Asthma
"Breath is life. If you breathe fully you shall live long on this earth.". Ancient Indian proverb What causes asthma: Hereditary factors Allergy to environmental factors such as dust, pollen, or animal hair Stress, anxiety Physical exertion Western medicine treatment for asthma This includes prescribing corticosteroids and inhalers, aimed at opening the airways – the […]
“Breath is life. If you breathe fully you shall live long on this earth.”.
Ancient Indian proverb
What causes asthma:
- Hereditary factors
- Allergy to environmental factors such as dust, pollen, or animal hair
- Stress, anxiety
- Physical exertion
Western medicine treatment for asthma
This includes prescribing corticosteroids and inhalers, aimed at opening the airways – the bronchi.
Childhood asthma often disappears after a few years, but it can develop at any time in adults, and although most attacks are short in duration, medical help should be sought if an attack is serious
and lasts an hour or more, since a serious attack can be life-threatening.
Asthma in Chinese medicine
In Chinese medicine, three organs are considered involved in asthma: the lungs, the spleen, and the kidneys (in the sense of their function according to Chinese medicine theory).
The main cause is phlegm produced by weakness of the spleen and kidneys.
A Chinese medicine practitioner identifies the root cause based on the nature of the complaint and each patient’s medical history.
Some cases of asthma respond well to strengthening the kidneys, whose role is to anchor the breath. But if the problem lies in the spleen, which produces the dampness, the treatment will be different. If the problem is in the lungs – weak energetically and in their function of directing the breath downward – Chinese medicine treatment will target this organ.
The aim is to open the lung energy to allow it to descend and clear the airways.
Sometimes asthma is also caused by liver involvement, which, as a result of stress and tension, affects lung function, and an asthma attack can develop. In this case, we will needle calming and strengthening points.
At a hospital in London, clinical studies are being conducted on the effects of acupuncture on asthma, and at a hospital
in Oxford, researchers are studying the effect of Chinese herbal medicine on asthma.
Asthma responds well to both types of treatment – herbal medicine and Chinese acupuncture. Of course, treatment should be given by a skilled and experienced practitioner.
At “Machat Ruach”, the complementary medicine and Chinese acupuncture clinic in Jerusalem, treatments are tailored individually to a wide range of conditions
including: fertility problems, issues related to the menstrual cycle and periods, back pain, knee pain, neck and shoulder pain, sleep problems, hormonal problems, skin problems (psoriasis, seborrhea, eczema), ear infections, colds, coughing, asthma, breathing issues, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, menstrual pain, sinusitis, stress, excess weight, and more.