Bronchial Asthma — Strengthen Lung Function with Herbal Medicine
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Do you really have to depend on an inhaler for life?
Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways in which the airways narrow and recurrent dyspnea, wheezing, cough, and chest tightness develop. Most patients end up depending on steroid inhalers and bronchodilators, but these only suppress symptoms — they do not resolve the underlying airway hyperresponsiveness itself.
The Korean medicine view of asthma
In Korean medicine, asthma is seen as phlegm-fluid (痰飮) lodged in the lung that obstructs the airway. The root causes lie in the weakened function of three organ systems — the lung, spleen-stomach, and kidney.
- Lung deficiency (肺虛): when the lung's dispersing and descending functions weaken, airway defenses decline.
- Spleen deficiency (脾虛): as the saying goes, "the spleen is the source of phlegm (脾爲生痰之源)." When digestion is weak, phlegm is generated.
- Kidney deficiency (腎虛): when the kidney's grasping of qi is weak, breathing becomes shallow and shortness of breath develops.
Acute attack vs. remission — different strategies
Korean medicine treatment for asthma changes strategy depending on the phase.
- Acute phase (急性期): phlegm-resolving and wheeze-calming (祛痰平喘) prescriptions are used to dissolve phlegm and open the airway. Mahaeng Gamseok-tang (麻杏甘石湯) and So-cheongryong-tang (小靑龍湯) are typical choices.
- Remission phase (緩解期): tonifying the lung, fortifying the spleen, and benefiting the kidney (補肺健脾益腎) strengthens the underlying organs. Yukgunja-tang (六君子湯) and Geumgwe-shingihwan (金匱腎氣丸) are commonly used.
Combining Korean and Western medicine
If you are currently using an inhaler, do not stop abruptly. As lung function gradually strengthens with herbal treatment, you can consult your physician about slowly reducing inhaler use. For patients whose symptoms worsen at the change of seasons or in winter, starting lung-tonifying treatment before the season changes can substantially reduce attack frequency.