Bronchial Asthma is an episodic allergic pulmonary disease.Exposure to some trigger factors results in narrowing of the air passage way that allows us to breathe due to inflammation with mucous caused swollen inside. The main symptoms of asthma are cough, dyspnoea, chest tightness. The trigger factors range from colds, exercise, inhaled allergens, smoke to temperature changing, some drugs, chemicals, foods, preservatives, flavorings, colorings.

In most cases, acupuncture and Chinese herbs are very effective. After a series of treatments, asthmatic symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath are reduced. The frequency of an asthmatic episode can also be minimized. In fact, many people can usually resume an active lifestyle.

Asthma in TCM is attributable to the categories of "xiao" (bronchial wheezing) and "chuan" (dyspnea). For pattern differentiation and treatment strateges, the location of disease is related to lung organ. Like wheezing, dyspnea, coughing, etc., they all belong to the abnormal function of lungs. The factors attacking lungs include external heat, cold, wind, dampness and internal factors like blood stasis, liver qi stagnation and phlegm accumulation / blockage. These factors may cause excess syndromes. But there are some factors due to deficiency of internal organs like kidney, liver, spleen. Weak kidney could not hold lung qi, cause short of breath. Liver fire makes lung drying and wheeazing, and weak spleen generates phlegm & block the dispersion of lung qi & cause coughing. So Asthma is a kind of condition quite complicated, and there are many factors and many organ functions need to be taken into account when doing the treatment. There is no way to treat asthma only by using one herb, or one formula, or one method, or in one period of time, or focus on only one organ function.

Diagnostically, asthma can be seen to involve one of the five causative syndromes: fluid Retention in the lung; Retention of Phlegm-Heat in the lung; deficiency of Spleen and Lung Qi; deficiency of Lung and Kidney Yin; and deficiency of Heart and Kidney Yang. As for the individual, the syndrome might be just a mixture of these & may be found in transition or in multiple forms.