Today’s topic is a geriatric disease – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), especially prevalent among elderly individuals with underlying conditions such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
COPD is a chronic respiratory disease that progresses slowly, deceiving individuals with its long course. The early symptoms are subtle and often overlooked, leading to chronic cough, sputum production, shortness of breath, and chest tightness as the disease advances. Due to the mild initial symptoms and potential misunderstandings, most patients fail to recognize and take timely measures. By the time it is diagnosed, lung function is significantly impaired, missing the optimal treatment window and severely impacting quality of life and lifespan. In fact, COPD has become the third leading cause of death globally, with 2.5 people worldwide succumbing to the disease every minute.
The diagnosis of this disease is clear, termed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Western medicine and “lung swelling” in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). According to TCM, lung swelling is mainly caused by long-term lung weakness, stagnant phlegm retention leading to failure of lung descent, and lung qi swelling. Various external factors can trigger or exacerbate the condition. Traditional Chinese medicine has accumulated rich experience and unique techniques in the treatment of COPD, providing effective intervention for patients.
Classification of TCM syndrome and treatment
1. External Cold Internal Drink
Clinical manifestations: Difficulty laying down due to coughing and wheezing, shortness of breath, white frothy sputum, chest fullness, aversion to cold, body soreness, dry mouth, pale complexion, thick and white tongue coating, and floating tight pulse.
Syndrome gist: External cold invasion with internal fluid stagnation.
Treatment principle: Warm the lungs to dispel cold, resolve fluid retention, and suppress rebellious qi.
2. Phlegm Turbidity Obstructing the Lungs
Clinical manifestations: Fullness and oppression in the chest, productive cough with white or frothy sputum, shortness of breath, easy fatigue, fear of wind, reduced appetite, lethargy, dark tongue, greasy or turbid tongue coating, and slippery pulse.
Syndrome gist: Phlegm turbidity obstructing the lungs, lung qi deficiency with spleen weakness.
Treatment principle: Transform phlegm, regulate qi, and tonify the spleen and lungs.
3. Phlegm-Heat Disturbing the Lungs
Clinical manifestations: Coughing, wheezing, thick yellow or white sticky sputum, chest fullness, restlessness, eye redness, fever with sweating, aversion to cold, yellow urine, thirst, red tongue body, yellow or greasy coating, and slippery rapid pulse.
Syndrome gist: Phlegm-heat obstructing the lungs, loss of lung’s descending function, upward disturbance of lung qi.
Treatment principle: Clear lung heat, reduce rebellious qi, and relieve wheezing.
4. Phlegm Veiling the Orifices
Clinical manifestations: Persistent cough, wheezing, unsatisfactory sputum clearance, dull expression, somnolence, or delirium, restlessness, aggravation at night, stupor, involuntary limb twitching, tongue with dark-red or purplish color, greasy or yellow coating, and fine rapid pulse.
Syndrome gist: Phlegm veiling the orifices, stirring up liver wind.
Treatment principle: Clear phlegm, open the orifices, and calm the wind.
5. Phlegm and Stagnant Blood Blocking the Lungs
Clinical manifestations: Productive cough with white or frothy sputum, rattling noise in the throat, inability to lie flat due to panting, chest fullness, pale and dull complexion, cyanotic lips and nails, dark or purple tongue body, green veins under the tongue, greasy or turbid coating, and taut slippery pulse.
Syndrome gist: Lung qi stagnation, phlegm-blood stasis intertwining phenomenon.
Treatment principle: Clear phlegm, eliminate stasis, facilitate lung function, and relieve wheezing.
6. Yang Deficiency and Water Overflow
Clinical manifestations: Facial and limb edema, abdominal distension, reduced urination, palpitations, unable to lie flat due to wheezing, clear and thin sputum, fear of cold, bluish lips and face, pale and swollen tongue, white and slippery coating, deep weak or knotted and hesitant pulse.
Syndrome gist: Heart and kidney yang deficiency with water retention.
Treatment principle: Tonify the kidney and spleen, eliminate water retention, and promote diuresis.
7. Lung and Kidney Qi Deficiency
Clinical manifestations: Shallow and short breath, weak and low-pitched cough, chest fullness and shortness of breath, unable to lie flat, coughing with white frothy sputum, palpitations, cold limbs, profuse sweating, sallow complexion, pale or purplish tongue, white and moist coating, deep, thin, and powerless pulse.
Syndrome gist: Lung and kidney dual deficiency, unable to grasp and distribute qi.
Treatment principle: Tonify the lungs and nourish the kidneys, soothe the lungs, and relieve wheezing.
TCM Treatment Approach
Tai’an Hospital’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Department adheres to ancient medical practices and combines advanced external therapeutic devices for targeted transdermal drug delivery based on individual patient symptoms and pulse conditions. A customized herbal formula is prescribed for each patient, acting on different acupoints through the device’s controlled pressure system to enhance drug penetration and maximize efficacy directly targeting the affected areas.
Clinical treatment for diseases: COPD, chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic cough, bronchiectasis, nodules, tumors, etc.
Treatment Advantages: Dynamic temperature-controlled transdermal drug delivery – forms a positive pressure-sealed high-temperature drug delivery environment on the skin surface. It establishes a drug pathway through the skin’s stratum corneum, allowing drug molecules to penetrate into the target tissues, overcoming the “leak effect” of capillaries, and achieving effective drug concentrations at the treatment site.
Results from big data clinical studies show that dynamic temperature-controlled transdermal drug delivery achieves a treatment rate of 82.14% for acute and chronic cough, a cure rate of 85.71% for bronchial asthma, an 80% cure rate for COPD, and an 81.25% cure rate for chronic bronchitis, significantly improving the quality of life for chronic disease patients with minimal toxic side effects.
Dynamic temperature-controlled transdermal drug delivery technology has been granted invention patents in major target markets such as China, the United States, Japan, Italy, Germany, and India, making it one of the few herbal treatment technologies with exclusive global proprietary intellectual property rights in the Chinese traditional medicine industry. This technology has been widely recognized at top-tier hospitals such as the Guang’anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the PLA General Hospital, the National Sports General Administration Training Bureau, Peking University People’s Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, the China-Japan Friendship Hospital under the Ministry of Health, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Rocket Force General Hospital, Hui Min Hospital of Beijing, Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, eliciting strong responses across various departments and receiving widespread approval from chronic disease patients.
The treatment combines traditional Chinese medicine and modern medical advantages. For patients with lung nodules, dynamic temperature-controlled transdermal drug delivery offers a new treatment option, especially for those unwilling to take oral medications or undergo surgery, presenting an ideal alternative therapy. This is just the beginning; the future of healthcare promises remarkable advancements. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Department at Shanghai Tai’an Hospital looks forward to a new era of universal health where diseases are preventable and manageable. In this era, medical knowledge will not be limited to a few but will be accessible to every household and citizen.
