How to treat asthma in traditional Chinese medicine

Asthma patients suffer a lot and have to take medications for a long time, but the disease cannot be cured. There is always a possibility of relapse, and every time it relapses, they feel like they can’t breathe and they suffocate. So patients can still take some traditional Chinese medicine treatments. So how should traditional Chinese medicine be used to treat asthma?

1. Fluid replacement: According to water loss and heart condition, isotonic fluid is given intravenously at a dosage of 2000-3000 ml/d to correct water loss and dilute sputum.

2. Glucocorticoids are an important treatment measure for controlling and relieving severe asthma attacks. Methylprednisolone is commonly used, 40 to 120 mg per intravenous injection, and the injection can be repeated after 6 to 8 hours.

3. Salbutamol (Salbuterol) nebulized inhalation, intravenous or intramuscular injection

(1) Nebulizer inhalation: dilute 1 ml of 0.5% (W/V, 5 mg/ml) salbutamol solution with an appropriate amount of normal saline and then nebulize for inhalation. The medication can be repeated after 2 to 6 hours depending on the condition of the patient.

⑵ Subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of salbutamol: 500μg/time (8μg/kg body weight each time), the injection can be repeated every 4 to 6 hours.

⑶ Intravenous injection of salbutamol 250μg/time (94μg/kg body weight/time), the injection speed should be slow (about 10min), and repeat the medication if necessary.

4. Nebulized inhalation of ipratropium bromide solution

5. Intravenous drip and injection of aminophylline: To measure or estimate the patient's plasma aminophylline concentration, if the patient's plasma aminophylline concentration is <5 mg/L, a negative dose of aminophylline (5 mg/kg body weight) can be given, diluted with 20-40 ml of 5% glucose solution and slowly injected intravenously. The injection takes more than 15 minutes to complete. If the plasma aminophylline concentration has reached 10-15 mg/L, aminophylline should be dripped intravenously at a maintenance dose of 0.7 mg/kg·h, and attention should be paid to the monitoring of plasma aminophylline concentration and the dosage of the drug should be adjusted in time.

6. The general inhaled oxygen concentration for oxygen therapy is 25% to 40%, and attention should be paid to humidification. If the patient has obvious hypoxemia and PaCO2<4.66kPa (35mmHg), oxygen can be given by mask. When the inhaled oxygen concentration is >50%, the inhaled oxygen concentration and the time of high-concentration oxygen therapy should be strictly controlled to make PaO2>6.65kPa (50mmHg), and attention should be paid to prevent oxygen poisoning.

7. Correction of acidosis. Due to hypoxia, insufficient fluid replacement, etc., metabolic acidosis may occur. 5% sodium bicarbonate is usually given by intravenous drip. The dosage is:

Required ml of 5% sodium bicarbonate = [normal BE (mmol/L) - measured BE (mmol/L)] × body weight (kg) × 0.4

In the formula, normal BE is generally calculated as -3mmol/L.

8. Pay attention to electrolyte balance. If salbutamol is used, some patients may experience hypokalemia, so be sure to replenish it appropriately.

9. Correct carbon dioxide retention. When carbon dioxide retention occurs, the condition is critical, indicating that respiratory muscle fatigue has occurred. Attention should be paid to complications such as atelectasis, pneumothorax, and mediastinal emphysema. If pneumothorax occurs, immediate suction and water seal bottle drainage are required. If necessary, nasotracheal intubation or tracheotomy and mechanical ventilation should be performed.

In the article, we have learned about the methods of treating asthma in traditional Chinese medicine, so we can try this method, which can treat our asthma from the inside out and relieve our symptoms. It does not have such serious side effects and is more effective than Western medicine.