Is it okay to take Chinese medicine for bronchial asthma?

Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on September 16, 2024
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Bronchial asthma can be treated with traditional Chinese medicine, but it is definitely not feasible to treat bronchial asthma only with Chinese medicine without Western medicine. Modern medicine still primarily uses Western medicine, which is the mainstream. Traditional Chinese medicine serves as an auxiliary treatment. Bronchial asthma is a recurrent disease that needs standardized treatment to be controlled. Currently, many unscrupulous businesses are exploiting the banner of traditional Chinese medicine or some ancestral secret formulas to provide non-standard treatments to patients with bronchial asthma, which may contain corticosteroids. Long-term oral intake of their herbal medicines might control bronchial asthma in the short term, but such long-term treatments are definitely non-standard and will lead to future difficulties in controlling the asthma. Therefore, patients with bronchial asthma must receive standardized Western medical treatment and can use traditional Chinese medicine as an auxiliary treatment, but it must be provided by a formal hospital.

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Written by Han Shun Li
Pulmonology
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What position should be taken for bronchial asthma?

The choice of lying position for bronchial asthma depends on the specific condition of the disease. During the remission phase of asthma, a free lying position is suitable. If it is a mild attack phase, a flat lying position can be taken. If symptoms such as chest tightness become prominent during an attack, a semi-sitting position is advisable. For asthma patients experiencing significant chest tightness and breathing difficulties during an attack, or if they are in a persistent state of asthma, then a sitting position is often required. Patients may experience severe sweating, be unable to speak, and even suffer from hypoxia during such times, which can be extremely distressing.

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Written by Zeng Xiang Bo
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
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Treatment for mild bronchial asthma

For the treatment of mild bronchial asthma, the purpose of treatment is to prevent the repeated exacerbation of the condition and to prevent deterioration, as well as to control current symptoms. Regardless of whether the symptoms are present or absent, mild or severe, standardized treatment is needed for these asthma patients. The main treatments are inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators to control the progression of the disease and prevent acute asthma attacks. Of course, we will have an assessment of the condition, whether controlled or not, and based on the grading of the condition, different levels will require different medications for treatment.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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Is bronchial asthma curable?

Bronchial asthma is treatable, although so far we have not found a cure for bronchial asthma, bronchial asthma can be well controlled in most patients if treated in a standard way at regular hospitals, preventing recurrent asthma attacks. However, if the treatment of bronchial asthma is unstandardized, or if one relies on folk remedies or traditional secret recipes and does not receive standardized treatment at a regular hospital, it may lead to recurrent asthma attacks and extremely poor prognosis.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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Which department should I go to for bronchial asthma?

In our common areas, we would visit the Department of Respiratory Medicine for conditions such as bronchial asthma, which is a respiratory system disease. The Department of Respiratory Medicine is the most specialized department for treating bronchial asthma. However, in some areas, such as those below the county level like town health centers or community clinics, a respiratory medicine department might not be available. In such cases, we can only visit the general internal medicine department, also known as the major internal medicine department. Generally, bronchial asthma is treated in the outpatient clinics of these departments. However, if an acute attack of bronchial asthma occurs, causing breathing difficulties and a sudden exacerbation of the condition, it then becomes necessary to visit the emergency medicine department. Emergency doctors will handle the situation and then decide whether the patient should continue treatment under observation in the emergency department or need hospitalization, etc.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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Can bronchial asthma be cured?

Bronchial asthma, to this day, cannot be completely cured. Many places claim under the guise of traditional Chinese medicine or ancient secret recipes that bronchial asthma can be fully cured, but these are false advertisements. So far, bronchial asthma is a manageable disease. Being manageable means that it can be treated; standardized treatment can make its recurrence quite rare, but it still cannot be completely cured. This means that once someone has bronchial asthma, they must understand that it is a lifelong disease, potentially recurring throughout life, and they need to manage it long-term.