In Chinese medicine, asthma is called "xiao chuan," which means wheezing and dyspnea, respectively. Chinese medicine classifies xiao and chuan as two separate illnesses with different treatments. Xiao (wheezing) is characterized by a whistling sound during breathing, increased respiration rate, dyspnea and inability to rest in a horizontal position. Chuan (shortness of breath) is characterized by dyspnea, constant opening of mouth to grasp air, raised shoulder, flared nostrils and inability to rest in a horizontal position. Patients with xiao (wheezing) generally will have chuan (shortness of breath), while patients with chuan (shortness of breath) may or may not have xiao (wheezing). In Western medicine, wheezing and shortness of breath are both considered as symptoms which may be present in many different types of pulmonary syndromes such as asthma, acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease in which the walls of the airways, the bronchial tubes, become inflamed. The swelling of the bronchial tubes and/or the excessive mucus secreted from the walls cause the tubes to narrow, which partially blocks the airway. Allergies, chronic bronchiole infection and hyperirritability of the airway tubes are the most common causes of asthma.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been treating asthma for thousands of years. In 1979, the World Health Organization listed forty diseases that can benefit from acupuncture. Respiratory tract diseases, including asthma and bronchitis, were included on that list. There are many studies relating to the success of acupuncture and Chinese herbs for the treatment of asthma in last twenty years. For example, in 1993, the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at the University Hospital of Vienna, Austria, reported a study that concluded that after ten weeks of acupuncture treatment, over 70% of long-standing asthma patients achieved significant improvement.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs may help:

Improve and balance the immune system

Reduce allergic reaction

Reduce bronchial inflammation

Adjust the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in order to expand the walls of the airways

Reduce and withdraw mucus and phlegm

 Increase the capacity of the lungs