How Traditional Chinese Medicine views pediatric lung heat and 6 recommended recipes for treating it
When a baby has pediatric lung heat, it cannot be treated solely with medication. It can also be relieved through appropriate dietary therapy methods. Here are several recipes that are effective for pediatric lung heat and easy to make.
How Traditional Chinese Medicine views pediatric lung heat
From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, lung heat is a condition caused by an invasion of wind-heat or the transformation of wind-cold stagnation into heat, which obstructs the lungs and disrupts their normal functions. But what does it mean for children? Children have a pure yang body, with an excess of yang, an insufficiency of yin, a tendency towards yin deficiency, and a heavy internal heat. This is commonly referred to as "excessive internal heat". When a child is exposed to external pathogens, it easily transforms into internal heat, causing the rise of lung fire, resulting in symptoms such as fever, cough, phlegm, and wheezing. If the cause of the illness is not identified and the right medication is not chosen, it can trigger recurrent coughing in children.
Symptoms of pediatric lung heat
1. Eye discharge: When waking up in the morning, the child's eyelashes are stuck together due to eye secretions, making it difficult for the child to open their eyes.
2. Bad breath: The child has bad breath, which can be clearly smelled when close to their face.
3. Sore throat: Dry and painful throat, with red and swollen tonsils.
4. Red lips: The lips are bright red, as if they were applying lipstick.
5. Red tip of the tongue: The tip of the tongue is noticeably redder than the rest of the tongue, with many bright red spots. Some children may even have ulcers on the tip or body of the tongue.
6 Recipes for treating pediatric lung heat
1. Steamed Orange with Salt
Ingredients: 1 orange, a pinch of salt. Cut the orange in half, keeping the peel intact as a cover. Place it in a small bowl and use chopsticks to poke several holes in the flesh, then sprinkle salt on top. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Discard the peel and consume the orange pulp and juice while still warm.
Effects: Suitable for cough with yellow, sticky phlegm caused by Qi stagnation and blood stasis or lung dryness. Typical symptoms include yellow, sticky phlegm, red and swollen throat, dry mouth, and bitter taste. Not suitable for cough caused by wind-cold, with symptoms such as aversion to cold, clear and white phlegm, and itching in the throat without pain.
2. White Radish, Honey, and Rock Sugar Juice
Ingredients: 1 fresh white radish, a small amount of honey, a little rock sugar. Wash and dry the white radish, then make a horizontal cut on the upper third and set it aside. Use a small knife to hollow out the remaining 2/3 of the radish and fill it with rock sugar. Place the cut part of the radish as a lid on the hollowed out radish and secure it with toothpicks. Put the radish in a sealed jar (which should be washed and dried beforehand) and store it in the refrigerator. After 5-6 days, open the radish to find that the rock sugar inside has turned into thick juice. Pour out the juice and add a little honey to make honey rock sugar radish drink.
Effects: White radish is rich in vitamins, phosphorus, iron, and other minerals. Eating it raw aids digestion, while eating it cooked benefits Qi. Honey has a sweet taste and neutral properties. It enters the lung, spleen, and large intestine meridians and has the effects of nourishing the middle, moistening dryness, relieving pain, and detoxifying. Rock sugar nourishes Yin, generates body fluids, and moistens the lungs to stop coughing. It has good auxiliary therapeutic effects on cough caused by lung dryness, dry cough without phlegm, and coughing up blood.
3. Luffa Flower and Honey Drink
Ingredients: 10 grams of luffa flowers, 20 grams of honey. Steep the luffa flowers in boiling water for 5 minutes, then add honey and stir. Drink it hot 3 times a day.
Effects: Clears heat and relieves cough, and helps to transform phlegm. It is used to treat pediatric lung heat, heat-induced cough, wheezing, and other symptoms. "Dian Nan Mu Cao" states that luffa flowers can "clear lung heat, eliminate phlegm, relieve cough, relieve sore throat, alleviate irritability and thirst, and discharge fire." When combined with honey, it enhances its lung-moistening and cough-relieving effects.
4. Pear and Pig Lung Soup with Fritillaria Bulbs
Ingredients: 120 grams of pig lungs, 9 grams of fritillaria bulbs, 3 pears (cored and cut into 4 pieces each), seasonings to taste. Boil the pig lungs in water for 5 minutes, then rinse with cold water and drain. Crush the fritillaria bulbs. Place all the ingredients in a pot of boiling water, simmer over low heat for 2 hours, season to taste, and serve.
Effects: This soup moistens the lungs, transforms phlegm, and relieves cough. It is used for lung heat caused by dryness and heat. It is helpful for relieving cough with thick phlegm, uncomfortable expectoration, dry throat, and thirst.
5. Fritillaria and Tremella Congee
Ingredients: 50 grams of fritillaria, 50 grams of tremella, 50 grams of corn, 10 grams of rock sugar. Wash the fritillaria and place it in a clay pot with fresh well water. Cook for 30-40 minutes, remove the fritillaria, add the washed tremella and corn, and cook for another hour. Finally, add rock sugar and simmer for another 10-15 minutes before consuming.
Effects: This congee nourishes Yin and replenishes Qi.
6. Cabbage Porridge
Ingredients: 100 grams of glutinous rice, 100 grams of cabbage. Cook 100 grams of glutinous rice with water to make porridge. Add 100 grams of washed and chopped cabbage and simmer with a suitable amount of salt, monosodium glutamate, and sesame oil. Serve once cooked.
Effects: Cabbage can relieve stuffiness, promote gastrointestinal function, regulate the spleen, expel phlegm, nourish the stomach, and promote diuresis. It is effective in preventing and treating pediatric lung heat, cough, constipation, and detoxification.
