The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NEIHS) reports that almost 31 million Americans have asthma, with 1.3 million sufferers under the age of five, making it the most common chronic disease among children. With the number of asthmatics increasing by 50% each decade, can anything be done to help?
The NIEHS defines asthma as “an inflammatory disease of the lung.” The inflammation can occur along the entire airway from the nose to the lung. The airway swells, becomes narrower, and less air gets to the lung tissue. This produces the commonly known asthma symptoms: chest tightness, wheezing, breathlessness, and coughing. In acute episodes, or “attacks,” these air passages become dangerously narrow, and the symptoms worsen, potentially becoming life threatening.
The cause of asthma continues to evade doctors, although there is some genetic susceptibility to the disease. However, several factors contribute to the continual rise in asthma patients, and managing these environmental triggers (or allergens) can help decrease the prevalence of the disease.
• Eliminate smoking and second hand smoke. Pregnant women who smoke are much more likely to have asthmatic children.
• Reduce exposure to indoor allergens such as mold, fungi, dust mites, cockroaches, dogs, cats, and rodents. Use professional pest control, air purifiers, allergen-impermeable covers on mattress, box spring and pillows, vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters.
• Avoid outdoor asthma triggers such as pollen, dust, ozone, and motor vehicle exhaust. Research shows that children living near a freeway, with higher levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air around their homes, were more likely to develop symptoms.
Aside from environmental control, doctors often treat asthma with bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and anti-allergy medication, depending on the severity and frequency of a patient’s symptoms.
Some people are turning to alternative therapies for help. Steven Verona, a steroid dependent asthmatic for eight years, found his answer in a raw foods diet. “I took two pills and three inhalers on schedule, daily, or I ended up in the hospital. Soon after making two dramatic changes to my diet – cutting out all chemicals and following a raw food diet for 80% of my consumption – the miraculous day arrived when I no longer needed medication."
Studies published in both the British Medical Journal and in the Journal of Asthma reveal that yoga and breathing exercises showed significant improvement and movement of patients toward normalcy. In fact 66-72% of the patients studied stopped or reduced medication.
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