Parents should learn these massage techniques to relieve coughs and reduce fever in children

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“\"One autumn rain brings more cold,\" says the saying. In autumn, temperatures are variable, with sudden changes between hot and cold, especially during the early morning and evening hours. Moreover, since children are active, they are prone to catching colds. Seeing their baby unwell, parents feel even more distressed than if they were sick themselves. Here is a massage technique for reducing fever and relieving coughs, in the hope of helping more children and parents. Let me state this first: the fastest way to deal with a fever is to go to the hospital, especially in cases of high fevers. However, if conditions do not permit it, especially in situations with a lack of medical resources, it is undoubtedly useful to know how to activate the body’s mechanisms for reducing fever and relieving coughs; it can serve as an emergency solution. The main axis of this channel is actually the midline of our forearm. Traditional Chinese medicine has methods for reducing fever and relieving cough, such as \"clearing the Tianhe River energy, calming the six internal organs, and clearing the lung meridian.\" I. Common cold (37.5°C–39°C) 1) Soothe the liver for 10 minutes, by pushing from the base of the child’s index finger to the tip. Calming the liver can disperse external pathogenic factors. According to traditional Chinese medicine, a cold is caused by wind-cold or wind-heat pathogens invading the skin on the body’s surface. By massaging certain acupoints, it is possible to expel these invading wind-cold and wind-heat pathogens from the body, thereby curing the illness. 2) Clear the lungs for 10 minutes, pushing from the base of the child’s ring finger to the tip. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the lungs are connected to the skin and hair; when external pathogens invade the skin, the lungs are affected and heat accumulates there. By using methods to clear the lungs, this heat can be removed, preventing colds and coughs, and it also helps the skin to eliminate harmful pathogens. 3) Push the Tianhe River water for 15 minutes. By pushing from the wrist crease in children to the elbow crease in a uniform motion, the method of pushing the Tianhe River energy can help reduce fever; fever symptoms caused by common colds can be alleviated using this technique. 4) Pinch the knuckles 2–3 times. Pinching the knuckles of the fingers can be used to treat colds and flu, as well as to regulate qi and blood. With these simple four steps, as long as the mother identifies the correct acupoints and persists in applying the treatment for the required time, it will definitely be effective; in many cases, the body temperature of children with high fevers can drop within just a few dozen minutes. II. Colds with high fever (39°C–40°C): 1) Soothe the liver and clear the lungs for 5 minutes each. Calming the liver to disperse external pathogens. Clearing the lungs helps to eliminate lung heat and relieve exterior symptoms. 2) Push the six fu organs for 15 minutes. The six fu organs are considered cool acupoints; pushing on them helps to reduce high fevers, and their heat-clearing effect is stronger than that of pushing the Tianhe River point. 3) Pinch the knuckles 2–3 times. Pinching the knuckles of the fingers can regulate qi and blood, resist pathogenic factors, and promote rapid recovery. 4) For those with severe nasal cold, massage Yangchi for 10 minutes. The Yangchi acupoint can treat all diseases of the head, including nasal congestion, and it can be used for headaches of any type, whether they are caused by cold, heat, deficiency, or excess. 5) For those with severe coughing, add Bagua for 10 minutes. Bagua is used to treat cough, phlegm, wheezing, chest tightness, and food stagnation caused by poor flow of qi in the chest and abdomen. III. Cold with food stagnation (cases of cold combined with stagnation of milk and food, characterized by vomiting, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and borborygmus). 1) Soothe the liver and clear the lungs for 15 minutes: Clearing the lungs helps to eliminate lung heat and relieve exterior symptoms, while soothing the liver helps to disperse external pathogenic factors. 2) Push the Tianhe River point for 10 minutes. Pushing the Tianhe River meridian can reduce fever; it is one of the commonly used acupoints for fever caused by colds. 3) Cleanse the spleen for 10 minutes. The Qingpi acupoint can eliminate stagnation, relieve fullness, and address internal issues caused by indigestion. 4) Clear the stomach for 10 minutes, used for those with vomiting and abdominal distension. Clearing the stomach can address issues such as abdominal distension, pain caused by food stagnation, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite; it also helps to eliminate excess food from the body. 5) Move the Bagua for 10 minutes. Practicing the Eight Trigrams can strengthen the middle qi (the qi of the spleen and stomach), improve digestion, and relieve fullness and stagnation. IV. Colds with alternating chills and fever, or a mixture of chills and fever: 1) Acupressure on yin and yang points for 10 minutes. Dividing into yin and yang, as the name implies, enables the separation of cold and heat, and addresses the typical condition of alternating cold and heat symptoms. 2) Push the fourth horizontal line for 10 minutes. It regulates the cold and heat in the internal organs, harmonizes qi and blood, and moves back and forth. 3) Knead the Waigao Gong acupoint for 15 minutes. Relieve cold, treat cold conditions. 4) Soothing the liver and clearing the lungs for 15 minutes. Calms the liver and dispels external pathogens. Clear the lungs and eliminate heat pathogens; 5) Perform Tianhe River massage for 10 minutes. Pushing the Tianhe River meridian can reduce fever; it is one of the commonly used acupoints for fever caused by colds. Note: In infants and toddlers aged 6 months to 2 years, a high fever exceeding 40°C may cause seizures; parents must take their children to a doctor as soon as possible!