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"The Golden Month"
"Confinement"
"Lying in"
    Call it what you will, this is a period of 30 -40 days after the birth of your baby when you need to allow your body to recover. This is a concept that has been lost in our modern western society. Look at the terms above, they sound "old fashioned" don't they?, something from Victorian times. The modern woman is encouraged to get up and get back to normal as soon as possible after the birth. Anything less is almost seen as a weakness. We are bombarded with celebrities hitting the gym to regain their pre baby bodies, dieting to lose that baby weight and getting back to work within a few short weeks..
   Of course you CAN do these things, of course you can cope, you are not an invalid however it is worth considering the significant effort growing, maintaing and birthing this baby has cost your body. This is a time to be kind to yourself. Ask for and accept help from family and friends.
     Rest  physically and mentally when you can. Gentle exercise, yoga, stretching, walking. Leave high intensity workouts for later.
     Fuel your body. Chinese medicine sees this as a time of general deficiency, so you need food to tonify and boost your depleted system. Cooked foods ( go easy on the raw, cold foods and salads) lots of green leafy vegetables. Soups, stews and casseroles made with bones and vegetables,include some ginger. 
     Avoid wind and cold - yes, its a thing!  Why make your bodies immune system work harder now than it really needs to??

    These are just some thoughts I had. This can be quite a comprehensive subject and I'm happy to expand on any self care questions you may have. 
     Its a subject I care about, reward yourself with a " Golden Month " and reap the rewards later by being less fatigued later.

So with cold and flu season about to hit I thought I would put down some thoughts.

Will Chinese medicine "CURE" my cold? 
    In all honesty the answer is No. You already have the cold, its a virus. You have it because you were exposed to the virus and your immune system was not strong enough to stop it manifesting as symptoms like runny nose, chills, fever, cough etc.

    Fever is your body's way of mounting an attack to fight off the virus. That is what its designed for. If you suppress the fever with an over the counter medication or NSAID then it may take your body longer to complete its attack.

   Acupuncture and herbal medicine, along with some self care, may enhance your immune system to allow your body to do its job a bit more effectively and therefore shorten the duration of your cold or flu.

  self care ideas - Stay warm, this means you are not using up internal resources that may be better utilized fighting your virus.
    Ginger and honey tea, the ginger helps warm you from the inside while the honey soothes the sore throat. 
    Rest - you know you can do it!  Also to allow  your body to focus on fighting off the virus. 

  My best advice is GET ONTO IT STRAIGHT AWAY , the earlier you start the shorter your symptoms.
  I speak from experience as only last week I fended off the worst of a cold , sure I had symptoms for about 48hrs but a cold often lasts a lot longer than that , right?