🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Pulmonary emphysema refers to reduced elasticity, overexpansion, and increased air volume in the distal alveoli of terminal bronchioles. Its etiology is generally considered multifactorial, including infection, smoking, atmospheric pollution, long-term inhalation of occupational dust and harmful gases, and allergic factors. In mild cases, respiratory symptoms are not obvious; however, complications or severe respiratory infections may lead to respiratory failure, even threatening life. Main preventive and therapeutic measures include:
1) Dietary therapy: ① Apricot kernel porridge: 60g apricot kernels (skin and tip removed), ground into powder; 80g glutinous rice; add water and cook into porridge, divided into 2–3 servings daily, taken continuously for 20 days. Suitable for phlegm turbidity obstructing the lung. ② 2–3 pears, 60g honey; remove cores from pears, fill with honey, seal tightly, steam until cooked, consume before bedtime daily, continue for 20–30 days. Suitable for yin deficiency. ③ 15g Cordyceps sinensis, 1 whole old duck (cleaned); place Cordyceps inside duck cavity, add sufficient water, steam over water until tender, season and consume. Once or twice weekly, continue for four weeks. Suitable for lung deficiency. ④ Walnut candy: 30g walnut meat, 6g radish seed (ground into powder); first melt rock sugar, then mix with above ingredients, form into candy blocks, suck as needed throughout day. Suitable for long-standing cough with reversed qi, upper excess and lower deficiency. ⑤ 1 placenta, 30g Chinese yam, 15g Psuedostellaria, 5–8 red dates, 9g ginger, moderate wine. First wash placenta, sprinkle salt, briefly blanch in boiling water, then rinse several times with cold water, cut into chunks, add wine and ginger juice, stir-fry until thoroughly cooked, transfer to clay pot with other herbs, stew until soft, season and divide into two portions for consumption. Once or twice weekly, continue for ten sessions. Suitable for spleen and kidney deficiency.
2) Single herbal remedies: ① 250g Schisandra berries, add water and decoct for half an hour, cool down, soak 10 eggs for 10 days. Each morning, take one egg, dissolve in sugar water or warm yellow wine. Suitable for lung qi dispersion. ② 10 pieces purple-skinned walnut meat, chew slowly before sleep each night, swallow with light salt water. Suitable for kidney deficiency with impaired retention. ③ 1.5g Purple River Carthamus powder, take with hot water, twice to three times daily. Suitable for kidney essence deficiency. ④ 30g Rattan nest, 60g vinegar, decoct and take orally, one dose daily. ⑤ 120g Rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii powder, 12g dry ginger powder, 90g camphor, 300g rosin, made into ointment, apply to acupoints Zhongwan to Shangwan, Ganyu to Weiyu; for severe dyspnea, add Danzhong and Dingchuan points. Apply nightly, heat externally for 30 minutes to promote drug absorption. Generally apply for 3–5 days, change every 2–3 days. Ten applications constitute one course. If local burning or itching occurs during treatment, remove the ointment early. After symptom relief, repeat application 4–6 times annually during summer for three years to consolidate effect. ⑥ 700g Rhizome of Acorus tatarinowii, 20g Datura seeds, 250g ginger, wine and vinegar as needed. All ingredients pulverized, mixed with 1500g wheat bran, evenly moistened with equal parts wine and vinegar, stir-fried until cooked in a wok, packed into two 25×35cm cloth bags, placed on chest-abdominal area (Danzhong to Zhongwan) and back (Feishu to Weiyu). Cover with plastic film, wrap with cotton quilt for warmth. Heat-wet compress nightly for one hour. Keep warm during treatment, avoid cold exposure. After treatment, dry skin thoroughly. Thirty sessions constitute one course. ⑦ 60g Perilla seed, 60g radish seed, 30g white mustard seed, stir-fry until hot, use to warm the back, once daily.
3) Acupuncture therapy: Body acupuncture: main points include Feishu, Lieque, Qihai; for severe cough, add Dazhu, Jingshi; for severe shortness of breath, add Futu, Dingchuan, Danzhong; for excessive phlegm, add Zusanli, Fenglong, Pishu; for chills and fever, add Fengmen, Dazhui. Use balanced tonification and drainage technique, retain needles 10–20 minutes. Moxibustion: select Dazhu, Feishu, Gaochang, Futu, Danzhong, Zhongfu; use moxa stick for 10–15 minutes or moxa cone for 3–5 cones, once daily or every other day. Ear acupuncture: select Pingchuan, adrenal gland, lung, bronchus, combined with Shenmen, Jiaogan, Zhen. Retain needles 15–30 minutes, once every other day. Ten sessions constitute one course. Alternatively, insert subcutaneous needles into ear acupoints and secure with adhesive tape.
4) Qigong therapy: Practice protective lung qigong or Dao Yin breathing exercises in the morning; practice stillness qigong in the morning and noon, focus on dantian, forming abdominal breathing. Add evening session before sleep, sitting posture recommended; severe cases may combine semi-reclining position; mild cases may add standing practice. Practice 3–4 times daily, about 30–60 minutes each session. For those with cough, practice Yinyin Gong (swallowing saliva) for 3–5 minutes before exercise, and perform health-preserving exercises or massage chest and rub Yongquan point after exercise.
5) Cutting therapy: Points selected: Danzhong, Xuanji, Dingchuan, Hand Point 1 (center of the palm surface of the index finger’s first joint), Hand Point 2 (between second and third metacarpal bones, just below the junction of index and middle fingers, about 0.5 cm), Hand Point 3 (between third and fourth metacarpal bones, just below the junction of middle and ring fingers, about 0.5 cm). Procedure: After routine disinfection and local anesthesia, make a longitudinal incision on the selected site, approximately 0.5–1 cm long, penetrating deep into subcutaneous tissue. Remove a small amount of fat or subcutaneous tissue (about the size of a mung bean). For sites near bone membrane, stimulate the periosteum with a needle holder or handle to produce a sense of soreness and distension. Then implant catgut, cover with sterile gauze and bandage. Treat 1–2 points per session, rotate among different points. Typically requires 3–4 treatments, spaced 7–10 days apart.
6) Prevention and care: First, “avoid wind and evil influences timely,” because traditional Chinese medicine regards the lung as a delicate organ, intolerant to cold, heat, wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire. Six external pathogens invade the body primarily affect the lungs, disrupting their normal function and leading to pulmonary emphysema. Second, maintain a good living and working environment. If the environment is dirty and chaotic with serious air pollution, it will impair lung function.<Emphysema>