🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Asthma
This condition is a pulmonary disorder characterized by episodic wheezing, shortness of breath, and prolonged expiration. It has a higher incidence in spring and autumn, tends to recur frequently, often triggered by sudden weather changes, mainly occurring at night and in the morning, and is often difficult to cure. The longer the duration, the greater the impact on the patient's body. Commonly used folk remedies and proven formulas include:
[Prescription One]
Half a luohan fruit, 2–3 persimmon cakes, a little rock sugar. Wash luohan fruit, boil with persimmon cakes using two and a half bowls of water until reduced to one and a half bowls. Add a little rock sugar for flavor, strain. Divide and drink three times daily.
This prescription clears heat, eliminates phlegm-fire, and stops cough and dyspnea.
[Prescription Two]
Pinellia tuber, raw gypsum, aged tangerine peel 30g, apricot kernel 20g, Qianhu 15g, raw licorice 10g, six pears, 100g winter melon strips, 150g rock sugar, a little alum. First, decoct gypsum, apricot kernel, Qianhu, and licorice to obtain a small bowl of juice. Cut winter melon into soybean-sized pieces, crush Pinellia, grind aged tangerine peel into powder, peel and mash pears, mix with alum water, add winter melon pieces, rock sugar, Pinellia, aged tangerine powder, pour in the decoction, mix well in a large bowl. Steam over water for about 50 minutes until thick and pasty. Divide and consume in portions.
This prescription clears heat, stops cough, and relieves dyspnea, suitable for heat-type asthma.
[Prescription Three]
100g earthworms, 150g white mulberry bark. Stir-fry earthworms until charred yellow, grind into powder. Take 5g per dose, twice daily. Avoid spicy food.
This prescription is suitable for asthma with yellow, sticky phlegm.
[Prescription Four]
15g mint, 10g aged tangerine peel, 10g perilla. Boil together and drink, twice daily.
This prescription is suitable for cough and dyspnea caused by external wind-cold.
[Prescription Five]
Apricot kernel, Inula flower, winter flowering fritillary each 10g, 50g glutinous rice.
Boil the first three ingredients, strain, add rice to cook porridge. Consume on an empty stomach.
[Prescription Six]
30g dry ginger, 15g light soybean paste, 250g maltose, a little vegetable oil. Place dry ginger and light soybean paste in a pot, add sufficient water, simmer gently, extract juice every 30 minutes, collect two batches, combine and simmer until thick. Add maltose and stir until uniform, continue cooking until syrup forms threads when lifted. Pour into a greased enamel tray, spread flat. Cool slightly, cut into small pieces. Take three pieces per dose, three times daily.
This prescription is suitable for lung cold cough and dyspnea.
[Prescription Seven]
Several quantities of Zanthoxylum fruit. Grind into powder, fill into capsules, take 3g per dose, three times daily.
This prescription removes phlegm and relieves dyspnea, suitable for asthma.
[Prescription Eight]
Processed ephedra 9g, Uncaria hook 15g, Desmodium seed 9g, Prunus mume 6g, Cicada shell 9g, Pyrrosia 30g, licorice 3–15g. Decoct and take orally, twice daily.
This prescription is from Dr. Zhu Xiufeng of Jiangsu Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, suitable for asthma.
[Prescription Nine]
100g glutinous rice, a little rock sugar.
Wash glutinous rice, steam into rice, or steam in a steamer. Melt rock sugar, pour over rice. Consume warm at lunch daily, do not overeat.
This prescription is suitable for acute dyspnea due to lung Qi deficiency.
[Prescription Ten]
150g water-soaked ginkgo nuts, 100g rock sugar, 25g starch. Crack ginkgo nuts, place in a pot with water and a little alkali. Boil, scrub skin with a bamboo brush, remove inner core, place in a bowl with water, steam until tender. Remove, add rock sugar and ginkgo nuts to a pot with 250g water, bring to a boil, skim off foam, thicken with starch, pour into a plate. Eat alone or with meals.
This prescription is suitable for dyspnea due to lung Qi deficiency.
[Prescription Eleven]
1000g radish, 10g each of Pinellia, Poria, aged tangerine peel, Atractylodes macrocephala, rock sugar as needed. Wash radish, grate into fine strands, combine with four herbs, add water, decoct for half an hour, filter out juice. Simmer on low heat until thick, add rock sugar, cook until paste-like. Cool, take 1–2 spoons daily, three times, dissolve in boiling water.
This prescription is suitable for middle-jiao phlegm-dampness, poor appetite, cough, and dyspnea.
[Prescription Twelve]
30g coix seed, 10g apricot kernel, a little rock sugar. Cook coix seed into porridge, when half-cooked, add apricot kernel, simmer gently until cooked, add rock sugar, consume in the morning and evening.
This prescription is suitable for dyspnea with abundant phlegm and cough.
