Clinical Presentation

Cough which is dry or with scanty sticky sputum, weak and/or hoarse voice, dry mouth and throat, tickly throat, tiredness, dislike of speaking, thin body or thin chest, night sweating. With pronounced Empty-Heat: feeling of heat in the evening, afternoon fever, five-palm heat, malar flush.

Treatment

Principle: tonify Lung-Yin, nourish Body Fluids, clear Empty-Heat if necessary

Combination Points (and notes)

• KI-6 + LU-7 (opening the Ren Mai) is the single combination doing the most work here — it simultaneously tonifies Lung-Qi and Yin, restores Lung-Kidney communication, and benefits the throat.
• LU-10 and L.I.-11 are the only two reduced points in an otherwise reinforcing protocol — held in reserve specifically for when Empty-Heat is actually present, not used routinely.

Clinical Presentation

Dry cough, dry skin, dry throat, dry mouth, thirst, hoarse voice.

Treatment

Principle: moisten the Lungs, nourish fluids

Combination Points (and notes)

• The dry tongue here is specifically not Red — the key differentiator from Lung-Yin deficiency with Empty-Heat, which looks similar but carries a Red tongue and Rapid pulse.
• All points reinforced, no moxa — this pattern is pure Dryness with no Cold or Deficiency-Yang component to warm.

Clinical Presentation

Aversion to cold, fever, cough, itchy throat, slight breathlessness, blocked or runny nose with clear, watery discharge, sneezing, occipital headache, body aches.

Treatment

Principle: release the Exterior, expel Cold, stimulate the descending and diffusing of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• Cupping BL-12 is an especially effective technique for expelling Wind here, distinct from needling alone.
• Moxa is applicable after needling despite the reducing method — this is Wind-Cold, so a touch of warmth helps expel the Cold component without contradicting the Excess-clearing intent.

Clinical Presentation

Aversion to cold, fever, cough, sore throat, blocked or runny nose with yellow discharge, sneezing, headache, body aches, slight sweating, slight thirst, swollen tonsils.

Treatment

Principle: release the Exterior, clear Heat, stimulate the descending and diffusing of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• LU-11 bled specifically for sore throat and swollen tonsils is worth remembering as a targeted technique, distinct from the routine needling of the rest of the point set.
• A clinical aside worth noting: the classic herbal formula Yin Qiao San is so effective for Wind-Heat invasions that 'no household with children should be without it' — a reminder that this pattern responds very well to prompt treatment.

Clinical Presentation

Sudden swelling of eyes and face gradually spreading to the whole body, bright shiny complexion, scanty and pale urination, aversion to wind, fever, cough, slight breathlessness.

Treatment

Principle: release the Exterior, expel Cold, resolve Dampness, restore the descending of Lung-Qi and open the Water passages

Combination Points (and notes)

• This is the acute-oedema Wind pattern — sudden facial swelling distinguishes it immediately from ordinary Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat invasions.
• L.I.-7, the Large Intestine Accumulation point, is chosen specifically because this is an acute condition — a useful general reminder of when to reach for Xi-Cleft points.

Clinical Presentation

Cough, slight breathlessness, feeling of heat, chest ache, flaring of nostrils, thirst, red face.

Treatment

Principle: clear Lung-Heat, restore the descending of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• A compact, purely-reducing protocol — no moxa anywhere, since this is straightforward Full-Heat.
• LU-1 and BL-13 are paired as front-and-back (Mu/Shu-adjacent) points doing the identical job of clearing Heat and restoring the descending of Lung-Qi.

Clinical Presentation

Chronic cough coming in bouts with profuse sticky white sputum which is easy to expectorate, white pasty complexion, phlegm in the throat, a feeling of oppression in the chest, shortness of breath, dislike of lying down, wheezing, nausea, a feeling of heaviness, muzziness and dizziness of the head.

Treatment

Principle: resolve Dampness and Phlegm, restore the descending of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• Ren-12 and BL-20 are again the only two reinforced points — tonifying the Spleen at the source of Phlegm production while everything else reduces to clear Phlegm already formed in the Lungs and chest.
• A cross-pattern diagnostic tip applies to all four Lung Phlegm patterns (Damp, Cold, Heat, Dry): phlegm in the throat plus a Swollen tongue is the shared signature; what differs between them is the character of the sputum and coating.

