Chinese Medicine for Difficulty Breathing

In Chinese Medicine, breathlessness is called chuan, which literally means "to pant." Panting includes the conditions of having difficulty breathing, breathing with the mouth open, not being able to breath when lying down, and needing to lift the shoulders in order to breath. Panting can occur chronically in enduring diseases or acutely as a result of contracting a respiratory pathogen. Proper treatment depends on the cause of the breathlessness as well as the underlying Chinese medical diagnostic pattern.

Causal factors include external pathogens, poor diet, emotional problems, or chronic illness. An external pathogen (such as the common cold or flu), called Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat in Chinese Medicine, can produce an acute situation of breathlessness, but if it is improperly treated (such as with antibiotics), and phlegm is not expelled from the lungs, chronic breathlessness or recurrent attacks of breathlessness is likely to develop. Cigarette smoke is regarded as an external heat pathogen, and though it may not produce acute symtoms, over time it produces deep-seated hot, sticky phlegm within the lungs, leading to the chronic condition. A diet rich in greasy foods, homogenized milk, sugar, and raw foods weakens the digestive system and leads to a condition of "damp," eventually filling the respiratory system with damp phlegm. Constant worry and obsessive-compulsive disorders weaken immunity, the respiratory system, and the digestive tract, which also may lead to phlegm developing in the lungs. Chronic stress, anger, frustration, and resentment weaken the body's ability to detoxify itself, and can cause breathlessness in tense situations. Long-term physical overexertion and/or serious chronic disease depletes the body's energy and ability to repair itself, eventually leading to chronic breathlessness.

There are two main types of breathlessness according to Chinese Medicine, and the first step one must take in arriving at an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan is to differentiate between these two main types. One type is called "excess," and is characterized by long, labored breathing with a loud noise, loud wheezing sounds, and possible coughing. Someone with the "deficient" type of breathlessness will have short, quiet breathing which becomes more rapid with exertion. There are seven recognized patterns of the excess type of breathlessness, and they are as follows: wind-cold invading the lungs, wind-cold on the exterior with phlegm-fluids on the interior, cold on the exterior with heat in the interior, phlegm-heat in the lungs, turbid-phlegm in the lungs, lung-qi obstructed, and liver-fire invading the lungs. There are six deficiency patterns: lung-qi deficiency, lung-yin deficiency, lung and kidney deficiency, lung and kidney yin deficiency, lung and kidney yang deficiency with fluids overflowing to the heart and lungs, and lung, heart, and kidney yang deficiency with fluids overflowing to the heart.

Below, you can read a summary of some of the main symptoms of each of the main patterns:

I. Excess type breathlessness

A. Wind-Cold Invading the Lungs: dislike of cold, shivering, fever, cough, feeling of oppresion in the chest, thin-white mucus, headache, absence of sweating, pulses floating and tight

B. Wind-Cold on the Exterior, Phlegm-Fluids in the Interior: dislike of cold, fever, shivering, headache, absence of sweating, cough with watery white mucus, breathing worse when lying down, water retention in the hands and feet

C. Cold on the Exterior, Heat in the Interior: difficulty breathing with pain and heaviness in the chest, loud breathing, runny nose, cough, spitting up or vomiting sticky phlegm, feeling hot but having cold arms and legs, thirst, irritability, body aches, red tongue with yellow coating, pulses slippery-rapid

D. Phlegm-Heat in the Lungs: cough, pain in the chest with difficulty breathing, large amounts of sticky yellow or bloody sputum, oppression in the chest, feeling hot, irritability, sweting, thirst, red face, dry throat, dark urine, constipation, red tongue with sticky yellow coating, pulse slippery rapid

E. Turbid Phlegm in the Lungs: difficulty exhaling, feeling of fullness in the chest, cough with large amounts of sticky white sputum, vomiting or nausea, sticky taste in the mouth, lack of thirst, tongue coat that is white-sticky-thick, pulses full and slippery

F. Lung Qi Obstructed: sudden attacks of breathlessness brought on by emotional stress, no wheezing, feeling suffocated or constricted, feeling of heaviness in the chest, palpitations, difficulty sleeping, tongue is red on the sides, pulse is wiry

G. Liver-Fire Invading the Lungs: sudden attacks of breathlessness brought on by emotional stress, feeling of heaviness in the chest, chest pain, nightmares, short temper, thirst, bitter taste in the mouth, dark urine, constipation, headache, red face, bloodshot eyes, tongue is red with swollen sides, pulse is wiry and rapid

II. Deficiency type breathlessness

A. Lung Qi Deficiency: shortness of breath, weak sounds of the lung, rattling sound in the throat, sweating, chilliness, pale face, weak voice, coughing up small amounts of phlegm, tongue is pale, pulse is weak

B. Lung Yin Deficiency: shortness of breath, chronic breathlessness, sweating at night, feeling of heat in the pals of hands, soles of feet, and chest, dry cough with small amounts of sputum, flushed face, tongue is red, dry, has no coat, and has cracks in the lung region, pulse is floating-empty or fine-rapid

C. Lung and Kidney Deficiency: chronic breathlessness, attacks brought on by exertion, difficulty inhaling, weight loss, depression, swollen ankles, cold limbs, sore back, dizziness, weak knees, pale and swollwn tongue, pulse is deep, weak, and slow

D. Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency: chronic breathlessness, difficulty inhaling, dry throat, night sweating, feeling of heat in the palms od hands, soles of feet, and chest, facial flushing, tongue is red with no coating and cracks in lung area, pulse is floating-empty

E. Lung and Kidney Yang Deficiency with Fluids Overflowing to Heart and Lungs: chronic breathlessness, cough wth expectoration of white-watery sputum, feeling of heaviness in the chest, palpitations, edema, scanty urination, chilliness, tongue is pale, swollen, and wet, pulse is deep, weak, and slow

F. Lung, Heart, and Kidney Yang Deficiency with Fluids Overflowing to the Heart: chronic breathlessness, feeling of oppression and pain in the chest, nausea, cyanotic lips, purple face and nails, expectoration of white-watery sputum, breathing more difficult when lying down, edema, chilliness, backache, weak knees, decreased urinary flow with pale color, tongue is bluish-purple and swollen, pulse is deep-slow-knotted