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Cough Worse After Eating

How Chinese medicine differentiates a cough that worsens after eating into the three patterns described for it, and the points for each. Distinct from this site's Acid Reflux-Related Cough and Chronic Cough pages. Acupuncture only — no herbs.

This page is educational, for practitioners and students — it is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace a proper in-person assessment. A cough that worsens after eating, especially with choking, weight loss or difficulty swallowing, needs a proper swallowing and digestive assessment.
General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for a cough that worsens after eating — 3 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

PointKey action
ST-36Benefits Stomach and Spleen. Tonifies Qi and Blood. Tonifies the Original Qi.
REN-12Tonifies Stomach and Spleen. Resolves Dampness and Phlegm. Regulates Stomach-Qi.
P-6Opens the chest and moves Qi and Blood. Calms the Mind. Moves Liver-Qi.
The Three Patterns

↑ reinforcing   ↓ reducing   ⊥ even method.

1. Food Stagnation in the Stomach View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Upper-abdominal bloating; sour or rotten-smelling belching; nausea or vomiting of undigested food; cough triggered by eating; relief after vomiting.
Tongue: Normal body, thick greasy curd-like coat, thickest centrally. Pulse: Slippery and full, strongest at the right middle position.
Treatment principle: Resolves food stagnation, harmonizes the Stomach and descends rebellious Qi.
REN-12 ⊥ ST-36 ⊥ P-6 ↓
Note: no moxa.

2. Damp-Phlegm in the Lungs View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Copious white sticky phlegm that is easy to expectorate; chest tightness and heaviness; poor appetite with bloating and loose stools; body heaviness and fatigue; chronic productive cough worse after eating.
Tongue: Pale, swollen, tooth-marked, thick white greasy coat. Pulse: Slippery, like rolling beads; slightly soggy.
Treatment principle: Dries Dampness, transforms Phlegm, strengthens the Spleen's transformative function and restores the descent of Lung Qi.
BL-13 ↑ EX-B-1 (Dingchuan) ↓ ST-40 ↓ ST-36 ↑
Note: moxa is appropriate.

3. Rebellious Stomach Qi

Clinical manifestations: Cough triggered by eating; belching; nausea or vomiting; acid reflux or sour regurgitation; a sensation of Qi rushing upward from the stomach; upper-stomach fullness.
Tongue: Normal or slightly pale, white coat (yellow if Heat is present). Pulse: Wiry or slippery, especially at the right middle position.
Treatment principle: Directs rebellious Stomach Qi downward, transforms Phlegm and calms the Stomach-Lung axis.
REN-12 ⊥ P-6 ↓ ST-36 ⊥ LU-7 ↓
Note: no moxa. This site's decks have no standalone Rebellious-Stomach-Qi-with-cough slide — no pattern link is given here.
Related conditions
Acid Reflux-Related Cough Chronic Cough GERD

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Acupuncture-only reference — structure adapted (not text) from how other condition-lookup sites organize this kind of content. Let us know what to add or change.