[Prescription Thirteen]
500g walnut meat, 0.5g ginger powder, 120g rock sugar, 1000g refined vegetable oil (actual consumption 100g), 100g sweet bean sauce, 25g alkali. Soak walnut meat in alkali water for half an hour, rinse thoroughly, drain, place in a wok with oil heated to seven-tenths, stir continuously until golden yellow and floating. Leave 25g oil in the wok, add 70g rock sugar until dissolved, add sweet bean sauce and ginger powder, stir, add 200g water, mix well, pour in walnut meat, stir briefly, remove from heat, continue stirring until cooled. Add refined oil, stir until the sauce coats the walnuts. Eat as a side dish or snack.
This prescription tonifies the kidneys and consolidates Qi, suitable for long-standing dyspnea and chronic cough.
[Prescription Fourteen]
100g glutinous rice, 20g lingzhi, 20g walnut meat, 2g refined salt. Wash lingzhi, cut into three pieces, wash rice, soak walnut meat in boiling water for 10 minutes, remove outer skin. Place a sandpot on fire, add 1000ml water, put in rice, lingzhi, walnut meat, bring to a boil, simmer until rice is soft and creamy, add refined salt for seasoning.
This prescription is suitable for cough and dyspnea due to lung and kidney deficiency.
[Prescription Fifteen]
150g cuttlefish bone (sea bladder nitrate), a little rock sugar. Dry cuttlefish bone, scrape into powder. Take 15g per dose, mix with rock sugar, consume once in the morning and once at night.
This prescription is suitable for asthma and shortness of breath.
[Prescription Sixteen]
One carp, 200g glutinous rice. Remove scales, wrap in paper, roast until cooked, remove bones, grind into powder, mix with glutinous rice to cook porridge. Consume on an empty stomach.
This prescription is suitable for cough and dyspnea.
[Prescription Seventeen]
Processed ephedra, apricot kernel each 10g, aged tangerine peel 12g, Pinellia 10g, Poria 15g, stir-fried perilla seed, stir-fried radish seed each 10g, white mustard seed, tea, chebulic myrobalan each 6g, licorice 5g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily. For severe cases, take 1.5 doses daily, three times.
This prescription is a famous veteran TCM physician Jiao Shude's experience formula for asthma, suitable for asthma due to combined lung and spleen deficiency.
[Prescription Eighteen]
Ephedra, cinnamon twig, Pinellia each 9g, fine cinnamon 6g, Schisandra berry 9g, dry ginger 6g, white peony 9g, licorice 6g, raw gypsum 30g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription is suitable for dyspnea preventing lying down.
[Prescription Nineteen]
Throat-clearing root, ephedra, Pinellia, purple perilla each 9g, fine cinnamon 3g, ginger 9g.
Decoct and take orally, one dose per day, divided into two servings.
This prescription disperses cold and relieves dyspnea, suitable for loud wheezing in the throat, but mild cough and phlegm that is hard to expel.
[Prescription Twenty]
Honeyed ephedra 6g, bitter apricot kernel 9g, processed licorice 3g, perilla seed 10g, white mustard seed, desmodium seed (wrapped), honeyed winter flowering fritillary each 6g, honeyed aged tangerine peel 5g, Poria 10g, clear Pinellia 6g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription is called "Cough-Stopping and Breath-Calming Decoction," formulated by renowned TCM physician Yu Shenchu, suitable for wind-cold asthma.
[Prescription Twenty-One]
Cooked Rehmannia 30g, Epimedium 20g, Angelica 10g, ephedra 6g, magnetite 30g, cinnamon 3g, white mustard seed 6g, deer antler slice 20g, Schisandra berry 4g, peach kernel 10g, soap pod 3g. One dose daily, decoct and divide into two warm servings.
This prescription is known as Yanghe Pingchuan Tang, formulated by Dr. Hu Qiaowu, chief physician.
[Prescription Twenty-Two]
(1) Cough-Dyspnea Decoction: Winter melon seed, reed stem each 15g, apricot kernel 10g, processed ephedra 9g, licorice 6g, Qianhu, common foxglove, Zhebei each 10g, Trichosanthes 15g, processed loquat leaf 10g, honeysuckle 12g, dandelion 15g.
(2) Cough-Dyspnea Paste: Fine cinnamon 3g, white mustard seed 5g, ephedra 9g, apricot kernel 10g, musk 5g, bear bile star 6g, Pinellia, white front each 10g, ginkgo nut 9g, honeysuckle 12g, honeysuckle 10g, curcuma 12g, purple perilla, perilla seed, Schisandra berry each 10g. Grind into fine powder, mix with ginger juice to form a soft paste. Apply to the three pairs of acupoints: Lung Yu, Heart Yu, Di Yu. Apply once daily, each application lasting 8–10 hours.
