🌿 Folk Prescriptions

After entering autumn, temperature fluctuations are significant; daytime temperatures remain high while mornings, evenings, and nights are relatively cooler, and the climate gradually becomes drier. After catching a chill, people often experience symptoms such as dry throat, nasal congestion, coughing, hoarseness, joint pain, and constipation—commonly referred to as "autumn dryness syndrome." After a fall rainstorm, temperatures drop sharply. Elderly individuals, whose organ functions are already in decline, have poor adaptability to external changes and cannot withstand sudden temperature shifts, leading to recurrence of respiratory diseases and chronic conditions. Therefore, self-care during autumn is especially important for the elderly.
First, appropriately increase physical exercise to adapt to changing temperatures and enhance disease resistance. Autumn offers ample sunlight without excessive intensity, making it ideal for outdoor activities. Elderly individuals should choose suitable outdoor exercises based on their physical condition: those in good health may opt for hiking, fishing, or outings; those with weaker constitutions can select low-intensity activities like walking outdoors, practicing tai chi, or qigong.
Timely adjust clothing according to temperature changes, especially in late autumn. Do not follow the youthful practice of "warm in spring, cold in autumn" (spring-warmth, autumn-cold), as this may invite cold pathogens and trigger respiratory illnesses or relapse of chronic diseases. Secondly, properly adjust nutrition and pay attention to dietary hygiene. In early autumn, temperatures remain high—ideal for mosquito and fly breeding and bacterial proliferation—making food prone to spoilage. Gastrointestinal infectious diseases such as dysentery and enteritis are common, and food poisoning frequently occurs. Thus, special attention must be paid to food hygiene.
Avoid consuming raw, cold foods and seafood. Elderly individuals have weaker gastrointestinal function and are sensitive to cold stimuli; even cold drinks sterilized to standard levels may cause diarrhea. Leftover food from previous meals must be thoroughly reheated before consumption, otherwise acute gastritis or food poisoning may result. In late autumn, the climate is dry, and elderly individuals often feel deficient in body fluids, manifesting as dry mouth, dry throat, and constipation. At this time, adjust your diet by increasing intake of moistening lung and nourishing fluid foods such as soy milk, tomatoes, pears, bananas, jujubes, lotus seeds, and poultry eggs. Avoid or minimize spicy foods to improve organ function and boost disease resistance.
Additionally, elderly individuals should maintain a cheerful mood. Maintain realistic self-awareness, avoid overexertion in household chores, and seek medical examination and treatment promptly if any discomfort arises.