Chronic bronchitis is a chronic inflammation of the tracheal and bronchial mucosa and the surrounding tissues. Clinically, it is characterized mainly by coughing and expectoration, with symptoms persisting for 3 months each year for two consecutive years or more, excluding other diseases with symptoms of cough, expectoration, and wheezing. Chronic bronchitis falls within the category of "asthma syndrome" in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The pathogenesis of asthma syndrome is primarily related to the lung and kidney, involving the liver and spleen. There is a distinction between excess and deficiency in asthma syndrome. Excess asthma is in the lung, caused by external pathogens, phlegm turbidity, and liver stagnation with reversed flow of qi, leading to obstruction of lung qi and impaired ascending and descending. Deficiency asthma lies in the lung and kidney, due to insufficient yang qi, consumption of yin fluid, resulting in abnormal lung and kidney function, with qi deficiency being the main issue.
Cold and Wind Obstruction Type: Wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing, profuse thin and white sputum, accompanied by headache, nasal congestion, absence of sweating, aversion to cold, or with fever, and no thirst; the tongue coating is thin and white, and the pulse is floating and tight.
Wind-Heat Attacking the Lungs Type: Wheezing with chest tightness or pain, coarse breathing with flaring nostrils, coughing that is not relieved, expectoration of thick and sticky sputum, accompanied by chills and fever, restlessness and body aches, with or without sweating; the tongue edges are red, the coating is thin and white, and the pulse is floating and rapid or slippery.
Phlegm-Obstruction of the Lungs Type: Wheezing with a feeling of chest fullness and stuffiness, so severe that it is difficult to lie flat, coughing up thin and white phlegm that is hard to expel, accompanied by nausea, poor appetite, and a sticky mouth without thirst; the tongue coating is white and greasy, and the pulse is slippery and moist.
Lung Qi Stagnation Type: Triggered by emotional stress, the onset is sudden, with shortness of breath, coarse breathing, and a feeling of breathlessness, chest tightness and pain, a sensation of blockage in the throat, coughing with indistinct wheezing, and returning to normal after wheezing, often accompanied by insomnia, palpitations, and depression due to worry in daily life; the tongue coating is thin, and the pulse is taut.
Lung Qi Deficiency Type: Shortness of breath with wheezing, low and weak voice, snoring in the throat, weak coughing, expectoration of thin and watery phlegm, spontaneous sweating and susceptibility to wind, and very prone to catching colds; the tongue is pale red, and the pulse is weak.
Kidney Qi Deficiency Type: Prolonged wheezing with short breaths, more exhalation than inhalation, severe wheezing with movement, inability to catch the breath, and frequent urinary incontinence due to severe coughing, or dribbling after urination, emaciation, fatigue, pale face, and cold limbs; the tongue is pale, the coating is thin, and the pulse is faint and fine or deep and weak.
It is recommended to perform moxibustion once a day, targeting 2 to 3 acupoints each time, with each acupoint being treated for 30 to 40 minutes. Rotate the points treated, with a 10-day period constituting one course of treatment, and then rest for 2 to 3 days before continuing with the next course. (If time permits and there is a need, more acupoints can be treated with moxibustion. The specific duration should be adjusted according to one's own physical needs.)
1. Moxibustion therapy for chronic bronchitis, especially during the remission period, has good effects. 2. Actively exercise regularly to strengthen the physique and enhance the ability to resist diseases. 3. External application method: Select the lung shu, dazhui, dingchuan, shanzhong, zhongfu, spleen shu, kidney shu, gaohuang, and tiantu acupoints, and use equal parts of white mustard seed, kansui, cinnamon, pinellia ternata, and xianlingpi. Use 0.2 parts of asarum, grind into powder, mix with ginger juice to form a paste, and apply during the "Dog Days" of summer. Suitable for the remission period, it can prevent relapses and reduce the frequency of attacks. 4. Severe asthma is an emergency and critical condition, not suitable for moxibustion treatment alone, and should be urgently sent to the emergency department for comprehensive treatment.