathogenic, but the former involves vacuity and the latter may or may not.

So if a person has internal accumulations of dampness and heat, and develops

respiratory symptoms, is it a cold? Where is our TCM terminology in this? I

would also ask other questions: Is it acute or chronic (is it

self-limiting)? Was there an exposure to an external pathogen? Is there

concurrent deficiency?

 

Years ago, I had worked in a cold newspaper office and drank alot of coffee.

Every 2 weeks, I developed a sore throat. If I continued to drink coffee, it

became more severe, with fever. If I stopped drinking coffee and rested, it

subsided. I don't think what I had was alot of " colds " . I think the coffee

generated heat in the stomach, which rose up into my throat. Incidentally, I

have since tested to be " allergic " to coffee. How does this translate in TCM

terms?

 

Andrea Beth

 

ALON MARCUS <alonmarcus wrote:

that would imply that one might get a cold for reasons other than vacuity.

 

>>>>Todd that was my original question

Alon