Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Asthma is well treated using naturopathic medicine. Asthma occurs when the airways in your lungs (bronchial tubes) become blocked through inflammation, muscle constriction and excessive mucous production. It is unclear why some persons get asthma and others do not, but potential triggers of asthma for those susceptible include air pollutants (e.g., smog, tobacco smoke), airborne allergens (e.g., pollen, animal dander, molds), food allergens (e.g., shellfish, sulfite food preservatives), certain medications (e.g., aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), respiratory infections, cold air, physical exertion, emotional stress and menstrual cycle. Professional healthcare should be sought out if you have frequent coughs that last more than a few days, or other symptoms that cause you to suspect you have asthma. Early treatment of asthma, especially in children, may prevent long-term lung damage and prevent worsening of the condition over time.
Seek emergency medical care if:
- Your asthma attack symptoms do not improve with use of short-acting bronchodilator medication
- You experience shortness of breath with minimal activity
- You experience rapid worsening of shortness of breath
Symptoms of asthma
Possible symptoms of asthma include:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest tightness or pain
- Wheezing or whistling sound made on exhaling
- Coughing or wheezing episodes aggravated by respiratory illness
Asthma treatment at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of asthma treatment are to identify and address triggers of your asthma attacks, reduce or eliminate asthma attack frequency and prevent long-term lung damage.
Conventional treatment for asthma may include a variety of inhaled long-term control medications including corticosteroids, long-acting beta-2 agonists, leukotriene modifiers and cromolyn sodium; “quick relief” medications such as ipratropium; oral or intravenous corticosteroids; or allergy injections which may have short- or long-term side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your asthma symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating asthma is to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., environmental and dietary factors, stress, use of certain medications, sedentary lifestyle, weight management) or general health (e.g., gastroesophageal reflux disease [heartburn]). Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
- Acupuncture
- Botanical (herbal) medicines
- Homeopathic medicines
- Nutritional supplements
- Bowen Therapy
- Lifestyle counseling
- Relaxation techniques
- Exercise prescription
Reference
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Asthma [Online]. [cited 2009 Feb 18]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma/DS00021