Reply To: Acupuncture Bootcamp
Hello Samantha – thank you for your question and writing it out so thoroughly. That is super helpful to us!
Lung Distention in TCM is characterized by symptoms such as:
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing, especially when lying down
• Cough
• Chest fullness or tightness
• Wheezing
You do NOT need to have all of those symptoms in order to use that TCM Illness, but certainly the bulk of them. Yes, COPD/emphysema are the main western diseases that fall in this category (Lung Distention), but remember that TCM is symptom-based and those are only a couple of the main diseases you will see with Lung Distention. Dyspnea isn’t an option here either, so another way to answer this is through deduction! Certainly if dyspnea was in the list, I would choose that + Lung Distention.
Very important to keep in mind that TCM Illness does not equal just a couple of western medical diseases. The TCM Illnesses are all more umbrella terms for a symptom-set.
Please let me know if this helps!