Where to apply the Sanfu patch for respiratory diseases?

Sanfu patching is routinely used to treat respiratory problems, such as chronic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma in remission, and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. The core acupoints are mostly Feishu, Dingchuan, Tiantu, and Tanzhong. In clinical practice, 70 to 80% of people apply the patch at these locations, so there is no need to make it too complicated.

I have been doing patch care in a community Chinese medicine department for almost six years. I am so busy during the dog days of every year that I can’t even touch the ground. I have seen too many people working in vain because they can’t find the right place for patching at home. In fact, these acupuncture points are particularly easy to find. Tiantu is the small pit under the throat, and Tanzhong is on the two nipples. At the midpoint of the connecting line, Feishu on the back is simpler. Touch the most prominent cervical vertebra at the back of the neck, and count three bony protrusions downwards, with two horizontal fingers on each side. Dingchuan is located a little above Feishu, half an inch next to the seventh cervical vertebra. A difference of one centimeter will not affect the effect. Last year, there was a young man who had suffered from allergic rhinitis for almost ten years. He used to apply it at home every three days, only on one place on Tiantu. After three years of continuous application, there was no improvement. Last year, when he came to our place, we added bilateral Feishu and Yingxiang. Each patch was removed every 2 to 4 hours. As soon as he finished applying it on his head, he said that the number of sneezing in the morning was much less. According to experience, if he sticks to the three-year cycle, the frequency of attacks can be reduced by more than half.

However, we in the industry do have different views on acupoint matching. Some old Chinese medicine doctors are used to adding Shenshu and Gaomingshu to old patients with chronic bronchitis who have been coughing and wheezing for more than ten years. They say that the lungs and kidneys come from the same source, and the lungs alone are not enough, so the roots must be added. Some doctors think it is unnecessary, especially for people with sensitive skin. The more acupoints applied, the higher the probability of allergic blistering. The basic four acupoints are enough, so you won’t suffer too much. We usually make adjustments based on the person. If someone is particularly prone to fatigue and gets out of breath after taking only two steps, we will add an extra three-mile patch. If the skin is prone to redness and itchiness, we will put two less patches on them, whichever is more comfortable.

By the way, if you are in the acute stage of respiratory infection recently, coughing up yellow phlegm, having a fever, or having severe wheezing, then no matter where you apply it, it is not appropriate. You have to wait until the symptoms subside and enter the stable stage before applying it again, otherwise it will easily aggravate the symptoms and the gain will not be worth the candle.