Bronchitis is an infection of the main airways of the lungs (bronchi), causing them to become irritated and inflamed and it can be described as being either acute or chronic.

Bronchitis can certainly be treated with Chinese Medicine, usually with success. Different treatments will be applied according to whether the bronchitis is acute of chronic.

In Chinese Medicine, if acute, bronchitis is normally due to external reasons such as Wind, Cold or Heat invasion. Chronic bronchitis, which is what most people suffer from in Britain, is attributed to internal problems: deficiency of the Spleen or Lungs, or internal Phlegm.

Where Western medicine waits for the attack to occur and then treats it, the aim of a Chinese Medicine practitioner is to prevent the onset of an attack. Sufferers who dread winter because it will inevitably herald the onset of the disease should begin treatment in late summer or early autumn. They should then have fewer or less serious attacks of bronchitis. Treatment with Chinese Medicine can sometimes prevent attacks entirely.

Treating Bronchitis with TCM

A Chinese Medicine practitioner examining a patient in the summer would assess the severity of the condition, even in the absence of the illness, by means of the tongue, the pulse and the breathing.

He or she will then concentrate on improving Lung-Qi, using herbs such as Che Qian Zi (Semen Plantaginis), Chuan Bei Mu (Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae), Jie Geng (Radix Platycodi), Jin Yin Hua (Flos Lonicerae), Huang Qin (Radix Scutellariae), Mai Men Dong (Radix Ophiopogonis) or Zhi Zi (Fructus Gardeniae).

Acupuncture will often be included as part of any Chinese medicine treatment strategy.

If you wish to enquire about treatment or purchasing Chinese Herbal Medicines to help this condition please email us at info@asante-academy.com