Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapies for Coughing

Coughing is a problem that can be due to many different things. You should not ignore it when your cough lingers for weeks or becomes disruptive to daily life. A doctor is the most qualified person to help you deal with the cough.

In Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), physicians do not follow standard Western pathological classifications of disease, but rely on a complex pattern of signs and symptoms to choose remedies. The remedies are typically individualized according to the imbalance of the body measured by various parameters including yin &yang, qi (vital energy), blood and body fluids, they create comprehensive regulatory effects to the body and aim to rebuild a new internal balance.

Acupuncture can alter respiratory movements; it modulates the contraction and secretion actions of the air ways. According to TCM theory, coughing is regarded as an abnormal qi activity of the lung system that may result from external or internal origin. External origin coughs are usually due to pathogenic invasions, while internal origin coughs are due to organ dysfunctions. When designing a remedy for a cough, TCM physicians will focus on:

Enhancing various pathogenic dispersing processes of the body;

Promoting tissue repairing and organ functioning.

Acupuncture and moxibustion are non-medicinal alternatives for treating cough. They are effective in the early stages of a cough or can work together with other methods for stubborn cases. With appropriate point selection and stimulating techniques, the therapies can redirect qi movement of the lungs and arrest coughing.