The presence of white sputum in patients mostly refers to cold sputum, which in Chinese medicine is often due to external wind-cold and the presence of wind-cold on the superficial surface. Usually, treatment is carried out by means of promoting the lung. If the white sputum turns into yellow sputum, it is mostly due to the aggravation of symptoms and the cold evidence turns into lung heat, which mostly requires treatment to clear the lung to improve the symptoms. Xuan lung usually refers to the method of promoting and dispersing lung qi, which can be done through medicine and acupuncture to treat cough, coughing white sputum, shortness of breath, chest tightness and runny nose due to wind and cold attacking the lung surface, so when there is white sputum, it is mostly used to improve the symptoms. However, if the patient coughs sputum for a long time and the white sputum turns into yellow sputum, it may be due to the disease evil attacking the lung and the cold evidence turning into heat evidence, in this case, the patient is advised to use the lung-clearing approach to clear the real heat in the lung instead. Patients can use Chinese herbal medicines such as Ephedra, Gui Zhi, Fang Feng and Qiang Wu in a formula such as Jing Fang Defeat Poison San and Ma Huang Tang to treat cold sputum symptoms under the guidance of a doctor according to their condition and constitution. Coughing white phlegm may also be caused by dampness attacking the spleen and stomach, so it is recommended to improve the symptoms of white phlegm by dispelling dampness and resolving phlegm, rather than by promoting the lung. Therefore, patients should promptly seek medical advice, make a comprehensive judgment based on their other symptoms, clarify the causes of white phlegm, and carry out targeted treatment.