Over the last 50-75 years, the incidence
of asthma in industrialized countries has
steadily increased, especially among
children, to alarming proportions.
Scientists around the world are studying
this epidemic, as well as researching the
long-term effects of taking anti-asthma
drugs such as bronchodilators. In china,
research on the efficacy of acupuncture
and herbal medicine in the treatment of
asthma shows that traditional chinese
medicine compares favorably with standard
western treatment, and provides an
alternative approach for those who want to
strengthen their bodies’natural defenses
and avoid the long-term use of drugs.
Asthma is an immune-system-related
respiratory disorder in which the
breathing passages become narrow or
blocked, and are typically inflamed.
Asthma can be extrinsic or intrinsic.
Extrinsic asthma is caused by an allergic
reaction to a foreign substance (called an
allergen) such as pollen, animal dander,
animal fur, dust, mold, food additives, or
feather pillows, and it is strongly
seasonal. Intrinsic asthma is a
non-seasonal, non-allergic type of asthma.
Trigger factors for intrinsic asthma
attacks include air pollutants, tobacco
smoke, strong odors, cold weather,
physical exertion, emotional stress, or
temperature or humidity changes. Often,
an episode of intrinsic asthma will follow
a severe respiratory infection.
Asthma in chinese medicine
in traditional chinese medicine theory,
asthma is clearly differentiated between
the actual attacks and the periods between
attacks. When the attacks are happening,
this is considered to be an acute, excess
condition, and the objective is to
disperse the excess and stop the attack.
Wind, a non-substantial pathogenic factor,
lodges in the bronchi and combines with
cold or heat pathogenic factors to cause
bronchospasms.
Between attacks, the body is considered to
be in a deficiency condition. The lungs
and kidneys work together to produce wei
qi, or defensive chi. Defensive chi can
be thought of as analogous to the immune
system. It is a yang energy that is
manufactured from the food we eat. The
kidneys are the root of our ability to
produce defensive chi, and the lungs
spread defensive chi near the outer
surface of our bodies to ward off
pathogenic factors like wind, cold, and
heat. When the lungs or kidneys (or
both) are weak, there is often a
deficiency of defensive chi, making us
more vulnerable to colds, infections,
asthma attacks, etc. It is thought that
a person’s defensive chi can be weak due
to a hereditary constitutional weakness
(up to 75% of children with asthma have a
family history of the disorder); but
mothers who smoke during pregnancy and
childhood immunizations are also cited as
contributing factors in asthma.
Acupuncture can have a remarkable effect
in stopping an acute asthma attack. Many
patients experience immediate relief after
an acupuncture treatment, feeling that the
airway blockage was simply removed.
Because bronchospasms result from
over-stimulation of the parasympathetic
nervous system, some traditional
acupuncture points for calming the spirit
are widely used for asthma. Stimulation
of these points can relieve both physical
and emotional stress, possibly because
they trigger the release of
neurotransmitters in the brain. The
patient can therefore experience both a
physical release from his bronchial
constriction, and also an emotional or
psychological release from the fear of
constriction and suffocation.
In chinese philosophy, and in chinese
medicine, man is seen as an integral part
of nature. The fact that
allergen-induced asthma attacks are
strongly seasonal, with the most
devastating attacks occurring in winter
and spring, leads chinese medicine
practitioners to coordinate their
treatment of asthma sufferers with the
seasons. In the winter and spring,
during attacks, the emphasis is on
dispersing the pathogenic factors of wind,
cold, and heat. In the summer, attention
is turned to tonifying the deficiency
condition of the lungs and kidneys, and
stimulating the body to increase its
reserves of defensive chi. Because
summer is the most yang time of the year,
the energy of the season is used to build
up the body’s supply of yang energy.
Science says
scientific studies in china and elsewhere
show that the ancient chinese medicine
theories have a basis in scientific fact.
The whole scope of traditional chinese
medicine is an elaborate and elegant
construct which can’t be scientifically
proven in its entirety, but modern
research reveals a number of mechanisms
that support the ancient healing arts:
neuro-regulation of air passages.
Researchers at nanjing university of
traditional chinese medicine found that
relieving asthma attacks by acupuncture is
closely related to neuro-regulation of air
passages. They further found that
sympathetic nerve excitement and
diastolization of the smooth muscle of the
bronchial tubes can be achieved by
stimulating acupuncture points on the
back. The systaltic function of the
smooth muscles of the airways is regulated
through the neuroendocrine center of the
hypothalamus, and this function can be
measurably affected by needling certain
back shu points.
Serum camp and camp/cgmp. Levels of
certain substances in the blood called
cyclic adenosine monophosphate (camp) and
cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cgmp) seem
to have a bearing on asthma patients.
Asthma patients experiencing wheezing and
breathlessness have lower serum levels of
camp and camp/cgmp. Many clinical
studies conducted in china found that
acupuncture can increase the levels of
serum camp and camp/cgmp.
Rbc-cr1r. Red blood cells have the
function of transporting oxygen to body
tissues, and also aid in immunoabsorption.
In traditional chinese medicine, the
kidneys have the function of generating
and controlling bone growth, storing our
genetic essence, generating bone marrow,
and aiding in the production of blood.
Kidney deficiency in traditional chinese
medicine and low red blood cell counts in
conventional medicine are related.
Research in hangzhou red cross hospital
shows that the immunological index of red
blood cells (rbc-cr1r) was markedly
increased after optimum-timing acupuncture
treatment for kidney deficiency, compared
with the control group.
Acidocyte regulation. An acidocyte is a
type of white blood cell. An increase in
acidocyte levels indicates allergic
reaction in an organism. A clinical
study at the affiliated yueyang hospital
of shanghai university of traditional
chinese medicine shows that acupuncture at
ub13 (fei shu), lu5 (chi ze), lu7 (lie
que), st40 (feng long), ren 22 (tian tu),
and extra point ding chuan can decrease
acidocyte levels.
17-hydroxy corticosteroid in urine.
Traditional chinese medicine believes that
there exists a correlation between asthma
and the pattern of kidney deficiency.
Clinical observations reveal that asthma
patients tend to have lower levels of the
hormone 17-hydroxy corticosteroid in their
urine, which is closely related to kidney
deficiency in chinese medicine. Many
clinical studies show that acupuncture can
increase the level of 17-hydroxy
corticosteroid in urine.
Regulate
hypophalmus-pituitary-adrenocortical
function. It is believed that asthma
attacks are correlated with a lower
hypophalmus-pituitary-adrenocortical
function. Clinical research found that
tonifying the kidneys with acupuncture and
chinese herbal medicine can improve that
function and relieve asthma attacks.
