Hoarse voice

A harsh, husky, muffled, faltering, or forced voice; attributable to wind-cold, wind-heat, heat evil invading the lung, lung-kidney yīn vacuity, or blood stasis and phlegm.

Biomedical correspondence: dysphonia.

Patterns

Wind-cold (风寒 fēng hán) hoarse voice is associated with an itchy throat, swollen larynx, cough, heat effusion, aversion to cold, thin white tongue fur, and a tight floating pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Course wind and disperse cold; diffuse the lung and restore the voice. Use Rough and Ready Three Decoction (三拗汤 sān ào tāng).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on GV, LU, and LI. Select GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí), BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù), LU-8 (Channel Ditch, 经渠 jīng qú), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), CV-22 (Celestial Chimney, 天突 tiān tú), and CV-23 (Ridge Spring, 廉泉 lián quán); needle with even supplementation and drainage and, if appropriate, moxa.

Wind-heat (风热 fēng rè) hoarse voice is accompanied by sore throat with burning sensation, heat effusion, aversion to cold, cough with yellow phlegm, thin yellow tongue fur, and a rapid floating pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Course wind and clear heat; diffuse the lung and restore the voice. Use Mulberry Leaf and Chrysanthemum Beverage (桑菊饮 sāng jú yǐn).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on GV, LU, and LI. Select GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí), GV-14 (Great Hammer, 大椎 dà zhuī), LU-7 (Broken Sequence, 列缺 liè quē), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend, 曲池 qū chí), and CV-23 (Ridge Spring, 廉泉 lián quán); needle with drainage and prick LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng) to bleed.

Heat (dryness-heat) evil (热邪 rè xié) invading the lung causes a hoarse voice accompanied by red sore swollen throat with a sense of blockage, thick phlegm, oppression in the chest, dry stool and reddish urine, red tongue with sticky yellow fur, and a slippery rapid pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Treat with Dryness-Clearing Lung-Rescuing Decoction (清燥救肺汤 qīng zào jiù fèi tāng).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, LU, and KI. Select BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend, 曲池 qū chí), LU-10 (Fish Border, 鱼际 yú jì), LI-18 (Protuberance Assistant, 扶突 fú tú), and KI-6 (Shining Sea, 照海 zhào hǎi); needle with drainage and prick LU-11 (Lesser Shang, 少商 shào shāng) to bleed.

Lung-kidney yīn vacuity (肺肾阴虚 fèi shèn yīn xū) hoarse voice is an long-standing condition associated with dry sore itchy throat, sticky phlegm, red tongue with scant fur, and a fine rapid pulse.

Medicinal therapy: Enrich the lung and kidney; clear heat and restore the voice. Use Lily Bulb Lung-Securing Decoction (百合固肺汤 bǎi hé gù fèi tāng) or Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill (六味地黄丸 liù wèi dì huáng wán).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, LU, and KI. Select BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù), BL-23 (Kidney Transport, 肾俞 shèn shù), BL-43 (Gāo-Huāng Transport, 膏肓俞 gāo huāng shù), GB-25 (Capital Gate, 京门 jīng mén), KI-6 (Shining Sea, 照海 zhào hǎi), KI-3 (Great Ravine, 太溪 tài xī), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), GV-15 (Mute’s Gate, 哑门 yǎ mén), and CV-23 (Ridge Spring, 廉泉 lián quán); needle with supplementation.

Blood stasis and phlegm (血瘀痰聚 xuè yū tán jù) hoarse voice is also a long-standing condition that may gradually worsen; it is accompanied by a sore dry throat possibly with visible nodes or lumps; the tongue is purple with thin fur, and the pulse is fine and stringlike.

Medicinal therapy: Treat with borax (Borax, 硼砂 péng shā), costazia bone/pumice (Costaziae Os/Pumex, 海浮石 hǎi fú shí), sterculia (Sterculiae Lychnophorae Semen, 胖大海 pàng dà hǎi), chebule (Chebulae Fructus, 诃子 hē zǐ), cremastra/pleione (Cremastrae seu Pleiones Pseudobulbus, 山慈姑 shān cí gū), bolbostemma (Bolbostemmatis Tuber, 土贝母 tǔ bèi mǔ), tangerine pip (Citri Reticulatae Semen, 橘核 jú hé), and litchee pit (Litchi Semen, 荔枝核 lì zhī hé).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, SP, ST, and LR. Select BL-17 (Diaphragm Transport, 膈俞 gé shù), SP-10 (Sea of Blood, 血海 xuè hǎi), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), BL-20 (Spleen Transport, 脾俞 pí shù), CV-12 (Center Stomach Duct, 中脘 zhōng wǎn), ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), ST-40 (Bountiful Bulge, 丰隆 fēng lóng), CV-22 (Celestial Chimney, 天突 tiān tú), and CV-23 (Ridge Spring, 廉泉 lián quán); needle with even supplementation and drainage. Compare loss of voice; sudden loss of voice. See also throat lichen xiǎn.

Etymology

Chinese: 声 shēng, voice; 音 yīn, sound; 嘶 sī, hoarse; neigh; 哑 yǎ, mute, silent.