Asthma

by Dr S. Tamer

(NaturalNews) Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for millions of Americans. Asthma causes swelling and irritation in your airways, making it hard for you to breathe. Asthma costs in Eastern Missouri total more than $75 million in lost school time, lost work time, and medicine and emergency room visits.

Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack. Asthma attacks can be triggered by things like mold growing on your shower curtain or tiny dust mites that live in blankets, pillow, or your child's stuffed animals. There are many studies that have looked at a variety of ways to reduce the development of asthma, some successful and some not. Although there is no cure for asthma yet, asthma can be controlled through medical treatment and management of environmental triggers.

Symptoms:

Symptoms vary widely from person to person and from situation to situation. Many people can have symptoms for years without being diagnosed, while others are mistakenly diagnosed with asthma. There are certain symptoms of asthma, including: tightness in the chest, wheezing sound, shortness of breath, persistent cough, and increased pulse or heart rate.

Treatment:

Even though asthma is a lifelong disease, treatment can control it and allow you to live an active life. Most asthma treatments include the use of short and long-term medications as well as some environmental monitoring and modifications. As with all types of medical treatments, not all patients will respond in the same way to each type of environment or possible problem. There are several alternative medicines for asthma and for some asthmatics the treatments are much more effective than the use of steroids. A variety of complementary and alternative medical therapies are now being used in the treatment and prevention of asthma. Alternative asthma therapies include diet, yoga, and breathing
exercises.

Breathing exercises:

Asthma patients tend to have abnormal breathing patterns. Several breathing exercises are presented, all focusing on breathing patterns and on imagining that healing is occurring with breathing. Do any of the breathing exercises only as long as you're comfortable. Breathing deeply helps eliminate poisons from the cells, and also enhances immunity, since the lymphatic system is actually part of the immune system. These are best learned via practical demonstration from an instructor; attempting to perform more advanced yoga breathing exercise methods without adequate instruction can result in injury.

Acupuncture:

Acupuncture is a safe, painless alternative for treating: Arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain and carpal tunnel, allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems, anxiety, insomnia and stress. A 2001 placebo-controlled study of acupuncture for 192 people with bronchial asthma found that acupuncture improves bronchial permeability. Another study suggests improvement in the quality of life for patients with clinically stable, chronic obstructive asthma when conventional care is combined with acupuncture. By improving your health, acupuncture can help reduce the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. Another acupuncture treatment, cupping also aids in the relief of asthma symptoms. Always check with your doctor before starting any asthma treatment or managment program.