Clinical experience of pediatric bronchial asthma in remission

  Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways involving a variety of inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, mast cells and T lymphocytes, and is one of the common diseases that endanger the physical and mental health and development of pediatric patients. In recent years, the incidence of pediatric bronchial asthma has been increasing year by year due to atmospheric pollution, food preference, lack of exercise, and psychological factors. In the acute exacerbation period, most of the drugs such as antibiotics, aminophylline and glucocorticoids are used for treatment, which have certain adverse effects in long-term use, and the long-term efficacy is not good. The author attaches importance to the treatment of asthma in remission in the clinic, especially the comprehensive application of internal and external treatment methods of Chinese medicine, and the clinical experience is as follows.  In the remission period of pediatric bronchial asthma, TCM doctors currently adopt the method of tonifying the three organs of lung, spleen and kidney, which has achieved better curative effect. The deficiency of lung, spleen and kidney qi in children with asthma is the root of the problem. The deficiency of lung qi makes the exterior of the body not strong enough, so it is susceptible to external evil and develops; the deficiency of spleen cannot move its fluids for the stomach, so it accumulates dampness into phlegm, which accumulates in the lung; the deficiency of kidney yang cannot evaporate water, which accumulates dampness into phlegm. In other words, the three organs of the lungs, spleen and kidneys are weak, the water is not transported and distributed, and the water is stagnant and generates phlegm. Qi can produce blood, also can move blood, qi deficiency, blood running power, transformation lack of source, long can cause silt. Therefore, Qi deficiency, phlegm blockage and blood stagnation are the pathological basis of the disease in remission. Modern medical research has also confirmed that airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness still exist in children with asthma in remission, and there is still airway obstruction [1], which is in essence caused by phlegm and blood stasis obstructing the airways and arteries. Therefore, in the treatment of Chinese medicine, while tonifying the lung, spleen and kidney, we should also pay attention to the removal of the “long-standing root” (phlegm and stasis), so that the flow of qi and blood will be unimpeded, the airway will be smooth, and the asthma will be relieved, i.e., we should take into account the elimination of phlegm and activation of blood. In my clinic, I mostly use Yu Ping Feng San combined with Liu Wei Di Huang Wan plus Chinese herbs to invigorate blood and resolve phlegm (such as Dan Shen, Tao Ren, Orange Red, Fuxia, Fu Ling, Citrus Aurantium, etc.), the main formula consists of Astragalus, Atractylodes, Shu Di, Jujube Peel, Walnut Flesh, Poria, Hou Pu, Orange Red, Citrus Aurantium, Dan Shen, Angelica, etc. When prescribing the medicine, we should pay attention to the characteristics of the child’s “delicate lungs, spleen is often deficient, and kidney is often deficient”, and the amount of tonic medicine (taste and amount of medicine) should be slightly more than that of the products to invigorate the blood and resolve phlegm, so as to take care of the root and get rid of the “long-standing root”, and also make the tonic in the pass, not greasy, and harmonize the spleen and stomach. It can significantly enhance the child’s ability to resist external evil, effectively relieve the symptoms of asthma, prolong the interval between asthma attacks, and improve the patient’s quality of life.  2. Combined internal and external treatment, overall regulation The author has learned during clinical treatment that the treatment of pediatric bronchial asthma in remission is not only oral Chinese medicine, but should also focus on the combination of external treatment methods, i.e., adding acupuncture, fire cupping, external application, acupoint injection, nebulized inhalation, etc. According to clinical observation, the compliance of children with fire cupping and nebulized inhalation is good. Using fire cupping (mostly acupressure massage for children under three years old) to take the acupuncture points of Dazhi, Lung Yu, Diaphragm Yu, Spleen Yu, Kidney Yu, Qi Hai, and Foot San Li, etc., has the effect of tonifying the vital energy, promoting the flow of Qi and blood, and enhancing the immunity of the body, so that the phlegm and dampness can be transported, the stagnant blood can be eliminated, the body has sufficient Qi and blood, and the veins and collaterals are smooth. The external treatment method is easy to operate, and combined with the internal consumption of Chinese medicine, the internal and external treatment can make the lungs, spleen and kidneys prosperous, so that “the righteousness can exist inside, and the evil cannot dry up”.  Several factors affecting the efficacy In the course of treatment of children with asthma in remission, the efficacy is affected by a number of factors. There are several factors that affect the efficacy of treatment for children in remission: ①Compliance of children with asthma with treatment: Today, there are many only children who are spoiled by their families and are mavericks and cannot tolerate long periods of medication and external treatment; the busy schedule of parents and the lax thinking after the symptoms are controlled make some children’s treatment unsustainable and poorly complied with. ② Allergen exposure: Children with asthma are mostly allergic and are prone to asthma attacks after exposure to dust, fumes, cold food, etc. Children are naughty and active by nature and are easily re-exposed to allergens, making asthma attacks recurrent. ③Irregular diet: The improvement of living conditions makes children’s diet too fatty, sweet and greasy, or addicted to barbecue, fried food, raw and cold drinks, etc., which hurts the spleen and stomach, and generates phlegm and obstructs the airway, triggering or aggravating asthma attacks. ④Decrease in exercise: The increase of study tasks and the influence of TV and computer games make some children’s outdoor activities less and less, overweight and weakened, easy to feel the disease evil and induce or aggravate the disease.  Therefore, in the treatment and daily life, it is necessary to adhere to the treatment; avoid repeated contact with allergens; pay attention to the cold and warmth, add and remove clothes in time; do not eat too sweet, too fatty and cold products; do more outdoor activities, more exposure to fresh air and sunshine; let children have a happy mood, etc., in order to consolidate the effect of treatment and reduce or even eradicate the disease. Many children can be clinically cured if they can adhere to the treatment and proper care during childhood.  4.Summary Pediatric asthma belongs to the category of “croup” in Chinese medicine. The cause of the disease is attributed to the delicate internal organs of children and their weak ability to resist diseases, and the dysfunction of internal organs caused by various pathogenic factors, such as the inability of the spleen to transport water and dampness, the inability of the lung to disperse fluid, and the inability of the kidney to transpire water, so that phlegm is generated internally and lodged in the lung, which becomes a potential pathological factor. Whenever there is an attack of external evil, internal injury from diet, fatigue, exposure to dust and other allergic substances, or emotional excitement, the phlegm rises with the qi, the qi is blocked by the phlegm, and they wrestle with each other, congesting the airways and causing the lungs to lose catharsis. Although most patients are asymptomatic during the remission period, almost all of them have airway hyperresponsiveness and a significant proportion of them have abnormal lung function [2]. Therefore, when treating asthma, we should give full play to the advantages of Chinese medicine in terms of evidence-based treatment and overall conditioning, and adopt a multi-path, multi-linked comprehensive treatment combining internal and external treatment, focusing on the whole body to improve the function of the lungs, spleen and kidneys of the affected children and strengthen the It also activates blood circulation, removes phlegm and eliminates internal pathological factors, thus effectively enabling patients to gradually get rid of or reduce the harm of asthma, fundamentally improving their quality of life and increasing the cure rate of asthma. The effective treatment of children with asthma in remission by combining internal and external treatment in TCM can effectively control asthma attacks, and moreover, many children have been cured of asthma, so it has received more and more attention from medical workers.