The causes of diarrhea in COPD patients are various, including gastrointestinal infection, irritable bowel, antibiotic abuse, food factors (cold diet, lactose intolerance, excessive fat intake), drugs (laxatives such as magnesium sulfate and lactulose, dehydrating agents such as mannitol and sorbitol)6, Chinese medicinal herbs-natural herbs-are used worldwide and have significant effects on human glucose and lipid metabolism, intestinal inflammation, and oxidative stress30. Continuous diarrhea often causes dehydration, electrolyte disturbance, fatigue, loss of appetite, and other problems in patients, which delays the recovery of patients with COPD and hinders the selection of treatment drugs for the patients.
Ginger moxibustion is a unique non-pharmacological traditional Chinese medicine therapy. In recent years, ginger moxibustion has achieved good clinical effects in treating diarrhea. The theory of meridians and collaterals states that the Shenque acupoint is an essential acupoint on the Ren channel. The Shenque acupoint is connected to the 12 meridians and the 12 visceral organs and the whole body29,31; it regulates the intestine, preventing diarrhea, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and regulating Yin and Yang. According to modern medicine, the navel has thin skin, high sensitivity, strong permeability, and fast absorption as it contains a large number of microvessels. Drug molecules are more accessible to pass through the corneum of the umbilical skin, enter the interstitial cell, quickly disperse into the blood, and play a role in the whole body. Moxibustion has the functions of warming meridians and collaterals, warming the middle, strengthening the spleen, and preventing diarrhea. Ginger is of immense value in treating various digestive diseases like gastric ulcerations, gastritis, dyspepsia, nausea, indigestion, belching, bloating, epigastric discomfort, and vomiting32. Ginger moxibustion on Shenque Acupoint strengthens the spleen, soothing the liver, warming kidneys, and stopping diarrhea. When we introduced it to treating diarrhea in COPD patients, we found that it also had excellent efficacy. Our experimental results show that the combined use of ginger moxibustion in the treatment of COPD accompanied by diarrhea has a better effect than conventional therapy.
Some possible accidents and countermeasures
First, if patients feel burning when the moxa pillar is not fully burned, replace the patient's navel with a thicker piece of ginger. Second, if the moxa wick has burned out but the patient has no unmistakable warm feeling, replace it with thinner ginger slices or prick more holes in the ginger slices. Be careful that the patient is not sensitive to temperature perception. Third, if blisters appear on the patient's navel after the treatment, ask the patient to avoid touching the navel and destroying the blisters. If the blisters are too large, use disposable acupuncture needles to puncture the blisters and release the exudate without damaging the blister membrane. During the treatment, if the patient feels the need to defecate or pass gas, pause the treatment and proceed after the bowel movement; calm the patient's stress. For patients with empty stomachs, excessive stomachs, extreme fatigue, and fear of moxibustion, moxibustion should be used carefully to prevent the burning moxa from falling off, burning the skin and clothes.
Limitations
Frequent operation: The operator needs to light the moxa cone during the treatment process, pay attention to the patient's feelings, observe the patient's skin, and replace the moxa cone, all of which will be carried out in a very short time. Insufficient sample size: This experiment mainly confirmed that the standard operation of ginger moxibustion had a significant effect on relieving diarrhea symptoms in patients with COPD lung disease, but the sample size is small. Limited effect: This operation can only control the diarrhea symptoms associated with COPD. It is necessary to identify the cause and actively control the primary disease. Given these situations, we put forward some improvement measures to facilitate the follow-up work.
Improvement measures
There should be two medical personnel present during the operation; one is the operator, and each operation step should be skillfully mastered before the operation to avoid accidents during the operation. The other is an observer, responsible for recording the problems and accidents that may occur in operation, paying attention to the reaction of patients, and dealing with emergencies promptly. Since the sample size of this trial is small, we will continue to carry out this operation in the future to obtain more trial data to ensure the universality of this therapy.
As an effective non-pharmacological therapy, ginger moxibustion can effectively improve diarrhea. Our trial shows that ginger moxibustion can also help treat diarrhea in COPD patients. We hope our conclusions can help more researchers focus on this field and jointly alleviate the life troubles of COPD patients.
