Dry Cough, Wet Cough, Whooping Cough, Croup, What are the Symptoms and Diagnosis of a cough according to traditional Chinese medicine?

Chinese medicine considers coughing a form of rebellious Lung Energy (Qi). The lungs are the body's first line of defence, protecting the interior organs from invasive pathogens in the air, like viruses, bacteria, molds, etc. 

The lung qi normally descends, taking oxygen to the blood. Coughing means that the lung qi is going in the wrong direction.  There can be several reasons for this.

• The lungs are reacting to an invasive event (Wind Invasion)

Coughs due to colds, flu, whooping cough, tuberculosis, croup, etc. are examples of Wind Cold or Wind Heat coughs.

These are treated with particular herbs designed to Expel Wind or treat surface conditions. They may also contain herbs that subdue viral, bacterial, or fungal organisms. 

• They need to expel something from the body. 

In most cases these are coughs with excessive phlegm.  There are many types of phlegm. Hot Phlegm, Cold Phlegm, Damp Phlegm, Clear Phlegm, Frothy Phlegm, the type of phlegm can often tell us much about the cause and nature of the cough.

• Lung paroxysm due to an imbalance of Yin/ Yang, Heat/ Cold, Damp/ Dry

Coughs resulting from internal disharmonies, such as asthma, emphysema, lung cancer, drug reactions, etc. are treated with herbs to relieve a cough, combined with herbs that address the particular disharmony. This kind of cough medicine is best created by a professional Chinese herbalist who can diagnose the condition according to the principles of Chinese medicine.

If your cough begins at the onset of a common cold,  Sang Ju Yin Pills may help because it contains several antiviral herbs for cough. This cough medicine can be useful for both dry coughs and productive coughs. It is most useful for coughing at the beginning of a cold or flu.

If a cough is very phlegmy or phlegm is thick or difficult to expectorate add Fritillaria Expectorant Pills. 

A persistent dry cough that follows an upper respiratory infection occurs when the lung qi and lung yin (fluids) become exhausted when fighting the infection.  Dry Cough Formula can often remedy these coughs, which can persist for weeks.