A century ago, asthma was rare. Now it is anything but that! Asthma is one of the few chronic diseases on the rise: its incidence has soared by 73% percent since 1982. Nearly 17 million people have asthma, including 5 million children. Asthma cuts across all class and race lines and can last a lifetime. The cost to our country is staggering. Almost $2 billion a year is spent to treat pediatric asthma. Parents with asthmatic children lose $1 billion a year by staying home to care for their children when struggling with respiratory health challenges. There is a growing list of theories as to why asthma has been increasing…
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A Healthy Respiratory System
When a healthy person inhales, he/she enlists the diaphragm, a powerful muscle that sits underneath the lungs, to draw in air. The air is filtered and humidified though the nose or mouth then passes down the windpipe into the bronchi tubes, which then lead into bronchioles or smaller tubes that travel into the lung tissues. The bronchioles, in turn deliver the air to millions of tiny sacs called alveoli, which reside deep in the lungs. The alveoli passively expand and contract as oxygen is delivered to the blood stream and carbon dioxide is sent back to the lungs to be exhaled. In a healthy person, it is a perfectly regulated…
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What is Asthma?
Asthma is the body’s reactions to many kinds of irritants. During a bronchial asthma attack, the bronchii do not allow sufficient air to reach the lungs and the individual begins to labor for breathe. Often the person will feel tightness in the chest and may gasp for air. The face may turn pale or gray or become blue around the lips. It’s common for those experiencing an acute flare-up to cough or spit up a considerable amount of mucus. For many people, asthma attacks become more chronic over many years. The most common asthma is bronchial asthma, which is caused by a narrowing of the breathing passages that carry air…
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NW Forest Fires & Residual Smoke: It’s Health Impact on Urban Communities
My intentions for researching & writing about asthma & it’s multiple triggers with environmental fire smoke are numerous. As a health practitioner that saw the intense strain on many Seattlites coping with the most basic of human needs, being able to breathe, it registered in my mind as huge red flag. I saw dozens of people wearing scarves over their faces in the downtown area every day, exponentially so many more numbers of families running to their pulmonary specialists or hospitals to get back up support with bronchial dilator medications. Chronic asthma & acute asthma flare ups spiked to record highs spurned on by the lingering forest fire smoke. Late…
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Why Asthma Bronchial Challenges are More Frequent in the Fall & Winter
Why are Asthma Bronchial Challenges More Frequent in the Fall & Winter? by Kristina Shaw, NAET Allergy Acupuncture Specialist Asthma bronchial challenges have a higher frequency of occurrence in the fall and winter when the Chinese medicine metal and water elements govern these seasonal conditions. In the Five Element Chinese medicine systems, the autumn months are governed by the lungs and large intestine functions. So if an individual has a constitutional deficiency in the lungs or digestive tract, there can be more acute asthma flare ups or aggravation with allergic asthma, chronic bronchitis or emphysema challenges. Grief, sadness or melancholy feelings can play into asthma respiratory health challenges, as can…
