There are several traditional ways to treat flu. Rubbing the back to take the toxins out is one of them.

Vietnamese traditional medicine has treatments for many ailments that can, in some ways, be called non-medicinal.

One way is to stuff a coin into a peeled hardboiled egg and wrap it in a piece of cloth. This pack should be used to rub the back along the spinal cord until the waistline. The action should be repeated across the whole back. The hot boiled chicken egg’s effect is said to absorb toxins from the body. After rubbing, take the coin out of the egg and check its color. If the illness was caused by cold weather, the coin will be black. It will be red if hot weather was the causal factor.

There are some other remedies that herbalist Tran Quoc Bao suggests:

Grind a medium-sized piece of ginger and wrap it with a handful of tousled hair in piece of cloth. Dip the cloth in a bowl of white rice wine and use it to rub the back. If the hair is further tangled after the rub, it confirms that the patient has a cold.

Crush three betel leaves and wrap them in a cloth that has been soaked in medicated oil. Rub the whole back along the spine to take the toxins out.

Another way to get the toxins out of the system is to apply a balm on either side of the spine. Then “claw” the back using the lid of the balm container till the skin turns red.

Pinching certain spots using the thumb and index finger is another way to get rid of toxins. The spots include the space between two eyebrows, the spots on either side of the pharynx below the jaw bone, behind the scruff of the neck, and two spots on the back of the shoulder about two to three centimeters on either side of the breastbone. Remember to wet the fingers and pinch the spot till it turns red. This will help clear the toxins and as well as congestion.

Use elbows to rub back muscles on either side of the spinal column, from top to bottom.

Effects and results

All the above-mentioned methods have a stimulating effect. They excite the Yang part of the body and clear the toxins there. In addition, they solve illnesses caused by what is known in common parlance as “poisonous wind.”

By Tran Quoc Bao