Cough is one of the most common and widespread illnesses. It is not life-threatening, but if it persists, it can affect sleep quality and cause chest tightness, shortness of breath and shortness of breath. A common cough usually resolves quickly, but if it is not treated or mistreated, it can become a complex chronic cough.
Chinese medicine classifies coughs into two broad categories, namely, coughs caused by external influences and coughs caused by internal injuries. When there is a sudden change in climate or the body’s resistance is insufficient, six types of evil qi – wind, cold, heat, humidity, dryness and fire – invade the body through the nose, mouth or skin. A cough caused by an external cause is an external cough. Internal coughs are usually chronic coughs, and their pathological factors include diet, emotions and dysfunction of the internal organs, with the most common case being coughs caused by a malfunction of the spleen and stomach due to dietary disorders and internal production of phlegm.
In coughs with external influences, the disease is mild and shallow and can be cured within a short period of time with timely treatment. However, coughs with dryness or dampness are more difficult to treat. The cough is caused by the accumulation of dampness and phlegm due to spleen deficiency caused by dampness that injures the spleen, and by the depletion of lung yin due to dryness, resulting in a cough caused by yin deficiency and lung dryness. Coughs from internal injuries tend to be chronic and recurrent, with a prolonged course, making treatment difficult to achieve quick results.
The symptoms of cough vary widely. In treating a cough, TCM practitioners first identify whether it is a cough of external sensation or internal injury by the duration of onset, and then determine its cold and warm nature by the amount, color and quality of the sputum, and then administer treatment according to the evidence. Examples of cases are as follows.
Since the treatment of cough in TCM is based on the differentiation of evidence, the treatment of coughs caused by external sensation or internal injury will be very different. The clinical symptoms, such as the duration of onset, length and quality of sputum, are all information that the practitioner must collect with care. If the patient can provide accurate feedback, it will certainly help the practitioner to administer the medication. In addition, dietary contraindications are also an important part of good treatment results. It is helpful if patients pay attention to the following.
Self-adjustment during coughing.
–Avoid salty, sweet and spicy foods to avoid irritating or aggravating the cough.
–Drink the right amount of warm water
–Avoid cold and raw foods
–Avoid oily and fried foods, which may aggravate the cough by producing phlegm.
–Avoid fruits with high sugar content such as oranges and bananas.
–Avoid eating seafood, chicken and poultry.
–Avoid tonic foods for external coughs
–Stop smoking and drinking
–Avoid exposure to smoke and dust.
How to prevent cold and cough.
–Prevention is better than cure; pay attention to climate change, avoid wind and cold, avoid catching cold, and improve the body’s external functions.
–Maintain a balanced diet.
–Exercise in moderation until you sweat a little.
–Be optimistic and keep your mood happy.
–If you have a cold, it is best to treat it promptly.
If you have a cough, it is best not to take your own medicine unless you know exactly what you are suffering from, so as not to make a fuss and leave any problems behind.