Published August 23, 2003 in the North Island Weekender
Asthma is a serious chronic lung disease affecting over two million Canadians including 10-15 percent of Canada’s children and is the leading cause of admissions to the hospital for people of all ages. Each year 20 children and 500 adults die from asthma and it is estimated that 80 percent of these deaths could be prevented with proper asthma education. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the respiratory airways which is characterized by increased mucous production and airway hyper-responsiveness resulting in wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. It is a multifactorial disease process associated with genetic, allergic, environmental, infectious, emotional and nutritional components. Individuals with asthma experience significant numbers of missed work or schooldays, a severe disruption of quality of life often leading to depression. It may also affect sleep patterns and impair daytime attention, concentration and memory.
Two year old Betsy came to me and her mother wanted to avoid the asthma attacks that she was getting every few months. She would have to be on nebulizers to get through these episodes and then had a lingering cough for months. She had noticeable wheezing and coughing while in the office. I also instructed the parent to discontinue dairy and wheat in her diet, replacing calcium and magnesium with supplements, and prescribed a herbal lung tonic and essentials fats in the form of Carlson’s Cod Liver oil. At her next visit about one month later, the parent noted that the coughing and wheezing was greatly reduced. I instructed her also how to improve the immune system to prevent colds and flus using Echinacea and homeopathic remedies. Time will tell how often these attacks will occur, but now the parent has useful tools to fall back on as well as the nebulizers when needed.
The first symptom of asthma might be a cough after a cold that never goes away. Preventing colds and coughs are important for asthmatics as chest infections are quick to get started during a head cold and can be difficult to treat. Using my lung formula at the first signs of any cough or cold prevents these infections from getting into the chest.
Aside from environmental allergens including animal dander and dust mites, food allergens are often an ignored causation by the medical profession. These food allergens can be detected using IgG and IgE blood testing however clinically I find dairy is number one food allergen due to its mucous forming quality and wheat number two allergen due to its relation to the fungal causation of this disease.
Recent research supports evidence that fungi and yeast is a cause of asthma and rhinitis and ridding the house of moldy areas is critical, ridding the diet of yeast such as found in breads, as well as administering anti-fungal remedies to treat them are important.
Air quality inside the home can be controlled whereas the air outside cannot, so ensuring the environment is free of smoke, free of carpets that harbor dust mites, and avoiding the use of gas appliances is very helpful. Environmental toxins in cleaning agents, furnishings and building materials can increase asthma attacks especially in children. The number of chemicals released into the environment around the world on a yearly basis is staggering and it is the newer generations that suffer the most.
Other naturopathic remedies used to treat asthma include Vitamin C, Zinc, vitamin B6, B12, magnesium and quercitin and these are very safe to use in addition to any inhalors that are required.
Asthma is usually a life long problem that can be controlled
using proper treatment. It is important to maintain a good exercise program so,
if asthma symptoms are preventing you from exercising, your asthma is not well
controlled. If you are getting frequent lung infections your asthma is also not
well controlled. By following a simple naturopathic program asthma can be a lot
easier to control and can definitely improve quality of life.
Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic
medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be
reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com