🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Cough is a primary symptom of respiratory diseases, broadly categorized into external and internal causes. External cough results from invasion by external pathogens; internal cough stems from organ dysfunction. Cough commonly occurs in upper respiratory infections, acute and chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, etc.
Cause and Mechanism of Cough
This condition arises from two main factors: first, external pathogens such as wind-cold or wind-heat invade through the mouth, nose, and skin. Since the lungs govern the skin and open into the nose, when the lung defense is invaded, lung qi becomes obstructed and fails to descend normally. Second, diseases in other organs affect the lungs, causing cough. For instance, spleen deficiency leads to dampness accumulation, forming phlegm that ascends to the lungs, impairing lung descent; or liver qi stagnation transforms into fire, which scorches the lungs, disrupting their clarity and descending function, both leading to cough.
TCM Syndrome Differentiation
1. External Pathogenic Factors
(1) Wind-Heat: Cough with yellow phlegm, fever, headache, floating rapid pulse, thin yellow tongue coating.
(2) Wind-Cold: Itchy throat, thin white phlegm, headache, chills without sweating, floating tight pulse, thin white tongue coating.
2. Internal Pathogenic Factors
(1) Phlegm-Damp Invading the Lungs: Sticky phlegm, chest and epigastric fullness, reduced appetite, greasy white tongue coating, slippery pulse.
(2) Liver Fire Scorches the Lungs: Cough with chest and flank pain, reversed cough, little thick phlegm, red face, dry throat, yellow dry tongue coating, string-like rapid pulse.
Treatment Methods
1. Acupuncture
(1) External Pathogenic Factors:
Treatment Principle: Select points from the Hand Taiyin and Hand Yangming meridians. Use shallow insertion with draining method. For wind-heat, quick needling; for wind-cold, retain needles or apply cupping on Lung俞 (BL13) and other back points after needling.
Prescription: LU13 (Lung Yu), LI7 (Lieque), LI4 (Hegu)
Supplementary Points: Sore throat: LU11 (Shaoshang), LU5 (Chi Ze); Fever: GV14 (Dazhui), SJ5 (Wai Guan)
Explanation: The lungs govern the skin and regulate the body surface, so shallow needling is appropriate. The Hand Taiyin and Hand Yangming are paired meridians. Selecting Luo point Lieque and Yuan point Hegu, combined with Lung Yu, enhances the ability to ventilate the lungs and dispel exterior pathogens, restoring lung function. For wind-heat-induced sore throat, puncturing Shaoshang to bleed and draining Chi Ze clears lung heat, reducing swelling and relieving throat discomfort. For fever, using Dazhui and Wai Guan with draining method disperses heat externally, allowing the body to recover naturally.
(2) Internal Pathogenic Factors:
① Phlegm-Damp Invading the Lungs:
Treatment Principle: Focus on points from the Hand and Foot Taiyin meridians. Use balanced tonifying and draining method or add moxibustion.
Prescription: BL13 (Lung Yu), LU9 (Taiyuan), SP13 (Zhangmen), SP3 (Taibai), ST40 (Fenglong)
Explanation: Yuan points represent the true energy of the zang-fu organs. Selecting Lung Yuan Taiyuan and Spleen Yuan Taibai, combined with Lung Yu and Zhangmen, strengthens the spleen to benefit the lungs. Since the spleen is the source of phlegm production, treating both spleen and lung constitutes a simultaneous treatment of root and branch. Fenglong, a Luo point of the Stomach Meridian, promotes Qi flow in the middle burner, enabling fluid distribution and phlegm-damp transformation.
② Liver Fire Scorches the Lungs:
Treatment Principle: Focus on points from the Hand Taiyin and Foot Jueyin meridians. Drain the Foot Jueyin points, use balanced tonifying and draining on Hand Taiyin points, and avoid moxibustion.
Prescription: BL13 (Lung Yu), LU5 (Chi Ze), GB34 (Yanglingquan), LR3 (Taichong)
Explanation: Lung Yu regulates lung Qi; Chi Ze, the He point of the Lung Meridian, is drained to clear lung heat. Yanglingquan and Taichong clear heat from the gallbladder and liver meridians, preventing lung yin from being scorched.
2. Water Acupuncture
Select Points: Dingchuan (EX-B1), Dazhu (BL11), Fengmen (BL12), Lung Yu (BL13)
Method: Use vitamin B1 injection (100 mg) or placenta injection. Inject 0.5 ml into a pair of points, starting from the top and progressing downward, rotating points every other day. A course consists of 20 sessions. This method is suitable for chronic bronchitis.
3. Moxibustion
Select Points: GV14 (Dazhui), BL13 (Lung Yu) or BL12 (Fengmen), GV12 (Gao Huang)
Method: Use grain-sized moxa, once every 3–5 days, with five sessions constituting a course. Alternatively, use moxa stick moxibustion, once daily, lasting 5–10 minutes per session, until the skin turns red. Can be combined with acupuncture. This method suits chronic bronchitis.