Cough — exogenous
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 Lung; with LI4, a Source–Luo pair that expels wind
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
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Yuan-Source of the Large Intestine; releases the exterior with LU7
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
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Back-Shu of the Lung; restores the lung's dispersing function
- ⚠ Pneumothorax
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He-Sea of the Lung; clears the lung and calms cough
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
Restore the lung's dispersing function and release the exterior through the Lung and Large Intestine channels.
Indications
Method
For wind-cold, needling may be combined with moxibustion; for wind-heat, needle only.
⚠ Cautions
Seek medical assessment for cough with high fever, breathlessness, chest pain, blood in the sputum, or cough lasting more than three weeks. BL13 overlies the lung: needle obliquely and shallowly to avoid pneumothorax. LI4 is contraindicated in pregnancy.
About
The textbook's single prescription for cough caused by external wind-cold or wind-heat, adjusted by adding or omitting moxibustion.
Rationale
LU7 and LI4 form a Source–Luo pairing across the Lung and Large Intestine channels that expels wind and releases the surface. BL13 gets the lung dispersing again and LU5 clears the lung and quiets the cough.
Clinical Notes
Where cough comes with fever and wheezing, the book refers to its common cold and asthma sections. It relates these coughs mainly to colds, bronchitis (acute or chronic) and pneumonia, and also mentions cupping at BL12 and BL13, tapping along the Du and Bladder channels of the upper back, and ear acupuncture.
Sources
- Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Cough, p. 345–347.
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