According to the canon of Tibetan medical science, communicable diseases such as the common cold and flu are ‘hot’ in nature, and as such, should be treated in a similar way as most other hot nature disorders. Therefore, the first step in treating a cold or flu is to help the body along by ‘ripening’ the disorder.

How does one ripen a hot disorder?

This can be done safely and effectively through a specific short-term diet and lifestyle regimen, and in most cases of the common cold and flu, medicine is not at all needed in this step of the treatment.

Ripen a cold and flu with warming food and drink: Consume hot soup, boiled water, foods with a larger proportion of salty, sour, and spicy tastes, and foods like ginger, garlic, and honey–all of which are warming in nature. Also, temporarily abstain from cold temperature, sweet, bitter, and astringent tasting food and drink (besides honey).

Ripen a cold and flu with a warm-natured lifestyle: Stay in warm environments, reduce exposure to cold and damp conditions, do not overeat, do not over-exert oneself mentally or physically, keep the company of loved ones, and refrain from bathing or showering until the disease has completely ripened.

A cold and flu has ripened when the fever is broken. Signs of this are that the patient has thoroughly perspired, and is no longer feverish.

For weaker patients, very young or old ones, care must be taken to ripen the fever gently with moderately warming foods and lifestyle practices. Also, this should be done under the supervision of a capable health care practitioner to ensure that the fever is not elevated too high, for too long a period of time, wherein the patient’s life is threatened by mismanagement of the treatment protocol.

Finally, once the disorder has fully ripened (matured) and is fully manifest, it can be ‘wiped’ away using cool-natured medicines. These can be natural medicines like sandalwood, licorice, bamboo pith, eucalyptus, or even over-the-counter western medicines meant to treat coughs, colds, and any related symptoms. Of course, consult a health care practitioner for the specific medicinal formula and dosage most appropriate to the patient’s ailment.

And that’s it!

To recap: When treating a cold and flu, and other communicable diseases, it is imperative that the disorder is first ripened, and that one avoid immediately taking cool-natured medicines such as fever reducers (Ibuprofen, Advil), and the like. These medicines may appear to be effective in the short-term, but according to Tibetan medical science, prematurely taking them to control symptoms only buries and intensifies the disorder. This causes subsequent complications, more frequent bouts of the illness, and longer-lasting recovery times in convalescence, as the root of the original ailment is still present in the system.

In sum, as poetically described in the Oral Instructions Tantra of the canon of Tibetan medicine, proper treatment of the cold and flu, and other communicable diseases should be as follows:

[Translation] For all cases of contagious diseases: First ripen the un-ripened disease as if you were inviting a guest; next, completely pacify the ripened and fully developed disorder, like settling the guest; and finally, treat any accompanying miscellaneous disorders very carefully, as if rendering service to the guest.

For more background information on the various tastes and their therapeutic effects, techniques for not overeating, healthful lifestyle practices, and much more, please refer to The Eight Principles of Good Health, a recent publication by the author.