Ayurveda for chronic cough and colds in San Ramon

A cough that lingers for weeks after a cold, a child who catches every bug that goes around, or a run of colds that never quite lets you recover: Preeti Gupta lists acute and chronic coughs and chronic colds among the concerns she works with at Minute Wonder Ayurveda in San Ramon, in adults and in kids.

Preeti does not diagnose pathological conditions from a Western perspective, so her work sits alongside the care of your physician and never replaces it.

What Ayurveda looks at

Ayurveda often reads a damp, rattling cough as kapha and a dry, tickly one as vata, and asks why the body keeps catching things. Preeti looks at:

• The kind of cough: wet or dry, morning or night, with or without a sore throat.

• Warmth, rest and food during and after illness, including how soon you return to a full schedule.

• Digestion, because Ayurveda connects a weak gut with recurring congestion.

What a First Visit covers

A First Visit is 90 minutes ($250). Preeti reviews your daily routine, diet, digestion, exercise and sleep, using a health history, pulse analysis and tongue diagnosis. For chronic cough and colds, expect time on:

• How often you or your child fall ill, how long each bout lasts, and what usually follows.

• Antibiotics, inhalers and other medicines used, plus any allergies.

• Warm, simple foods and a routine for recovery, planned around your health history.

You leave with a written diet, herbal and lifestyle plan. Follow-ups are $125 for 60 minutes. See pricing.

What you can start this week

Two warm dishes from her recipe pages:

• Cumin, coriander and fennel (CCF) tea. A warm spice tea, simmered for 5 to 7 minutes. Check first if you are pregnant or nursing.

• Vegetable soup. Her page calls vegetable soup sattvic and nourishing. Make it with seasonal vegetables and ginger.

See your physician first if

• Trouble breathing, blue lips, wheezing, or a child breathing fast or working hard to breathe. Call 911.

• A cough lasting more than three weeks, coughing up blood, or fever with chest pain.

• Ear pain or fever in a baby or young child. See your pediatrician.

Common questions about chronic cough and colds

Do you see children?

Preeti's About page lists coughs, chronic colds and ear infections among the concerns she works with in adults and kids. Ask about your child on the free 15-minute call.

Should I avoid dairy?

Her takra page cautions that buttermilk may aggravate a severe cold, cough or respiratory distress, so skip it then. Preeti reviews dairy with you individually.

When is a cough serious?

A cough that lasts weeks, brings up blood, or comes with breathlessness or chest pain needs a physician, not a wait-and-see approach.

Ayurveda is a traditional system of wellness and is not a substitute for medical care. Content here is educational. Please consult your physician about any medical condition. Preeti Gupta is not licensed by the State of California as a healing arts practitioner; Ayurvedic services are complementary to the care of licensed providers.