Mixed Cold and Heat hán rè cuò zá · 寒热错杂

In this framework cold and heat signs are not opposites that exclude each other - they can appear together in the same person, and often in different parts of the body.

Classical descriptions include heat above with cold below, cold in the interior with heat on the surface, and intermingled cold and heat in the middle. The reason it matters is practical: treating it as if it were simply hot, or simply cold, tends to make part of the picture worse.

What it is not: a diagnosis, and not something to sort out alone. Cold and heat here are pattern descriptions, not temperatures. Persistent or worsening symptoms belong with a clinician.