Great news for parents whose children suffer from asthma: acupuncture and herbs reduce childhood emergency asthma. An article by HealthCMi states that “Children with asthma receiving a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine and conventional medications have superior patient outcomes, less visits to emergency rooms, and fewer hospitalizations than children receiving only conventional medications.”
The article goes on to state: “Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment combined with conventional treatment provided additional benefits. There was a reduction in school absenteeism. The children’s parents had less disruption of their work schedules. There was less of a burden on families to provide caregivers. The government shouldered lower overall costs and responsibilities associated with asthmatic care. The study demonstrates that combining TCM with conventional medicine for asthmatic children ‘may have a substantial impact’ in reducing the severity of asthma, frequency of emergency services, hospitalizations and costs of providing care by parents.”
It’s nice to see news written about this, because I see evidence of it all the time while treating asthmatic patients. Many kids were so chronically sick, they had been in and out of the ER and kept going back to their pediatrician for more and stronger drugs to combat their worsening asthma. One child was so sick, he hadn’t celebrated his birthdays with an actual party with friends for the first 8 years of his life. Once I started treating him, the turn-around of his health was remarkable. Two months later, he was able to have his first-ever 9th birthday party. His particular treatment consisted of just shonishin and dairy food elimination. He as well as my other asthma patients also report a decreased reliance on their respiratory medication. Once starting treatments with me, they need it less and less, until they don’t need it altogether. If they do have a flare up, the response is much milder, requiring much less and weaker dosages of their respiratory medications.
Acupuncture (or in my case, shonishin, tuina, and moxa) work so well because it actually helps to change the body’s response to inflammation and cultivates better self-regulation. Better self-regulation means the body is able to properly address inflammation by reducing inflammation, while at the same time going to the root of the problem. In children, the root is usually digestive imbalances. In Chinese Medicine, we say the root of phlegm lies in the gut, so by improving digestive function, we eradicate phlegm production. By improving digestive function, we also improve the body’s capacity to properly break down toxins and pathogens, further reducing inflammation.
To read the HealthCMi article in its entirety, click here.