Asthma: www.medical-explorer.com/asthma.php
Asthma is a condition that affects over 162 million adults and 6.7 million children in the United States. This is a serious disease which needs treatment, and something I have personally been dealing with for the past 10 years. By seeking regular acupuncture and herbal medicine to control the asthma symptoms, I was able to dramatically reduce the amount of Western medication I was taking.
I recommend the use of acupuncture and herbal medicine for asthma, and have had success in treating patients as well as being treated myself. NOTE: A severe attack will need immediate treatment from a Western medical doctor or possibly a visit to the emergency room. If the symptoms are severe (wheezing, blue lips and fingers, possible dizziness), seek immediate help.
Treating the "branch," or the symptoms of wheezing and coughing, instead of the "root" (the true underlying cause of the illness) is necessary in order to manage the initial symptoms, but in Traditional Chinese medicine, we need to address the true cause of the asthma. While this a a disease which one may have for a lifetime, the symptoms are manageable. It will take more than a few treatments and regular consumption of herbs, so don't be discouraged and visit your practitioner regularly! The treatment used to help with asthma include inserting needles, in the chest, arms, legs, and hands. If the patient is wheezing and needs a treatment to calm and stop the wheezing, I will use cupping on the upper back to help stop the wheezing and relax the accessory breathing muscles. The concept of this treatment is to move the energy in the lungs, clear out excess heat and sticky phlegm (the patient may cough up phlegm after a treatment).
For the herbal formula, I often prescribe Ding Chuan Wan, which is used in Traditional Chinese medicine to help with asthma attacks. It can be taken in either pill form or granule form, and is very effective for asthma with phlegm symptoms.
For more information and a link to the Center for Disease Control, click here.