降气化痰平咳喘

文/卓鹏伟

“秋风萧瑟天气凉，草木摇落露为霜”。秋气属金，肃降寒凉，慢性肺病咳喘患者很容易在这个季节病情发作，咳嗽频频，痰多气喘，类似于人们常说的“老慢支”。

"Autumn winds bring coolness; the grass fades and the dew condenses like white frost."Chronic lung diseases are prone to flare-ups in the fall.There will be symptom of frequent coughing, phlegm and shortness of breath, which is called "chronic bronchitis".

三子求方奉父母Three sons seeking prescription for parents

明代著名医家韩懋，因善治疑难痼疾而名闻朝野。一日，有三位读书人来请韩懋为他们的父母治病。这几位老人年事已高，病症趋同——皆为咳嗽气喘、胸闷痰多、食欲不振。此病症是很多老年人的通病，韩懋根据病症成因，精心构思拟定了一个药食两用方——以白芥子、紫苏子和莱菔子三味药煮汤代替茶饮。几位老人服用后效果良好。此后，药方迅速传开，许多老年人因此受益。

Han Mao, a famous medical doctor in the Ming Dynasty, was famous for his ability to treat difficult illnesses. One day, three sons visited Han Mao for therapy to their parents' diseases. The symptoms tended to be the same-all for coughing and wheezing, chest tightness and phlegm, loss of appetite. This disease was a common disease for many elderly people. Targeting the cause of the disease，Han Mao developed an edible Chinese herbal prescription. He decocted Sinapis Semen;Perillae Fructus and Raphani Semen and replace tea with this decoction, which worked well and spread rapidly. Many elderly people thus benefited from it.

因为此方源于三学子为亲人求医，韩懋把该方命名为三子养亲汤，并记载于其代表著作《韩氏医通》中。

Han Mao named the prescription afterthree sons seeking prescription for parents and called it "San Zi Yang Qin Tang". He recorded the prescription in his representative work"Han Shi Yi Tong".

菜园蔬果显良效Vegetables and fruits ofmedical effects

三子养亲汤的组成虽然简单，仅有白芥子、紫苏子、莱菔子三味药，但药效甚好。其中，白芥子主温肺利气，紫苏子主平喘止咳，莱菔子主消食导滞，而且三味药均有疏通气道和化痰的功效，痰消气顺则咳喘自然平息。全方合用，能治疗气机上逆、饮食停滞导致的咳嗽气喘、食少痰多等病症。现代临床医学已将该方广泛应用于慢性支气管炎、支气管哮喘、咳嗽变异性哮喘、慢性阻塞性肺病等病症的治疗。

"San Zi Yang Qin Tang" consists of only three herbs:Sinapis Semen；Perillae Fructus and Raphani Semen. However，it works well. Among them, Semen Sinapis is mainly used to warm the lungs and benefitqi. Perilla Fructus is mainly used to calm asthma and relieve cough. Raphani Semen is mainly used to aid digestion and guide stagnation. Moreover, all the three herbs are effective in dredging theqichannels and resolving phlegm. If the phlegm is removed, theqiwill be smoothed out, then coughing and asthma will naturally be calmed down. The combination of the whole prescription can treat cough and asthma caused by upward reversal ofqiand stagnation of food and drink, as well as loss of appetite and excessive phlegm. In modern clinical practice, this prescription has been widely used in the treatment of chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, cough variant asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other diseases.

白芥子

白芥子、紫苏子、莱菔子均是菜园中可食用的菜籽，即芥菜、紫苏和萝卜的种子，一起熬制成汤，味道可口，一些不喜欢吃药的老人也能欣然接受，尤其是在咳喘病症高发的秋季，该方大有用武之地。

Sinapis Semen, Perillae Fructus and Raphani Semen are edible seeds in the garden that is,mustard, perilla and radish seeds. Boiled together into a soup, there will be a delicious flavor. Elderly people who do not like to take medicines can also be glad to accept. Especially in the high incidence of cough and asthma in the fall, the formula is very useful.

培土和胃制痰湿Cultivating earth element and harmonizing stomach to remove phlegm-dampness

“痰由百病生”，许多疾病都可诱发人体出现痰症。在中医理论中，痰为津液，五行属水，从“土克水”的角度出发，治疗痰症应以“培土”为佳。

"Phlegm emerges from many diseases." In TCM,phlegm belongs to fluid and attributes to water element. Many diseases can cause phlegm in the body, which is one of the common illnesses. From the five elements theory, the treatment of phlegm should be based on "cultivating the earth element",which is in line with the theory of "earth overcomes water".

三子养亲汤的治疗过程，体现了以土制水的五行玄机——白芥子和莱菔子两味药进入身体以后，主走五行属土的足阳明胃经，辅助同样属土的胃脏运转活动，药效发散的过程相当于“培土”。当身体中的土属性壮大，就能有效压制水属性的痰症，再配合紫苏子的平喘作用，达到治疗病症的目的。

The therapeutic approach of "San Zi Yang Qin Tang" also precisely reflects the five elements theory in the prescription, which uses earth to control water. After entering the body, Sinapis Semen and Raphani Semen go through the Stomach meridian (the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming,which attributes to the earth element), assisting the activities of the stomach(which belongs with the earth element), and the process of dispersal of the medicines is regarded as "cultivating the earth element". When the earth element in the body grows strong, it can effectively suppress the phlegm of water element, and together with the asthma-alleviating effect of Sinapis Semen, it can achieve the purpose of treating the disease.

结 语Conclusion

“病痰饮者，当以温药和之”，三子养亲汤的标准密码在于“降气化痰”四个字。但是，该方的祛痰平喘，只是治标之剂，仅适于发病期服用，待痰消平喘之后，还需根据痰症的具体病因寻求治疗之法。

" If there is phlegm, warm drugs should be used to release it." The standard code of "San Zi Yang Qin Tang" lies in the words "lowering qi and resolving phlegm". However, the resolving of phlegm and calming of asthma in this prescription is only a symptomatic treatment, which can only be taken at the onset of the disease. After the phlegm subsides and the asthma calms down, treatment should be sought according to the specific cause of the phlegm disorder.