Asthma — phlegm-heat
StarEssentials of Chinese Acupuncture (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980) — the standard prescriptions of the Chinese colleges.
Points
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Luo point of the Stomach; distal point that resolves phlegm
Reducing method.
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Conception Vessel point at the suprasternal notch; local point that calms breathing
Reducing method.
- ⚠ Pneumothorax
- ⚠ Airway
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He-Sea of the Lung; clears lung heat to ease wheezing
Reducing method.
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Extra point beside C7 ('stop wheezing'); specific point for asthma
Reducing method.
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
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CV22 Tiantu
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⚠ Pneumothorax has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 1 (Pneumothorax associated with acupuncture)
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⚠ In front of the trachea: risk of airway injury. World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Other points), p. 25
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No cited needling data yet for EX-B1. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Resolve phlegm and calm the breathing, mainly through Stomach channel points.
Indications
Method
Reducing method.
⚠ Cautions
An asthma attack with inability to speak in sentences, cyanosis, exhaustion or a silent chest is a medical emergency; acupuncture must not replace the patient's prescribed inhalers or delay emergency care. CV22 lies over the trachea, with the aortic arch and great vessels behind the sternum: insert shallowly then angle down behind the sternum only with training, never deeply or laterally. Fever with purulent sputum may be pneumonia and needs medical assessment.
About
The textbook's prescription for the excess type of asthma caused by phlegm-heat disturbing the lung.
Rationale
ST40, a distal point, and CV22, a local one, work together to settle the breathing and dissolve phlegm. LU5, the He-Sea of the Lung, clears heat from the lung to calm the wheeze, and Dingchuan is the extra point named for stopping asthma.
Clinical Notes
The book's asthma includes bronchial asthma, asthmatic bronchitis and the breathlessness of other diseases, and advises other measures besides acupuncture for symptomatic dyspnoea. It also gives an ear-acupuncture option during attacks.
Sources
- Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Asthma, p. 347–348.
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