Professor Gao Chaobing’s Clinical Experience in Treating Childhood Allergic Rhinitis by the Therapeutic Method of Simultaneously Treating the Lung and Spleen

Abstract

With the transformation of modern lifestyles and the impact of environmental factors, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in children has been increasing annually. Under allergen stimulation, the nasal mucosa exhibits abnormal immune responses, leading to mucosal swelling, increased secretions, and symptoms such as frequent sneezing, nasal itching, and congestion, which severely disrupt children’s daily life and academic performance. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) posits that children’s physiological characteristics manifest as “frequent lung insufficiency and spleen deficiency.” The lung governs the skin and hair, and opens into the nose. Lung qi deficiency weakens the defensive capacity, allowing external pathogens to invade and interact with latent phlegm or heat in the body. This results in a syndrome characterized by lung deficiency as the root cause and wind pathogens or latent pathogens as the superficial manifestations, forming the pattern of “lung deficiency with lingering pathogens.” Based on Chief Physician Gao Chaobing’s years of clinical expertise and unique insights into treating pediatric allergic rhinitis, this article explores the TCM theoretical framework to identify the diagnostic evidence and therapeutic principles for the “lung deficiency with lingering pathogens” syndrome in childhood allergic rhinitis. The aim is to provide innovative TCM strategies and practical treatment approaches for clinical management, thereby enhancing the efficacy of TCM diagnosis and treatment for pediatric allergic rhinitis.