How does Chinese medicine treat cough?
Persistent Cough After Influenza: Traditional Chinese Medicine for Cough Relief
During the winter season, many individuals experience symptoms of influenza, such as high fever, cough, and overall weakness. Hospitals are crowded with patients, and the most common causes include influenza A and mycoplasma pneumonia. While a common cold typically resolves within a week, sometimes the cough persists for an extended period after the flu, causing significant distress for both adults and children.
How does traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) approach the treatment of post-influenza cough?
Disseminating Lung Qi to Suppress Coughing
For cases involving external wind-cold pathogens and weakened lung qi, resulting in infrequent coughing that becomes severe when exposed to stimuli like odors, pollen, or smoke, the treatment aims to dispel wind, disseminate lung qi, and suppress coughing. Herbal options may include Ephedra, Perilla Leaf, Cicada Slough, Schizonepeta, Peucedanum, Apricot Kernel, and Licorice.
Phlegm-Resolving and Cough-Suppressing Therapy
TCM posits that the spleen generates phlegm, and the lungs store it. This pattern is often seen in cases of external pathogen invasion combined with internal spleen deficiency and dampness accumulation, resulting in recurrent and intensified coughing, heavy and turbid phlegm, chest tightness, and breathlessness, especially worsening in the morning. Treatment focuses on resolving phlegm and suppressing cough, employing herbs such as Scallop,Grandiflorum,Tangerine peel,Pinellia,Magnolia officinalis,Aster,Leaf of loquat.
Lung-Nourishing and Cough-Suppressing Treatment
The Sandalwood and Ophiopogon Decoction nourishes and moisturizes the lungs, addressing coughs caused by lung dryness. The main ingredients include Radix salvia miltiorrhiza, ophiopogon japonicum, Phyllostachys japonicum, licorice, lentils, mulberry leaves, Trichosanthes, etc
Heat-Clearing and Cough-Suppressing Formula
Applicable to cases with heat-phlegm, characterized by yellow and viscous phlegm causing irritative coughing. Medicinal herbs for clearing heat and suppressing cough include Scutellaria baicalensis, houttuynia cordata, golden buckwheat, silverflower, forsythe, mulberry white skin, etc
In summary, TCM approaches cough treatment through individualized diagnosis and treatment based on specific patterns. The effectiveness is evident.
