The Constricted Tissue State
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Sean Donahue
Jun 15, 2010, 1:44:03 PM6/15/10
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Constriction is exactly what it sounds like -- a state that begins with acute physical tension and develops into spasm.
In the respiratory system, this is the tissue state associated with an asthma attack -- the muscles around the lungs and bronchi tense up and then begin to spasm. It can be brought on by either emotional stress or physical stress (ie. an allergic reaction.)
Margi Flint associates this state with "Wind" in Chinese medicine with its implication of "external pernicious influences." Breath cut off as a twisted form of self-defense.
All of the herbs I discuss below have potent nervine qualities that help to calm the panic associated with constriction of the airway.
If an asthmatic can learn to recognize the rising tension in the chest before the muscles spasm, there is an herb that can help relieve the tension before it becomes spasmodic:
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae) -- Jim McDonald introduced me to this remarkable plant. Its flowers are purple and resinous -- Jim has a nice photo accompanying his detailed monograph at http://herbcraft.org/aster.html.) A 10-15 drop dose of New England Aster tincture will help to relax the muscles around the lungs and bronchi and dilate the respiratory passages, and, if taken at the first signs of tightness in the chest and shortness of breath will often prevent a full on spasmodic asthma attack.
I also see New England Aster as being useful to help release long-term tension in the muscles of the chest and throat associated with patterns of holding back breath. Here I combine it with False Solomon's Seal/Dragon Root (Smilacina Racemosa) which has a strong affinity for the connective tissues associated with these muscles.
Acrid herbs can be helpful here as well. Matthew Wood notes that:
Among the more familiar acrid herbs are Catnip, Valerian, and Hops. Valerian does have some history of use in treating asthma, especially, Wood notes, "in thin, pale persons." Catnip doesn't seem to have an immediate affinity for the respiratory system but I might add it to a tea along with Wild Cherry bark for someone with a spasmodic cough accompanied by fever with insufficient perspiration. Hops doesn't seem to have much affinity for the respiratory system, but her cousin, Cannabis, has traditionally been used to stop bronchial spasms and open the airways. (My great aunt was prescribed Cannabis for asthma as a child in Wisconsin, but her parents objected to the treatment.) But one acrid herb does seem very promising to me, though I have not yet used it for asthma:
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) -- Matt Wood speaks of Black Cohosh as indicated for a "stuffy feeling in the chest." The plant is certainly potently anti-spasmodic. She grabs my attention because she is also indicated for a particular kind of depression that I find to be common among Kapha asthmatics: Matt Becker describes this kind of person as brooding, artistic, and overly sensitive to the pain of the world, Matt Wood says "this remedy is suited to deeply psychological. brooding persons who are often quite aware of psychological and sexual energy." I find it to be helpful for this kind of depression in doses as low as 3-5 drops. I've used it myself recently when I've had the onset of this kind of mood following accidental gluten ingestion. For an emotionally depressed, Kaphic asthmatic I would consider using Black Cohosh in a formula with Elecampane and Skunk Cabbage which helps to release grief trapped in the lungs.
For a Vata asthmatic suffering from depression with a sense of hollowness I would consider low doses (2-3 drops) of Anemone pulsitilla or Anemone tuberosa (also acrid anti-spasmodic nervines) along with Angelica and Peach or Linden.
For severe acute asthma attacks, bitter nauseant herbs -- herbs which can cause nausea and vomiting at high doses -- are necessary. Wood writes that "The nauseant bitters are recognized, both in biomedicine and in herbalism, to induce expectoration. They stimulate the vagus nerve, which causes contraction to run through both the lungs and the stomach."
Interestingly, the vagus nerve also carries sensory signals to the brain where they are processed as emotion.
Two herbs in this category come to mind immediately:
Lobelia (Lobelia inflata) -- This is the herb that has completely replace my emergency inhaler. Lobelia will stop bronchial spasms and open the airways in seconds. Dosage is highly individual. David Winston says that the best way to gauge dosage with Lobelia is to in a non-emergency situation give someone a drop of Lobelia every 30 seconds or so until she reports the first hint of nausea. The dose indicated will be one drop less than the amount that causes nausea.
I'll ass here my own heterodox view that while you don't always want to make someone throw up during an asthma attack, in some cases when the phleghm is extremely thick and obstructing breath and there is also bronchial spasming, vomiting can force enough phelghm up and out to cause relief. As a child I would often find that when I was very sick I would begin to breathe better only after vomiting. As an adult I seldom let the problem reach that stage.
High doses of Lobelia can also be used in anaphylaxis if epinephrine is not available.
Lobelia also is closely related to Tobacco and has compounds that bond to the same receptors as nicotine so can be helpful, either smoked or as a tincture, in tobacco withdrawal. If smoked, use with Mullein to simultaneously heal damage to the lungs.
Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Sympocarpus foetidus) -- I have not yet experimented with Skunk Cabbage for an acute asthma attack (at that stage I stick with the tried and true) -- but Skunk Cabbage definitely helps to calm spasmodic coughs. The plant was historically used for asthma.
--
Sean Donahue, Traditional Herbalist
Brighid's Well Herbs
http://www.brighidswellherbs.com
In the respiratory system, this is the tissue state associated with an asthma attack -- the muscles around the lungs and bronchi tense up and then begin to spasm. It can be brought on by either emotional stress or physical stress (ie. an allergic reaction.)
Margi Flint associates this state with "Wind" in Chinese medicine with its implication of "external pernicious influences." Breath cut off as a twisted form of self-defense.
