There is no comparable word in the Chinese language for this ailment. Generally known elsewhere as 'The English Ailment' since it is so commonplace in a climate such as England. In China it would merely be called 'Coughing', but it can certainly be treated, usually with success using both acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM).
Treatment is decided depending on whether the condition is acute or chronic. If acute, it is normally due to external reasons, such as invasion of either wind, cold, damp or heat. Chronic Bronchitis, which is what most people suffer from in England, is attributed to internal reasons. They are: deficiency of the spleen, deficiency of the lung. Both syndromes of which are complicated by production of internal phlegm or sputum. Western medicine waits for the attack to come, and then treats it symptomatically. The aim of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is to stop an attack from happening, acting prophylactically.
Sufferers of Bronchitis dread the winter because it will inevitably withhold an onset of the disease. Ideally, treatment should usually begin in the late summer or autumn. Should this be the case, sufferers will have fewer attacks, or at least, these attacks will be less serious. In some cases they can be prevented completely. Ideally an examination of the patient in the summertime would be able to detect the severity of the condition even when the illness is not manifest or present at the time. This is done through examination of the tongue, the pulse and the patient's breathing. The treatment would be designed to improve the energy of the lung, using herbs such as Plantain Seed, Fruitilaria Bulb, Balloon Flower Root, Honeysuckle Flowers, Skull Cap Root, Lily Turf Root, Mulberry Leaf, Gardinia Flower or Lily Bulb are such examples of herbs that would be used.
Acupuncture treatment would be designed to use points on the lung meridian that strengthen the functioning of the lungs in their descending and dispersing of che in the body and the resolving of phlegm which in TCM is always said to be produced by the spleen in the digestive system and then transported to be stored in the lungs. Mild exercise, such as Yoga, Chegong, Tai chi, and even circuit training would be part of a treatment to strengthen the functioning of the lungs, and this course of treatment, if followed quickly can help rectify this most debilitating ailment.
David's are the only exercises I've ever been able to stick to. Rachel Weisz
