Wind-Heat entering the Lungs
The information provided here is not a replacement for a doctor. You shouldn't use it for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a professional TCM practitioner.
At a glance
Preliminary reading: What is a pattern?
Diagnosis
Common symptoms: Slight fever Mild chest pain Dry and scaly skin Cough with foul-smelling sputum
Pulse type(s): Rapid (Shu), Slippery (Hua)
Tongue coating: Yellow coating
Tongue color: Red
Treatment
Common formulas: Wei Jing Tang
Pathology
Wind-Heat entering the Lungs is a pattern of disharmony in Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Medicine views the human body as a complex system that tends toward harmony. A pattern of disharmony is a disorder that prevents that harmony from occurring.
Patterns give rise to symptoms that may at first glance seem unrelated from a Western standpoint but that actually make a lot of sense when one understands Chinese Medicine theory. For instance here Wind-Heat entering the Lungs gives rise to such diverse symptoms as cough with foul-smelling sputum, slight fever, mild chest pain and dry and scaly skin.
To diagnose a pattern, analyzing a patient's pulse as well as their tongue is common practice. In the case of Wind-Heat entering the Lungs patients tend to exhibit rapid (Shu) or slippery (Hua) pulses as well as a red tongue with yellow coating.
Patterns aren't exactly the Chinese Medicine equivalent to Western diseases, they're rather the underlying causes behind diseases or health conditions. Here Wind-Heat entering the Lungs is thought to sometimes induce conditions such as bronchitis, pneumonia or pertussis (as well as two others).
Diagnosing Wind-Heat entering the Lungs
Diagnosing a pattern in Chinese Medicine is no easy feat and should be left to professional practitioners. In particular one has to know how to differentiate between different types of pulses and tongue coatings, shapes and colors as well as learn to read from a long list of seemingly unrelated symptoms.
Pulse type(s): Rapid (Shu) or slippery (Hua)
Tongue coating: Yellow coating
Tongue color: Red
Main symptoms: Slight fever Mild chest pain Dry and scaly skin Cough with foul-smelling sputum
Treating Wind-Heat entering the Lungs
Herbal formulas used to treat Wind-Heat entering the Lungs
Wei Jing Tang
Source date: 627 AD
Number of ingredients: 4 herbs
Key actions: Clears heat from the Lungs. Transforms Phlegm. Drives out Blood-Stagnation. Discharges pus.
Formula summary
Wei Jing Tang is a 4-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 627 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that clear internal abscesses and sores.
Besides Wind-Heat entering the Lungs, Wei Jing Tang is also used to treat Qi And Blood Stagnation.
Related conditions
Please keep in mind that a Western Medicine condition can be caused by several Chinese Medicine patterns of disharmony and vice versa. As such a patient suffering from one of the conditions below will not necessarily be suffering from Wind-Heat entering the Lungs, it is just one pattern that's commonly associated with the condition. Click on a condition to learn what other patterns it's associated with.
Bronchitis Pneumonia Pertussis Bronchiectasis Asthmatic bronchitis