Clinical Presentation

Cough with expectoration of white, watery sputum, aggravated by exposure to cold, feeling cold, cold hands, phlegm in the throat, dizziness, a feeling of oppression of the chest, a feeling of cold of the chest, a feeling of heaviness, muzziness and dizziness of the head.

Treatment

Principle: resolve Phlegm, expel Cold, warm Yang, restore the descending of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• Identical point set to Damp-Phlegm in the Lungs, plus one addition (BL-23, reinforced) and moxa throughout — the Cold-Yang component is what distinguishes treatment here from the Damp variant.
• Moxa is explicitly called for in this pattern (unlike Damp-Phlegm) — the deciding factor is the Cold/Yang-deficiency signature (cold hands, aggravation by cold, Slippery-Slow rather than plain Slippery pulse).

Clinical Presentation

Barking cough with profuse sticky yellow or green sputum, shortness of breath, wheezing, a feeling of oppression of the chest, phlegm in the throat, a feeling of heat, thirst, insomnia, agitation, a feeling of heaviness and muzziness of the head, dizziness.

Treatment

Principle: resolve Phlegm, clear Heat, stimulate the descending of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• Ren-12 is needled with even method here, not reinforced as in the other Phlegm patterns — with Heat this pronounced, fully tonifying the Spleen point risks feeding the Heat, so the treatment splits the difference.
• The barking quality of the cough plus yellow-green (rather than plain yellow or white) sputum is the clinical detail that separates this from Damp-Phlegm or Lung-Heat alone.

Clinical Presentation

Dry cough but with occasional, difficult expectoration of scanty sputum, shortness of breath, a feeling of oppression of the chest, scanty phlegm in the throat, a feeling of heaviness and muzziness of the head, dizziness, dry throat, wheezing, pasty dry complexion.

Treatment

Principle: resolve Phlegm, nourish fluids, nourish Lung-Yin, restore the descending of Lung-Qi

Combination Points (and notes)

• A genuinely mixed pattern by design: the Method is to reinforce the points that nourish fluids and Lung-Yin, and reduce the rest — treating the underlying Dryness/Yin deficiency and the Phlegm it has thickened at the same time.
• Despite the name, this is not a Cold-Phlegm variant — no moxa is used, since the driving mechanism is Dryness/Yin deficiency thickening fluids into Phlegm, not Cold congealing them.

Clinical Presentation

Cough with expectoration of white, watery sputum, breathlessness, splashing sound in the chest, vomiting of white, watery, frothy sputum, a feeling of oppression of the chest, a feeling of heaviness and muzziness of the head, dizziness, feeling cold, coughing which may be elicited by a scare.

Treatment

Principle: resolve Phlegm, tonify Spleen-, Lung- and Kidney-Yang

Combination Points (and notes)

• A genuinely three-way mixed pattern: the Method reduces LU-5/ST-40/Ren-9, needles Ren-17/BL-13 with even method, and reinforces everything else — reflecting that this pattern sits at the intersection of active Phlegm-Fluids (Excess) and deep Spleen-, Lung- and Kidney-Yang deficiency (Empty).
• The splashing sound in the chest and frothy vomited sputum are distinctive enough that this presentation is especially characteristic in elderly patients.

Clinical Presentation

Slight shortness of breath, slight cough, weak voice, dislike of speaking, bright-white complexion, propensity to catch colds, tiredness, palpitations, depression, spontaneous sweating, sighing.

Treatment

Principle: tonify Qi, strengthen the Heart and the Lungs, calm the Mind

Combination Points (and notes)

• This pattern is essentially the Lung-Qi deficiency point set plus the Heart-Qi deficiency point set combined — Ren-17 is the single point that bridges both, tonifying the Gathering Qi shared by Lung and Heart.
• Sadness, grief and worry are common emotional causes leading toward Lung deficiency, which over time can draw the Heart into deficiency as well via the shared Gathering Qi of the chest.