In the Los Angeles area and, in fact, especially the San Fernando Valley, air pollution is a cause of numerous asthma cases. Along with that and pollen, other factors are influential, such as heredity, stress, poor diet and bad housing (cockroaches are a major asthma trigger)--the last two, especially, often being the result of poverty. For those who have health insurance, allergy testing and shots, pills, sprays, inhalers, or any combination thereof, are the prevalent means of treatment. In the event of asthma attacks, emergency treatment is vital but expensive and only a temporary answer. Throughout the life of an asthmatic, the threat of an attack is always imminent and must be guarded against. This limits the patient's life in many ways as regards lifestyle, home location and even career choices.
Natural health treatments offer effective options, however. These range from treating incipient attack symptoms to conditioning the asthmatic's lungs and airway passages to not react to asthma triggers. Acupuncture, for instance, has been used to release the body's energy to prevent attacks, by changing the way it responds to circumstances causing them (including stress). Meditation and yoga, by training the asthmatic to breathe differently, also have been proven effective.
Nutritional aids include omega-3 fish oils (especially for children's asthma), garlic, citrus, and herbs such as lobelia, gingko biloba, red clover, turmeric and rose hips. Many of these plant materials have anti-inflammatory properties that stop the restriction of airways.
For an asthmatic, dilation of these passages is crucial. While corticosteroid treatment is the norm in traditional treatment, long-term use can cause a variety of health problems, especially in children, such as low bone density, heart and lung damage, and stunted growth.
Overall, reducing the causes of asthma and all respiratory illness is important. Dealing with the day-to-day suvival of this disease, though, is equally important. It involves both rapid response, which is not always available, and prevention. Treatment with alternatives to chemicals and steroids can prove more beneficial by strengthening the lungs and making the whole body-mind entity more resistant to asthma triggers.
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