One problem with being an asthma patient is that you know you have to take care of it throughout your life. At best what you can hope to happen is that the symptoms do not persist and you can live a healthy life. Even slight dust or such agencies can trigger asthma symptoms in asthma patients. Medicines and consulting the doctor are of course one of the most important part of your asthma treatment. Doctors advise that the best asthma treatment is to ‘try and control’ it instead of considering oneself fully fit and free to do anything once the symptoms are not visible. Stay away from things that can create the asthmatic symptoms, and to embed the preventive measures in your lifestyle. Many alternative treatments can help you in keeping this problem at bay, to give a specific name, these are called CAM treatments. CAM stands for ‘complementary and alternative medicine’, this is the treatment that usually ‘compliments’ main medication and does not involve mainstream medication. While your doctor would never support you to skip the medication and go for alternative treatment, in most of the cases he may be perfectly fine with your idea of making another effort to control your Asthma.
Just remember one thing, what’s needed is discipline and the right guidance. Do not resort to any therapy just because it has some fancy name or because someone suggested it to you. You might like to know the facts behind a few alternative treatments and how beneficial they can be for you:
1. Acupuncture, the Chinese Method
Acupuncture is said to have originated in China. It is slightly painful as it involves using needles to stimulate a few specific points of the body to help cure medical conditions. This is an old method. If you wish to go for acupuncture, it is advisable to go to an expert. Few researches do support this treatment, though there is not enough evidence to prove that it is a bang on method to keep your asthmatic symptoms under control.
2. Yoga, the Indian Technique
Yoga is a form of exercise that involves body movements clubbed with breathing discipline. Since it involves various breathing patterns, there is a fair chance of benefit to the asthma patients. Though there is no scientific evidence that supports it, yet many studies claim that Pranayam and other breathing exercises that are a vital part of Yoga do cast a positive effect on the life of asthma patients. There are a few Yoga exercises that help improve lungs and strengthen the muscles. Since Yoga also helps cure stress, this can be considered an additional benefit for the asthma patients because stress is known to trigger asthma problems. And yes, if you are going to a Yoga teacher, make sure he has enough experience, and do discuss your problem with him. It would help him come up with an exercise plan that suits your need and he’d consciously avoid heavy exercises that may cause a little complication for the asthma patients. More than the treatments, it is the ‘right treatment’ that is necessary!
3. Asthma Relief through Muscle Training
Though a direct connection may not be established between asthma and muscle training, still they tend to benefit patients indirectly. Muscle training for asthma patients helps strengthen the lungs. Again there might not be any proof significant enough to establish the credibility of the claims, yet this is a proven thing that muscle training does help in strengthening the lung muscles. Just make sure that you do not start over exerting yourself from the beginning.
4. Relaxation Therapies
Biofeedback, meditation, even massage therapies are considered to be a part of relaxation therapies. Perhaps their link with asthma treatment got established because of their effectiveness in combating stress. People do try it to improve the quality of life and well-being. However, there is not evidence to support it. It is believed that massage helps one relax thus de-stressing the body and reducing the chance of an asthma attack. Obviously you know that you have to consult your doctor before giving into the temptation of a massage therapy. There is less chance that any doctor may say something adverse about it, even they know the positive effect of a calm mind, and this is what these techniques focus at.
5. Homeopathy, a Hugely Popular Alternative Treatment
Now this is a debate that has caught the fancy of quite a lot of people. Which is better, Allopathy or Homeopathy? Generally allopathic practitioners do not agree to the claims by homeopathy practitioners, still there is enough ground to believe that homeopathy may contribute in betterment of asthma patients. Homeopathy uses in small amounts, substances that develop the symptoms of the disease being cured. A few examples of homeopathic treatments include Licorice root and Gingko biloba. It is considered that homeopathic treatments have negligible side effects. Still, it is better to take homeopathic treatment from an experience and acclaimed medical practitioner.
6. A Comparatively Lesser Known Treatment, Hypnosis
One of the alternate treatments that is still a topic of extensive study is hypnosis. As the name suggests, it aims at achieving a trance-like state for the patient, it makes the patient more conscious about himself, his food, lifestyle, etc. This state is induced artificially. There is a mixed bag of reactions and comments on the benefit of hypnosis. It is widely stated that hypnosis is a successful method to help asthma patients get rid of their problems. It is considered to be of special benefit for the children. Extensive studies are being done to know about exact facts associated with this treatment.
7. Herbs, Nature’s Gift to the Medicine World
Herbs are considered to be a magical dose for many medical conditions. It is widely believed that different parts of many plants have medicinal properties that may help relieve people from different ailments. Asthma is also considered as one of those. A large number of drugs that are given to the asthma patients are told to be derived from many herbs. Still, doctors do not prefer relying on the herbal or naturopathic treatment completely. Though many of them do not object to their patients also taking herbs along with the main medicines. One word of caution: yes, herbs are natural products but it does not mean that they can be consumed without expert guidance. Always keep your doctor updated about the kind of alternate therapies you are trying.
