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.
Bronchitis is well treated using naturopathic medicine. It is a condition caused by the inflammation of the lining of your bronchial tubes (that carry air to your lungs). Bronchitis can either be acute or chronic. Acute bronchitis often develops from a cold (usually viral) or other respiratory tract infections, but can also be caused by environmental exposure to tobacco smoke, pollutants or gastroesophageal reflux disease; and usually resolves within a few days without long-term consequences. Chronic bronchitis is considered a more serious condition in which the inflammation can lead to thickening of the bronchial lining causing permanent damage.
Chronic bronchitis is caused by constant irritation or inflammation of the bronchial lining, most commonly from tobacco smoking.
A single acute bronchitis episode does not warrant concern, but can lead to pneumonia, particularly in older adults, infants, smokers and people with chronic respiratory disorders or heart problems. Repeated episodes of bronchitis may suggest chronic bronchitis, asthma, other lung disorders and increased risk of developing lung cancer (in smokers).
You should seek professional healthcare if your cough is severe or prevents you from sleeping, you are coughing up bloody, green or yellow mucous, your cough lasts more than three weeks, you have a low-grade fever that persists more than three days or a fever higher than 38.3 ° C (101 ° F), you have chronic lung or heart problems or you have repeated bouts of bronchitis.
Symptoms of bronchitis
Possible symptoms of bronchitis include:
• Cough
• Wheezing
• Production of clear, white, yellowish-gray or green mucous (sputum)
• Shortness of breath, increased by mild exertion
• Fatigue
• Low fever and chills
• Chest discomfort
Naturopathic treatment of bronchitis
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of bronchitis treatment are to reduce symptoms and discomfort, identify and address triggers and causes of bronchitis to prevent recurrence and manage associated health conditions and possible side effects of conventional treatments.
Conventional treatment for bronchitis includes lifestyle changes and a variety of medications including cough suppressants, acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol), aspirin, antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids. These medications may cause short-term and long-term side effects and 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 bronchitis 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 bronchitis may be to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., smoking, exposure to environmental irritants) or general health (e.g., depressed immune system function due to other illness, gastroesophageal reflux disease) that may be contributing to your bronchitis symptoms, use botanical (herbal) medicines to soothe and ease inflammation in bronchial tissue and act as natural antibiotics and strengthen immune system activity to prevent recurrence.
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Nutritional supplements
• Hydrotherapy
• Homeopathic medicines
• Acupuncture
• Diet therapy
• Bowen therapy
• Lifestyle counseling
References
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. [Online]. [cited 2010 Jan 10]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bronchitis/DS00031 .