Herbs for Wildfire Smoke and Air Pollution

Newsletter 7/29/2024

Escape to the coast

or stay here, and buy a HEPA filter.

Take Ease + Metal Pearls,

3 of each, twice daily.

For irritated eyes, drink chrysanthemum tea.

For heart palpitations, take the Decoction to Drive out Stasis in the Mansion of Blood. 

The smoke is pretty gross right now, and if you're feeling worse for the wear, you're not alone - polluted air doesn't do a body good. There's no true solution other than escaping to cleaner air, but there are some things we can do to help our bodies cope by using herbal medicine, acupuncture, and a few other things.

Herbal Remedies for Wildfire Smoke

The general prescription that I use for helping the body cope with wildfire smoke and air pollution is as follows: Ease Pearls (Fufang Xiao Yao San) 3 capsules, twice/day with Metal Pearls (Lijin Tang) 3 capsules, twice/day. 

In this context, this combination of these formulas helps with:

• lymphatic congestion

• congestion and phlegm in the sinuses, lungs, and throat

• dry and irritated mucous membranes

• sore throat

• fatigue

• chest tightness

 

If there are heart palpitations or significant chest tightness with smoke exposure, one can also add Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang, also known as Decoction to Drive out Stasis in the Mansion of Blood, 3 capsules, twice/day.

 

With severe symptoms, or with chronic heart and lung conditions the best thing to do is to get clinical treatment tailored specific to you. But with mild to moderate symptoms, the general prescription above can work well - since the way smoke and air pollution affects people is fairly uniform.

 

Where do I get these herbs?

Like most practitioner-grade Chinese herbs, Classical Pearls formulas are only available directly from TCM practitioners. If you're interested in purchasing these formulas, you can contact me at sean@chinesemedicineofidaho.com. It's important to make sure any herbal formula you might take is appropriate for you in the context of your overall health.

Belamcanda, or She Gan, flowering in my demonstration garden.

How can I learn more about how these formulas work?

Why, I thought you'd never ask. Wildfire smoke most obviously affects the lungs. But it also affects the heart, as the heart and lungs are ride-or-die mates. The lymphatic system is also significantly affected. Breathing smoke is like the breathing version of what it would be like if we ate a bit of literal trash with every meal. Our digestive system would have to do a lot of extra work to excrete it. Our lymphatic system also does overtime trying to clear the particulate trash out. In TCM terms, we see phlegm, blood stagnation, Liver Qi stagnation, and heat in the upper burner (upper portion of the body) as the primary manifestations of wildfire smoke exposure.

 

Ease Pearls is the English name for Fufang Xiao Yao San. This formula is most popularly used for mental-emotional stress and anxiety, for which it can work quite well (if you take enough). This is related to its actions of dredging Liver Qi to relieve stagnation, resolving Phlegm to clear the mind, and nourishing the Heart Qi. These are all applicable to wildfire smoke exposure, especially with Bupleurum to resolve lymphatic stagnation, Scutellaria to clear heat from the upper burner, Pinellia and Magnolia bark to resolve phlegm, and Glehnia to nourish dryness.

 

Metal Pearls is the English name for Lijin Tang. This formula is used for problems in the lungs, large intestine, and lymphatic system. Notable herbs include Belamcanda, a fantastic herb for clearing lymphatic congestion and stubborn phlegm, and White Lily bulb, an important herb for moistening the lungs while also calming emotions. Metal Pearls is also used in emotional distress, especially related to sadness, loss, and grief - as these are the emotions associated with the Lung organ system. Have you ever felt super bummed out when the smoke rolls in? Of course it's a bummer for a lot of reasons, and we may feel grief for the missed adventures and loss of some summer joy. But the effect of smoke on our lungs can also manifest as sadness and grief solely due to its physical effect on our lung organ system.

 

The combination of Ease and Metal Pearls is also the base remedy I use for tobacco smoke or vape induced lung damage, and for supporting those who want to quit smoking. 

 

Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang aka Decoction to Drive out Stasis in the Mansion of Blood is one of the most important formulas in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The formula name tells you exactly what it does, given adequate context. This formula was recorded in the 19th century by Wang Qingren in his book titled “Correcting Errors in the Forest of Medicine.” Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang improves microcirculation of blood in the whole body, but most especially in the chest, which he referred to as the “Mansion of Blood”. This formula is relevant to the effects of wildfire smoke because the damaging effects of particulate smoke lead not only to phlegm stagnation, but also to blood stagnation. This is more problematic in people with existing cardiovascular conditions or lung conditions, who may be already predisposed to phlegm and blood stagnation. 

 

Does Acupuncture help?

Yes, certainly. Acupuncture helps improve the body's global healing response via inducing a parasympathetic state. Additionally, acupuncture supports circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid. Cupping therapy on the upper back can also be used to help get phlegm and congestion out of the lungs.

 

What else can I do?

Running a HEPA filter (or several) is a simple way to improve indoor air quality. Cheap ones work, expensive ones work. They are essentially a box fan strapped to a HEPA particulate air filter, but some also have fancier design and functions.

 

For irritated eyes, itchy eyes, red eyes, Chrysanthemum tea is the go-to food grade herb. Typically the best for this is White Chrysanthemum. You can find it at any good Chinese tea shop, which may mean an online Chinese tea shop (like Tao of Tea) depending on where you live. Vary steeping time according to preference, add honey or fresh ginger if desired.

 

If you made it this far, well done. Thanks for reading another one of my lengthy emails. I hope it was helpful, or in the least, entertaining.

 

Sincerely, Sean Dugan L.Ac.