Cough [咳嗽]

 

AETIOLOGY & PATHOLOGY

1) The lung suffers from rebellious Qi [肺苦氣上逆]

Inhibited lung Qi is often represented by cough, this is due to lungs failing to descend and qi rebelling upwards.

2) Nei Jing says; “When people contracts cold, if it is slight, this brings about cough, if severe, this brings about diarrhea and pain.”[內經曰, 人感於寒, 微則爲咳, 甚者爲泄爲痛]

The slight contracting of cold denotes that the cold invades through skin, which is realated with the lung, so the lung is first attacked causing cough. In severe case if the cold enters deep, this causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, or pain in the heart. [the lung and large intestine frees with each other. 肺大腸相通]

3) If one is damaged by damp in autumn, this gives rise to cough. [秋傷於濕, 冬生咳嗽]

4) Physical cold and cold drinks impair the lung, giving rise to cough [形寒飮冷則傷肺, 肺傷則咳嗽.]

In winter it gets cold, then the body also gets cold, in addition to, if one drinks cold beverage, this brings the lung to be cold with causing cough. Generally cold food and cold qi entering from outside cause cough; the contracting of cold qi into the skin affects the lung directrly and cold food gets the stomach cold, when stomach Qi ascends to the lung, the cold qi also ascends, therefore cough occurs. Thus cough can derive from skin [contacted to cold] and cold food.

5) 咳 [Ke] & 嗽 [Sou]

The Chinese term for “cough”, Ke Sou, is composed of two parts, each having a distinct sign. Ke refers to a cough without sputum, while Sou refers to cough with sputum.

Nei Jing says, “When lung Qi gets damaged and is not clear, Ke occurs, and when spleen dampness, Sou does.” Therefore “cough” [Ke Sou] arises when the lung and spleen are damaged simultaneously and there are both phlegm and sound.

의학정전 says, “Coldness, dryness, dampness, wind, and Fire all causes cough. If because of a dampness disease, phlegm enters the stomach and stays stagnant without moving, and then ascends to the lungs, it becomes cough.[寒燥濕風火皆能令人咳. 惟濕病痰飮入胃, 留之而不行, 上入於肺則爲嗽.]; judging from this, all evil qi can bring about cough, but when damp phlegm stays stagnant cough occurs.

王綸 says, “the root of phlegm is water which origins from the kidney, the stirring of phlegm is dampness which the spleen controls.”; to treat cough, first one must check the lung, but, after that, if it is not controlled, one also should consider the spleen and kidney.