By Jake Paul Fratkin,
OMD, L.Ac.
Coughs are one of the main reasons patients
visit doctors, both Western and alternative. Many people ignore
their cough until it becomes apparent that it’s not
going away on its own. Besides treatment for daytime cough,
patients also seek relief from night-time coughing, painful
chest sensations, sore throat while coughing, fatigue and
headache.
Western medicine offers very few choices
for dealing with cough, primarily antibiotics, antitussives
(cough suppressants) and expectorants such as guaifenesin
(found in products such as Robitussin®, Anti-Tuss®
and Scot-Tussin®).
As recently reported by The American College
of Chest Physicians (ACCP), over-the-counter (OTC) cough expectorants
and suppressants don't treat the underlying causes of the
cough, and often don't help relieve symptoms. Antibiotics
are also of limited value, since 95% of all coughs are viral
in nature. Antibiotics may be helpful for reducing phlegm,
but they can weaken the immune system and allow a recurrent
infection.
Cough
and the Common Cold
A Chinese herbal formula such as BronchoPhase is
particularly useful for coughs, addressing both its root causes
and resulting congestion.
Chinese doctors view coughs as the result
of the common cold, presenting with symptoms that can include
sore throat, nasal discharge, aches and, in a few cases, fever.
For this reason one should make every effort to treat a common
cold at its earliest stages, when the infection is still isolated
to the nose or throat. In my view the best way to do this
is with a Chinese antiviral herbal formula, such as ImmunoPhase.
Once a cold has migrated into the lungs, treating the resulting
infection will be much harder and take more time to resolve.
Even with herbs, cough can take from 3 to 12 days to completely
clear.
In Chinese medicine, as the cold virus migrates
to the lungs it quickly triggers an inflammatory reaction.
The first sign of lung infection is a dry cough that can become
quite severe, resulting in a painful, barking cough. This
hot, inflammatory stage quickly leads to congestion as the
lungs react by producing phlegm, in part to try to protect
the lung tissues. Phlegm itself, however, blocks the air passages,
reducing oxygen exchange and contributing to increased fatigue.
The cough is one mechanism the body employs in an attempt
to loosen and expectorate the phlegm. Unfortunately, if inflammation
and infection are not treated – and resolved soon –
the production of phlegm, and resulting cough, can go on for
days, or even weeks.
BronchoPhase
BronchoPhase is based on classical Chinese cough formulas
that date back to 15th and 16th centuries. These formulas
are used by literally millions of people in China and continue
to be popular today. Why? Because they are so effective.
BronchoPhase is especially effective
in that it combines a variety of herbs traditionally used
in different formulas for a variety of applications –
an approach that is unique to BronchoPhase. Chinese
medicine has many anti-viral herbs – one of its greatest
gifts – and the inclusion of these herbs enables BronchoPhase
to address the root causes of cough.
First, BronchoPhase contains
herbs that reduce inflammation (heat) and fight viral infection
(Belamcanda She Gan, Andrographis Chuan Xin Lian, Scutellaria
Huang Qin, Gardenia Zhi Zi).
Secondly, BronchoPhase includes
a selection of herbs shown to reduce chest congestion by
breaking down phlegm and aiding in its removal from the
lungs (Trichosanthes Gua Lou Ren, Fritillaria Bei Mu,
Platycodon Jie Geng).
Finally, BronchoPhase provides
herbs that symptomatically halt coughing (Stemona Bai
Bu, Armenica Xing Ren).
Summary
Coughs can be stubborn and the sooner they are treated with
BronchoPhase, the sooner they will resolve. While
in some cases this can take anywhere from three to twelve
days, with quick treatment coughs will gradually lessen in
both duration and severity.
BronchoPhase is appropriate for
all ages including children above the age of 6. For infants
less than 6 years of age treatment with Chinese herbs should
be given only by an experienced practitioner.
About the Author: Jake
Paul Fratkin, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, is a leading
practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine, Japanese
meridian balancing and nutritional medicine. Currently
in private practice in Boulder, Colorado, Dr. Fratkin
specializes in internal disorders, infections and
pediatrics. In 1999 Dr. Fratkin was named Acupuncturist
of the Year by the American Association
of Oriental Medicine (AAOM). Dr. Fratkin currently
serves on the faculty of Acupuncture & Integrative
Medicine College, Berkeley. In addition to authoring
Chinese Herbal Patent Medicines: The Clinical
Desk Reference, (2001), Dr. Fratkin also edited
Wu and Fischer’s Practical Therapeutics
of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Paradigm Publications,
1997).
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