All of the herbs I discuss below have potent nervine qualities that help to calm the panic associated with constriction of the airway.
If an asthmatic can learn to recognize the rising tension in the chest before the muscles spasm, there is an herb that can help relieve the tension before it becomes spasmodic:
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae) -- Jim McDonald introduced me to this remarkable plant. Its flowers are purple and resinous -- Jim has a nice photo accompanying his detailed monograph at http://herbcraft.org/aster.html.) A 10-15 drop dose of New England Aster tincture will help to relax the muscles around the lungs and bronchi and dilate the respiratory passages, and, if taken at the first signs of tightness in the chest and shortness of breath will often prevent a full on spasmodic asthma attack.
I also see New England Aster as being useful to help release long-term tension in the muscles of the chest and throat associated with patterns of holding back breath. Here I combine it with False Solomon's Seal/Dragon Root (Smilacina Racemosa) which has a strong affinity for the connective tissues associated with these muscles.
Acrid herbs can be helpful here as well. Matthew Wood notes that:
"In traditional Chinese medicine, the acrid flavor is associated with herbs that 'open the periphery' -- that is diaphoretics that get sweating going in the skin. Generally, also, these agents act upon the peripheral circulation to open the capillaries. Thus, they bring perspiration and toxins out of the body and relax the organism. The capillaries and sweat glands are under the influence of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic, so in fact this influence extends through the periphery into the nerves and muscles."
Among the more familiar acrid herbs are Catnip, Valerian, and Hops. Valerian does have some history of use in treating asthma, especially, Wood notes, "in thin, pale persons." Catnip doesn't seem to have an immediate affinity for the respiratory system but I might add it to a tea along with Wild Cherry bark for someone with a spasmodic cough accompanied by fever with insufficient perspiration. Hops doesn't seem to have much affinity for the respiratory system, but her cousin, Cannabis, has traditionally been used to stop bronchial spasms and open the airways. (My great aunt was prescribed Cannabis for asthma as a child in Wisconsin, but her parents objected to the treatment.) But one acrid herb does seem very promising to me, though I have not yet used it for asthma:
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) -- Matt Wood speaks of Black Cohosh as indicated for a "stuffy feeling in the chest." The plant is certainly potently anti-spasmodic. She grabs my attention because she is also indicated for a particular kind of depression that I find to be common among Kapha asthmatics: Matt Becker describes this kind of person as brooding, artistic, and overly sensitive to the pain of the world, Matt Wood says "this remedy is suited to deeply psychological. brooding persons who are often quite aware of psychological and sexual energy." I find it to be helpful for this kind of depression in doses as low as 3-5 drops. I've used it myself recently when I've had the onset of this kind of mood following accidental gluten ingestion. For an emotionally depressed, Kaphic asthmatic I would consider using Black Cohosh in a formula with Elecampane and Skunk Cabbage which helps to release grief trapped in the lungs.
For a Vata asthmatic suffering from depression with a sense of hollowness I would consider low doses (2-3 drops) of Anemone pulsitilla or Anemone tuberosa (also acrid anti-spasmodic nervines) along with Angelica and Peach or Linden.
For severe acute asthma attacks, bitter nauseant herbs -- herbs which can cause nausea and vomiting at high doses -- are necessary. Wood writes that "The nauseant bitters are recognized, both in biomedicine and in herbalism, to induce expectoration. They stimulate the vagus nerve, which causes contraction to run through both the lungs and the stomach."
Interestingly, the vagus nerve also carries sensory signals to the brain where they are processed as emotion.
Two herbs in this category come to mind immediately:
Lobelia (Lobelia inflata) -- This is the herb that has completely replace my emergency inhaler. Lobelia will stop bronchial spasms and open the airways in seconds. Dosage is highly individual. David Winston says that the best way to gauge dosage with Lobelia is to in a non-emergency situation give someone a drop of Lobelia every 30 seconds or so until she reports the first hint of nausea. The dose indicated will be one drop less than the amount that causes nausea.
I'll ass here my own heterodox view that while you don't always want to make someone throw up during an asthma attack, in some cases when the phleghm is extremely thick and obstructing breath and there is also bronchial spasming, vomiting can force enough phelghm up and out to cause relief. As a child I would often find that when I was very sick I would begin to breathe better only after vomiting. As an adult I seldom let the problem reach that stage.
High doses of Lobelia can also be used in anaphylaxis if epinephrine is not available.
Lobelia also is closely related to Tobacco and has compounds that bond to the same receptors as nicotine so can be helpful, either smoked or as a tincture, in tobacco withdrawal. If smoked, use with Mullein to simultaneously heal damage to the lungs.
Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Sympocarpus foetidus) -- I have not yet experimented with Skunk Cabbage for an acute asthma attack (at that stage I stick with the tried and true) -- but Skunk Cabbage definitely helps to calm spasmodic coughs. The plant was historically used for asthma.
--
Sean Donahue, Traditional Herbalist
Brighid's Well Herbs
http://www.brighidswellherbs.com
claudia Greene
Jun 16, 2010, 12:00:47 AM6/16/10
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Sean-
I love the different formulas for constitutional types. I was just reading an acupuncture book with a focus on children. It mentioned how often asthma in children is a manifestation of troubled emotions. A nervine component to asthma formulas can often be helpful for both adults and children. Not being able to breath sure is traumatic. Other than smaller doses, would you alter the formulas in other ways for children?
Claudia
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