Asthma, Lung & Breathing Problems in Ottawa ON

Asthma in Ottawa ON is a common lung disease that causes repeated bouts of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing, especially at night or in the early morning. A person with asthma has difficulty breathing because of inflammation and narrowing of the airways. When asthma symptoms suddenly become worse, it is sometimes called an asthma attack.

Several treatments can improve and alleviate asthma and breathing problems:

• acupuncture
• nutrition and weight loss therapies

When you have asthma, two things are happening in your lungs: the muscles around the airways are constricted and the airways are inflamed. Constriction and inflammation narrow your airways, which cause symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.

There is increasing evidence that, if left untreated, asthma may cause a long-term decline in lung function. The underlying parts of the disease, especially the inflammation, can be there, even in the absence of symptoms. It is important, therefore, to prevent symptoms from occurring in the first place, rather than waiting until symptoms become serious. For many patients, optimal therapy requires treating both main components of asthma.

Asthma is something that is always with you, even if you are not having symptoms. So, as soon as the symptoms go away, you may stop taking their preventative medications, not realizing that the underlying problems that are causing the symptoms in the first place require daily asthma treatment. And although there are plenty of effective medications, if you don't think they are helping, and thus don't take them, then they do absolutely no good. This is a big challenge with the preventative medications we have for asthma.

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What causes asthma in Ottawa ON?

There is really no known cause of asthma. A lot of effort has been put forth to try and understand if there is a genetic basis to this disease. It definitely does run in some families, but currently, there is no consistent genetic profile in people who have it versus those who don't. We are all exposed to lots of the same things and yet, not all of us have problems. A leading theory is that it is a combination of inherited risks for the disease, as well as interaction with allergens in our environment, that develop into the disease.

There are triggers that most people are aware of, especially if they have any history of allergies. These triggers include hay fever, ragweed, cut grass, and many other things that contain pollen.

Triggers that people may not be as aware of are weather conditions such as high humidity, high temperatures, or very cold temperatures. All of these can be triggers for people with asthma. Infections such as the common cold and the flu can also trigger asthma symptoms. And then, finally, there is exercise, which can trigger asthma.

You can minimize some triggers by reducing the dust in your home. You should change sheets and bed linens weekly. Some air filters can be a big help in cutting down on dust in the home. In general, it's important to avoid exposure to strong fumes, cigarette smoke, and so forth. These can be irritants for people with asthma. The one that's often most difficult for patients with asthma is having in their home a beloved pet that may be triggering their asthma symptoms. The most effective way to eliminate this trigger is to not have the pet at all. Short of that, keeping your pet out of your bedroom or keeping it outside of the house can help cut down on some of the problems associated with pets.

There is increasing evidence that, if left untreated, asthma may cause a long-term decline in lung function. The underlying parts of the disease, especially the inflammation, can be there, even in the absence of symptoms. It is important, therefore, to prevent symptoms from occurring in the first place, rather than waiting until symptoms become serious. For many patients, optimal therapy requires treating both main components of asthma.

Asthma is something that is always with you, even if you are not having symptoms. So, as soon as the symptoms go away, you may stop taking their preventative medications, not realizing that the underlying problems that are causing the symptoms in the first place require daily asthma treatment. And although there are plenty of effective medications, if you don't think they are helping, and thus don't take them, then they do absolutely no good. This is a big challenge with the preventative medications we have for asthma.

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Acupuncture for Asthma?

Asthma is on the World Health Organization’s list of conditions “for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed.” The disease is one of 40 considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) that may benefit from acupuncture.

One study conducted by the University of Vienna Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care showed that at least 70% of the patients suffering from asthma reported improvement after undergoing regular acupuncture treatment for a span of 10 weeks.

Another study, conducted in Kaifeng City’s Department of Acupuncture in the Second Municipal People’s Hospital in Henan, China, involved 192 patients with bronchial asthma. All patients were treated with acupuncture and results showed significant improvement in over 75% of patients. Clinical remission also reduced and the majority of patients reported immediate relief post-treatment. The study also showed that efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of asthma was related to the needle retention duration, the length of time the needle stayed inserted. Long-term curative effects were also observed to be better with patients who experienced immediate positive results after treatments.
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Acupuncture has been used safely and effectively for thousands of years to rectify the underlying imbalances that cause asthma symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing, just not with the scientific studies backing up this work yet.

Asthma can be tackled with acupuncture in a variety of ways. Points are selected according to the patient’s unique combination of symptoms and the acupuncturist’s style of practice.

Most acupuncture treatments for asthma include needling points on the Lung, Stomach, Kidney and/or Bladder meridians. Acupressure on many of these points, performed by the person with asthma or a caregiver, can be very effective as well.

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Need more information?

Many symptoms can be helped with preventative care like acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, physio and laser therapy. We strongly recommend anyone experiencing the symptoms discussed on this page, see one of our health professionals soon.