What asthma is
Asthma is a long-term condition of the airways. A trigger, such as a cold, exercise, smoke, pollen, mold or a sudden change in the air, makes the lining swell, the muscle around the airway tighten and the mucus thicken. The result is wheezing, a tight chest, coughing at night and the feeling that you cannot quite empty your lungs. Your physician or pulmonologist diagnoses it, usually with breathing tests, and builds a plan around a daily controller and a rescue inhaler.
Your inhalers, and when to call 911
Nothing we do replaces that plan, and we never change an inhaler or suggest using it less. Keep your rescue inhaler with you, including at every visit here. Severe breathlessness, blue or gray lips or fingertips, trouble speaking in full sentences, or a rescue inhaler that is not working means calling 911 first.
The quiet stretch between flares
The classics treat a flare and the time between flares as two different jobs. A flare is read as phlegm blocking the Lung's downward flow of qi, cold or hot depending on what you cough up and how you feel. Between flares the reading turns to the root: why the phlegm keeps collecting and why the surface lets triggers in. That root is usually a tired Lung and Spleen, or a Kidney that no longer holds the breath down, the short in-breath that runs out on the stairs.
Most of our work happens in that quiet stretch. For a Lung and Spleen root, a practitioner might consider Six Gentlemen (Liù Jūn Zǐ Tāng, 六君子湯); where the Kidney is too weak to grasp the qi, a warming, Kidney-building approach instead.
How we work with it
Visits combine acupuncture along the upper back and chest with distal Master Tung's points tied to the Lung, cupping between the shoulder blades and, for cold-natured cases, moxibustion. Food advice comes from the pattern, usually less of what makes phlegm. We keep track together of night coughing, how stairs and exercise feel and how often flares come, while your physician tracks the medical side.
Formulas here illustrate how pattern diagnosis shapes treatment. They are not recommendations; a practitioner selects and adjusts formulas for the individual.
Questions people ask
Can acupuncture help asthma?
Acupuncture has been studied as a supportive therapy for asthma symptoms and quality of life, and the research is mixed and ongoing. We use it alongside your medical care, mostly in the calmer stretches between flares, and never as a replacement for your inhalers.
Will I need to change my inhalers?
No. Your controller and rescue inhalers stay exactly as your physician prescribes them, and we never suggest reducing or stopping them. Bring your inhaler to every visit.
What should I do during a severe attack?
Use your rescue inhaler and follow your asthma action plan. If breathing is severe, your lips or fingertips turn blue or gray, you cannot speak in full sentences, or the inhaler is not helping, call 911.
Do Chinese herbs interact with asthma medicines?
Some can, which is why every formula is checked against your full medication list before it is prescribed. Tell us about steroid tablets, biologic injections and anything else you take.
This is general wellness information, not medical advice.
