Acupuncture and Asthma

Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese treatment approach that employs the use of fine needles inserted into the skin to relieve pain or cure illness, has been shown to have good results with a variety of respiratory conditions. Asthma is one such condition that acupuncture has had excellent results with. As far back as 1979 the World Health Organization put out lists on conditions they believed benefited from the use of acupuncture and asthma was on the list even then. It is even recommended for children, with an acupuncturist who specializes in pediatric care, and studies have proven time and again that it is worthwhile for asthma suffers to give acupuncture a try.

All acupuncturists will take a patient history first and try to determine what may be causing the asthma. Acupuncture does not simply treat a symptom, but the person as a whole and works to rebalance everything that may be out of balance and so get rid of the condition. A patient's way of life and the surroundings they spend their time in the most will be looked at to see if changes must be made along with the treatments.

A study which had nearly two hundred participants showed an immediate effect on 98.9% of the patients. The overall benefits were 76.5% going into remission; meaning that the percentage of the patients showed a marked improvement. The benefits were no different based on age or gender. The effects were linked closely to the type of asthma being suffered, the length of the needles used and the time the needles were allowed to remain under the skin. The patients who had the more immediate responses to treatment also seemed to have the best long term outcomes. These results were also helpful to those who have allergic reactions to certain drugs and so found the ability to easily medicate their asthma a problem.

It was only after a few treatments that those suffering from asthma noticed that they were able to use less of their medication. Dosages were dropping quickly. The average patient was given thirty treatments over a period of ninety days. It was recommended that in the summer ten follow-up treatments be given yearly to keep it under control.

Acupuncturists are always looking for ways to make treatment less traumatizing for children. They often will use acupressure instead. Acupressure is a method that uses the same points but instead of needles it uses the fingertips to apply pressure with similar results. The children were also taught how to do this themselves three times a day for extra benefit. Adults were also shown how to do this extra treatment.

No health care provider or acupuncturist would tell a patient to throw away their inhaler that would be irresponsible. Neither would anyone suggest that their patient should leave it at home if they go out. Remission does not necessarily mean it will never come back and so keeping an inhaler with a current prescription is just common sense.