Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Including EmphysemaChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a group of chronic Lung diseases that obstruct airflow and cause difficulty breathing.
Emphysema and chronic Bronchitis are the 2 most common causes.
Symptoms
Shortness of breath, wheezing, chronic cough, breathless on exertion. Severe cases will have cyanosis of the lips, face and fingernails due to low blood oxygen.
Causes
Damage to the Lungs from chronic Inflammation is a common cause. Excess smoking and exposure to other harmful chemical vapors or smoke are major causative factors. Chronic Lung diseases like Asthma can devlop into COPD. There is also a genetic link in some cases.
In traditional medicine, a primary cause is Phlegm. Phlegm obstructs the alveoli of the Lungs leading to poor lung function. Because of the fine capillary circulation required to the mucosa, chronic conditions often have blood stasis requiring medicines to resolve stasis.
Treatment
Traditional Herbal medicine will generally use medicines from one of several groups depending on diagnosis::
- Phlegm-Damp-clearing–Radish seed, Mustard seed, Pepper, Ginger, Turbith, Agaric, Fritillaria Bei Mu, Poria Fu Ling, Pinellia Ban Xia
- Lung strengthening–Licorice, Mastic, Sweet Almond, Raisin, Date, Asparagus root, Astragalus, Ginseng, Cordyceps, Fox Lung Powder
- Stops Cough and Wheezing–Thyme, Coltsfoot, Bitter Almond, Ephedra, Platycodon Jie Geng
- Blood-moving–Saffron, Myrrh, Bitter Almond (or Peach) kernel, Salvia Dan Shen
Cupping, Bloodletting, applying oil or plasters over the chest and upper back, steam inhalations, yoga and breathing exercises can all be helpful.
Diet
Warms foods with herbs and spices such as Thyme, Basil, Ginger, Garlic, Radish and spices in general. Warm drinks such as Ginger tea, Green Tea, Raisin or Date tea can be taken throughout the day. A Radish and Ginger Soup can help resolve thick phlegm.
Foods to be avoided include Sweets, Dairy, coconut oil, fermented and sour foods, cold drinks and raw foods in general. A gluten-free diet may be beneficial in some cases.
See also
Breathlessness, Difficulty Breathing
Asthma.
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Western Tradition Simples
Formulas Fox Lung powder Pectoral Decoction (Augustana) Anti-Asthmatic Syrup Syrup of Coltsfoot Syrup of Horehound (Fernel) Lohoch of Fox Lungs (Mesue) Lohoch of Pine kernels (Mesue) Electuary of Orris Root (Diaireos Salomonis) (Nicholas) Compound Powder of Aniseed (Dianisum) (Mesue) Elixir Salutis, Elixir of Health Sitopaladi Powder (Ayurveda) Raisin 7 (Tibetan) |
Chinese Classification Simples
Formulas Bu Fei Tang Di Dan Tang Gua Lou Xie Bai Jiu Tang Gun Tan Wan Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang |
Special Formula
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Jin Shui Bao capsules Jin Shui Bao is a fermented Cordyceps extract which has been widely used for COPD in China and has proven efficacy. (See here) HX110B Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying) Dioscorea batatas (Shan Yao) Schizonepeta Jing Jie This is an experimental formula and was studied and found effective in an Emphysema-animal model. (See here) Shen Qi Tiao Shen Formula Ginseng (Ren Shen) Astragalus Huang Qi Cornus Shan Zhu Yu Alpinia Oxyphylla Yi Zhi Ren Cinnamon (Rou Gui) White Mustard Seed (Bai Jie Zi) Tangerine Peel (Chen Pi) Peach kernel (Tao Ren) Solomon’s Seal (Yu Zhu) This has been studied and found effective for stable COPD. Multiple compounds were shown to work against respiratory inflammation and other pathways related to COPD. Vasadi syrup Vasa (Adhatoda) Haridra (Turmeric) Dhanyaka (Coriander) Bharangi (Clerodendron serratum) Guduchi (Tinospora) Shunthi (Ginger) Kantakari (Solanum xanthocarpum) Pippali (Long Pepper) Equal parts of each herb are taken, a decoction is prepared and Black Pepper is added at the end. This has proven efficacy in a clinical trial. (See here) Shwasaghna Dhuma (Unani) Long Pepper Mastic Barley Licorice Pomegranate peel Ginger This was formed into Tablets and taklen with Syrup of Adhatoda vasica. In a trial of 5 patients, there was good-to-marked improvement after 60 days of treatment. (See here) |
Shen Qi Hua Tan Decoction American Ginseng Xi Yang Shen 10 grams Panax notoginseng San Qi 3 grams Cordyceps Dong Chong Xia Cao 5 grams Perilla seed (Zi Su Zi) 10 grams Mustard seed (Bai Jie Zi) 10 grams Inula flower (Xuan Fu Hua). 8 grams Ephedra Ma Huang 6 grams This has been used and found clinically useful in COPD. There has been multiple research on this formula (here & here) Yi Qi Gu Biao Pill Codonopsis Dang Shen Atractylodes Bai Zhu Poria Fu Ling Tangerine peel (Chen Pi) Pinellia Ban Xia Coix Yi Yi Ren Wheat Fu Xiao Mai Perilla Zi Su Tussilago Kuan Dong Hua Scutellaria Huang Qin Fritillaria pallidiflora Yi Bei Mu Eriobotrya Pi Ba Ye Saponshnikovia Fang Feng This has been used in pill form since 2004. It has proven to reduce the number of acute exacerbations of COPD, extend the interval between acute exacerbations, and shorten the duration of acute exacerbations. It significantly alleviates symptoms in patients with COPD. (See here) |