Decoct the cough-dyspnea drink, one dose daily. Combine first and second decoctions to yield 300ml of medicine. Divide into three portions, warm and consume twice or three times daily. Application method for cough-dyspnea paste as described above.
This prescription is a famous TCM practitioner Chen Dingqi's proven formula. Function: opens lungs, clears heat, stops cough, transforms phlegm, relieves dyspnea. Clinically used to treat: cough, such as acute bronchitis, bronchitis, chronic bronchitis. Excessive phlegm, white thin or sticky yellow phlegm, indicating lung infection. Asthma, such as bronchial asthma, asthmatic bronchitis. Bronchiectasis, including hemoptysis. Pulmonary carbuncle, i.e., lung abscess. Pulmonary fistula, chronic cough and dyspnea due to lung Qi not diffusing, affecting the kidneys, leading to kidney failure to consolidate Qi. Emphysema, early-stage cor pulmonale, and other cough-dyspnea conditions.
If fever and yellow phlegm, add Houttuynia cordata 30g, Scutellaria root 10g, Isatis leaf 15g, honeysuckle 10g, bear bile star 6g. If thirsty and sticky phlegm, indicating yin deficiency, add Polygonatum 15g, Trichosanthes root 15g, Tianmen Dong and Mai Men Dong each 10g. If severe dyspnea, add powdered musk 3g (taken separately), ginkgo nut 9g, perilla seed, radish seed, Schisandra berry each 10g. If sore throat and red swelling, add Throat-clearing root, bellflower, Scutellaria root each 10g, Isatis root 15g, Sophora root 9g. If aversion to cold, worsening cough and dyspnea with cold phlegm, add fine cinnamon 3g, cinnamon twig 9g, dry ginger 6g, ginger Pinellia 10g. If hemoptysis or blood streaks in phlegm, add Curcuma 15g, reed root 15g, raw side柏 15g, Sanqi powder 3g (taken separately).
[Prescription Twenty-Three]
Perilla seed, earthworm, Qianhu each 15g, ephedra 5g, Ligusticum 15g, Throat-clearing root, Scutellaria root each 10g, Sophora root 5g, white sophora root, Liujiwu each 10g. Two doses per day. Decoct twice, total liquid about 300ml (for 5-year-old child), divide into six portions, warm and take three times daily, 50ml per dose.
This prescription is from renowned TCM physician Wang Lie of Liaoning. Function: stops asthma, relieves dyspnea, activates blood circulation and resolves stasis. Used for asthma.
This formula is relatively cooling, suitable for the acute phase of pediatric asthma with heat asthma. Includes pediatric asthma-related bronchitis, bronchial asthma, bronchiolitis. Symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, prominent wheezing, severe respiratory distress, dyspnea, restlessness, inability to lie down, widespread wheezing in both lungs. Red throat, red tongue, yellow coating, red urine, constipation.
For severe dyspnea, increase perilla seed and add Aristolochia; for severe wheezing, increase earthworm; for abundant phlegm, add Trichosanthes, Desmodium seed, bear bile star to clear phlegm and relieve dyspnea; for long-standing asthma with blood stasis, increase peach kernel; for dyspnea with constipation, mild cases use radish seed to descend Qi, resolve phlegm, aid digestion, and relieve constipation; moderate cases add Citrus reticulata; severe cases add Cassia leaf to purge the bowels and relieve lung dyspnea.
[Prescription Twenty-Four]
150g fresh chicken breast, 300g cleaned jellyfish head strips, half egg white, 15g scallion stalks, refined salt, monosodium glutamate, vinegar, white pepper powder, sesame oil, Sichuan pepper water, scallions, ginger, garlic, vegetable oil, water starch.
Chop chicken breast into fine strips, place in a bowl, add egg white and water starch, mix well by hand. Cut scallion and ginger into fine strips, garlic into slices. Heat vegetable oil in a wok to about 4–5 level, add chicken strips, use chopsticks to break apart, cook until done, remove. Blanch jellyfish in hot water, drain. Add a little vegetable oil to the wok, heat, fry garlic, add vinegar, add chicken stock, place chicken strips and jellyfish in, add refined salt, monosodium glutamate, Sichuan pepper water, white pepper powder, scallion strips, ginger strips, scallion stalks, boil, skim off foam, add sesame oil, serve in a bowl. Consume during main meals, once daily.
Jellyfish is salty and neutral in nature, possessing functions of clearing heat, transforming phlegm, softening hardness, eliminating accumulations, and moistening the intestines to promote bowel movements. Combined with chicken, which is sweet and warm, tonifying Qi and benefiting the center, its action lies in "promoting Qi, transforming phlegm, eliminating accumulations, aiding digestion without harming the healthy Qi, tonifying deficiency while not hindering pathogen elimination." It offers a balanced treatment effect. Can treat asthma, chronic bronchitis, hypertension, phlegm-dampness, leukorrhea, and other conditions.
<Folk Remedies for Asthma>