Asthma — wind-cold
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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Back-Shu of the Lung; activates lung qi
Reducing method; moxa may be added.
- ⚠ Pneumothorax
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Luo point of the Lung; with LI4, expels wind and cold
Reducing method; moxa may be added.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
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Yuan-Source of the Large Intestine; expels wind and cold with LU7
Reducing method; moxa may be added.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
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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BL13 Feishu
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⚠ Pneumothorax risk: too deep an insertion can puncture the pleura. World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Lung and pleura), p. 25; Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 1 (Pneumothorax associated with acupuncture)
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Treatment Principle
Expel wind and cold and calm the breathing, mainly through Lung channel points.
Indications
Method
Reducing method; moxibustion may be added.
⚠ 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. BL13 overlies the lung: needle obliquely and shallowly to avoid pneumothorax. LI4 is contraindicated in pregnancy.
About
The textbook's prescription for the excess type of asthma caused by wind-cold impairing the lung's descending function.
Rationale
BL13 sets lung qi moving, while LU7 and LI4 drive out wind and cold from the surface, so the lung can descend again and the breathing settles.
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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