Safely and Healthily Living through Bad Weather

Hot and humid summer weather can cause heat illness and even death. More Americans die from heat waves than all other natural disasters combined. Older adults, people with chronic medical conditions or mental health conditions, are most vulnerable.

Heat illness occurs when the body cannot cool down. The most serious forms of heat illness are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke occurs when the body's temperature rises quickly, and can rapidly lead to death. Keeping cool can be hard work for the body. This extra stress on the body can also worsen other health conditions such as heart and lung disease.

Signs of serious heat illness include:

Hot, dry skin OR cold, clammy skin
Confusion, hallucinations, disorientation
Unconscious or unresponsive
Nausea or vomiting
Trouble breathing
Rapid, strong pulse
Weakness
Dizziness

Call 911 or go to the emergency room right away if you or someone you know has these symptoms of heat illness.

Warning Signs of Heat Illness:

Heavy sweating
Muscle cramps
Light headedness, feeling faint
Headache
Decreased energy
Loss of appetite, nausea

If you or someone you know has warning signs of heat illness, get to a cool place, remove extra clothes, and drink lots of water.

Your best defense against heat-related illness is prevention. Staying cool and making simple changes in your fluid intake, activities, and clothing during hot weather can help you remain safe and healthy.

Cooling Teas and Herbal Infusions for Summer

Following the theory of Chinese Medicine, we can understand certain types of herbs, such as internal heat clearing, heat and dampness eliminating, heat clearing and blood-cooling, heat clearing and detoxicating, to have cooling properties. They clear internal heat, dampness and toxins, provide relief from discomfort in summer, and also potentially reduce inflammation in the body.

I select the following herbal teas, granules and herbal infusions from 99chinesemedicine.com. You can easily make them into cooling tea：Kam Wo Herbal Tea, Regular Care, Mulberry Combo Beverage, Gynostemma Herb Tea, Bupleurum Granule，etc.

Kam Wo Herb Tea

This herbal tea is formulated for exogenous wind-heat and interior impairment and dampness retention, heat stroke, marked by fever, thirsty, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea due to food stagnation and dampness. In summer time, especially during the damp humid weather, people easily have damp heat stagnation, the symptoms like stomachache, nausea, diarrhea. If you want to alleviate a cold or fever, you add few sliced fresh ginger and green onion. Read more

Regular Care

This is a vial bottled liquid - Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Shui, Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, Huoxiang Zhengqi Tincture. You can use it alone internally and externally, and also mix it with water, for cold caused by external contracted wind-cold, internal dampness stagnation or summer dampness, manifested as headache, dizziness, heavy sensation, stuffiness and oppression in the chest and the hypochondrium, distending pain in the stomach and abdomen, vomiting, diarrhea; gastrointestinal flu with the above mentioned above. Read more.

Mulberry Chrysanthemum Granule

It is convenient to take with water and is the necessary cool tea in four seasons. It can clear away the liver-fire and improve acuity of vision, dispel wind and bring down the heat. It is applicable to the common cold of wind-heat type, congestion of the eyes and headache, swollen and sore throat, etc. Such a drink originated from a famous herbal-drink formula in Qing dynasty called Sang Ju drink (桑菊飲) for expelling an epidemic spread in East China in 1814. Read more

Mulberry Combo Beverage

It is convenient to take with water and is the necessary cool tea in four seasons. It can clear away the liver-fire and improve acuity of vision, dispel wind and bring down the heat. It is applicable to the common cold of wind-heat type, congestion of the eyes and headache, swollen and sore throat, etc. Such a drink originated from a famous herbal-drink formula in Qing dynasty called Sang Ju drink (桑菊飲) for expelling an epidemic spread in East China in 1814. Read more

Gynostemma Herb Tea

This is a combination of Gynostemma with green tea. Gynostemma pentaphyllum, also called jiaogulan, is best known as an herbal medicine reputed to have powerful antioxidant and adaptogenic effects purported to increase longevity. Green tea was used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine to control bleeding and heal wounds, aid digestion, improve heart and mental health, and regulate body temperature (It quenches thirst and promotes production of body fluids). Long term consuming the gynostemma herb tea will help regulate blood fat, that is, lower aggregate cholesterol level, and delay the aging process. Read more

Bupleurum Granule

It's easily to make a cup of tea to drink. The original formula is typically prescribed to soothe the liver and harmonize the stomach for pattern of exogenous cold and heat invading lessor yang channel (liver-gallbladder system and impacted stomach), manifested as alternating chills and fever, fullness in the chest and rib, poor appetite, vexation, vomiting, bitter taste in the mouth, and dry throat. Read more