Three Case Studies of Treating Asthma with Chinese Medicine

The three cases of treating asthma with Chinese medicine presented here were selected from among the asthmatic patients I have treated as several representative types of asthma. I place them together to illustrate some points worth noting when treating asthma. Because I myself was once an asthmatic, who later—through years of effort combining Chinese-medicine treatment and physical exercise—completely cured my asthma, I have studied asthma a great deal over the years, second only to my study of cancer. I have learned a little, and now I share it with my fellow patients.

The treatment of asthma must be individualized, and judged in light of how long the patient has been ill, the patient's actual age, and whatever treatments the patient has already received.

Younger patients generally have a good chance of being cured. In children with asthma, once the symptoms have been relieved, if the parents look after the child well, the illness often resolves on its own as the child's body develops; there is no need for undue worry. Young adult patients are also relatively easy to cure completely. For older patients, a complete cure is harder; then one should aim to control the condition and keep the patient in reasonably good shape. If the treatment is continued for two or three years, followed by taking some preventive medicine each year, there is also hope that the patient will never again suffer from asthma.

Because most asthmatic patients have used hormones over the long term and are in poor condition, some patients who have been ill a long time should be treated by supporting the righteous qi as the main approach and dispelling evil qi as secondary, with a somewhat longer course of treatment. To rush results and use harsh formulas such as Xiao Qinglong Tang (Minor Bluegreen Dragon Decoction) or Leng Xiao Wan (Cold-Wheezing Pill) may control the condition temporarily, but in an utterly exhausted body, overusing sweating or purging methods will surely bring the disaster of "making the deficient more deficient," and one is unlikely to obtain lasting results.

The three cases follow:

Case One:

Sun, a 4-year-old boy, a pediatric asthma patient, with incessant coughing and wheezing and occasional wheezing rales. The pulse was rapid and the tongue dry. Treatment at several Chinese and Western hospitals in Beijing had failed. In 2014, his parents brought the boy to me. Based on his condition, I decided to give Mahuang Xingren Gancao Shigao Tang (Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Licorice, and Gypsum Decoction), with the following prescription:

Zhi Mahuang (honey-fried Ephedrae Herba) 3 g, Zhi Gancao (honey-fried Glycyrrhizae Radix) 3 g, Xingren (Armeniacae Semen) 6 g, Sheng Shigao (raw Gypsum Fibrosum) 18 g [decoct first]

After taking this formula, the child's coughing and wheezing improved greatly. I told him that since the formula was effective it should not be changed, and he continued it for a while, after which he was basically cured. When it recurred during summer vacation, I told him to take a decoction of single Bai Maogen (Imperatae Rhizoma) as a tea substitute, which worked very well.

Incidentally, later another child—a girl—whose mother also sought me out for her coughing and wheezing. Because the distance was too great for her to come in person, I advised online, based on the child's condition, that she take Mahuang Xingren Gancao Shigao Tang; she recovered after three doses.

Case Two:

Liu, a 3-year-old boy, with pediatric asthma. During attacks he coughed and wheezed, his face flushed bright red, and he had chronic constipation, poor appetite, and a fine pulse.

Given the child's age and that he would not cooperate well with taking bitter decoctions, I decided to treat him with Ginger-Honey Drink: fresh ginger juice mixed with honey in a 1:1 ratio. He took one tablespoonful at a time for two consecutive months, and was unexpectedly cured. He is now six years old and has not had a recurrence.

Case Three:

Liu, female, nearly fifty, my teacher's wife. She had suffered from asthma for many years; for a period it flared two or three times a year, and each flare required emergency treatment at a Grade-3A hospital in the provincial capital. Long-term hormone use had badly damaged her stomach qi, and she belched loudly with long-drawn belching. It recurred before the Qingming Festival of 2016; as I happened to be returning home for the grave-sweeping festival, I examined and treated her.

On examination, the right pulse was string-like, the left pulse deep, fine, and rapid. The whole tongue was dark purple with little coating and much fluid. Her palms were warm; after sweating her skin itched and she felt weak; climbing stairs left her breathless; at night she could not sleep and could not lie flat. There were wheezing rales in the throat. She had been using Seretide without effect.

I considered that treatment should focus on supplementation and should be a longer course, rather than pursuing short-term results—otherwise haste would defeat the goal. I decided on an approach centered on fortifying the spleen and nourishing the kidneys, while also dispelling evil. The prescription:

Sheng Huangqi (raw Astragali Radix) 15 g, Renshen (Ginseng Radix) 6 g, Baizhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma) 10 g, Fuling (Poria) 10 g, Zhi Gancao (honey-fried Glycyrrhizae Radix) 6 g, Maidong (Ophiopogonis Radix) 6 g, Wuweizi (Schisandrae Fructus) 3 g, Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix) 10 g, Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix) 10 g, Yuxingcao (Houttuyniae Herba) 15 g, Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) 6 g, Huangjing (Polygonati Rhizoma) 6 g, Shayuanzi (Astragali Complanati Semen) 6 g, Tusizi (Cuscutae Semen) 6 g, Jiaogulan (Gynostemmae Pentaphylli Herba) 10 g, Jinqiaomai (Fagopyri Cymosi Herba) 15 g, Fabanxia (processed Pinelliae Rhizoma) 6 g, Huajuhong (Citri Erythrocarpae Exocarpium) 6 g, Xuanfuhua (Inulae Flos) 10 g, Jiao Sanxian (charred three digestive-medicines) 30 g, Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix) 6 g

Decoct in water; one dose a day, decocted twice and taken in three divided doses.

Because of the teacher-student relationship, my teacher's wife had always trusted me and understood and cooperated well. After a week, her symptoms eased greatly; she had strength climbing stairs and her wheezing settled. She asked whether the formula should be changed; I thought it should be held unchanged for a while. Another week later, her nose—which had lost the sense of smell for half a year—could smell again, and her condition continued to improve until she was basically well. She said her voice used to be clear, but asthma had ruined it, and asked whether something could be done; I therefore added 6 g of Chantui (Cicadae Periostracum) to the prior formula and had her continue.

These three patients were all asthmatics, but their specific conditions differed, and so their treatments differed accordingly. Asthma has no fixed treatment; when treating it one must, according to the patient's specific condition, examine the pattern to seek the cause and treat disease by seeking the root. A child who has been ill a short time is treated directly by dispelling evil; an older patient who has been ill long should be treated by supporting the righteous. Only thus can the advantage of individualized treatment in Chinese medicine be realized.