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Asthma is a very common 'condition'. Sometimes it is sporadic, with episodes being triggered, perhaps, by exposure to certain foods or odd air-borne allergens, such as fiber particles or certain 'dusts'. Sometimes it is 'chronic'...or can become chronic...depending upon what is done or not done, what is 'taken' or not taken. Sadly, sometimes asthma medications and treatments contribute to this revolving door effect. Anyone who is 'inhaler dependent' or has a child who is, knows the uncertainty and discomfort this causes. Pretty much, one's life revolves around "THE INHALER"
The body is a complex 'reactor' to environmental triggers. Unfortunately, lung tissue is easily 'sensitized' to react and once one has an asthma attack under certain conditions, it is likely that the same thing will occur under similar conditions. This is analogous to the phenomenon where hives on the skin tend to recur with the right trigger at the very same place(s) they did before...as any person with sensitive skin knows only too well.
Knowing these things can lead patients to be very anxious about going about their daily lives. And stress like that only makes any asthmatic/allergic responses even worse than they already are. What nature intends as a means of 'closing out foreign invaders' (the closing of one's airways) goes into overdrive and can literally kill us! The inflammatory response (the welts and wheals) of a dermatitis meant to gobble up and neutralize environmental irritants/allergens can go too far, producing itchy, painful, open, weeping sores subsequently vulnerable to microbial and other infection and for what? Our body's original defense mechanisms unchecked can actually be our undoing!
Here's an example of what I mean above: Let's say one develops a bad allergic dermatitis of some kind that is starting to look 'infected'. The standard-of-care traditionally is to administer oral and topical steroids as well as an antibiotic, which hopefully is 'the right one' for the infection presenting.
The problem is that while the steroids will prompt the body to 'stop with the welt and wheal immune response', this also means that the body will not be able to use it's immune system to battle the incipient skin infection. There's no time to wait for culture results for the infection, so an 'educated guess' of best antibiotic is made. This is called 'prescribing empirically'.
If the wrong antibiotic is prescribed, that's a problem. Worse yet, imagine if an allergy to a particular antibiotic kicks in here as well. Now the physician will have to counteract that as well as whatever triggered the original reaction and the infection must be taken care of. And in the worst-case scenario, after enough steroid and antibiotic use, the kidneys will be severely affected, at which point an infected dermatitis is the least of the patient's concerns...An unhappy set of circumstances, indeed.
Don't get me wrong. Steroids are great when you need them in an emergency. But chronic use of steroids is never without inherent dangers, you should know.
Traditional Medicine will always try stronger and stronger medications and treatments as needed. While averting an immediate crisis, this constant upgrading of medical care can lead to a worsening of reactivity long-term.. The goal of traditional medicine is 'pound it all down' (if you can't 'kill it', 'cut it off' or reroute around it, that is). Many times this works and the patient is satisfied with this type of treatment.
Alternative Medicine takes a different approach, however. The goal of Alternative Medicine is to help 'regulate, tamper down, desensitize and support' the body, so that it can act and react as our Creator intended. Perhaps a personal story will illustrate this best.
I was reared and trained with all things traditional in the biomedical community. I chose cancer research over patient care, being most comfortable at the lab bench, truth be told, which is kind of ironic considering what I do now.
I still subscribed to a traditional biomedical mentation when my daughter was born and it was determined that she had one of the first cases of an 'Epstein-Barr variant'. Back then, we couldn't 'do' advanced virological serotyping easily. All we knew back then was that the Epstein-Barr virus causes 'mono', as well as some other poorly understood 'syndromes'.
Nowadays, what my daughter had is known as 'chronic fatigue syndrome' (CFS) with a whole group of immune system problems resulting in lowered immunity. My poor baby was sick all the time and missing lots of school. After one particularly scary grade-school hospitalization (her throat had closed up and she was unable to drink or eat) with high fever, she lived, I am convinced, because she got hydrated and her body simply fought back. Our poor pediatrician did the best he could prescribing erythromycin (what good is an antibiotic against a virus?) for lack of anything else to try and that was when I had my epiphany:
INSTEAD OF JUST TRYING TO 'KILL THINGS' AND POUND THINGS DOWN, WHY NOT TRY TO BOOST THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFICACY OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM?
And that was that. I was introduced to Echinacea purpurea, I studied it to death, used it, learned about other herbs, applied my biochemical knowledge to those and to amino acids, vitamins and all sorts of other naturally occurring substances and here we are. Eventually, I was able to decrease the frequency and severity of my daughter's constant infections. She did, indeed, have a major and messy tonsillectomy in her early twenties with antibiotics and traditional pain medications. Finally, several months after her cleansing surgery, a combination of traditional and alternative modalities have kept her in greatly improved health over-all.
I am telling you this story, for I've applied this very same rationale to asthma cases. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see some poor child and the parents suffer in fear with this horrible condition. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE IS HOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT IF YOU WILL JUST BEAR WITH ME AS I PRESENT IT TO YOU! Part of my major 'life's-work' is to share the knowledge that I have to help others and asthma is one of those conditions that can really benefit from the natural approach.
I would like to address you as if you were sitting here with me with your personal questions. While I am unable to give you specific advice without knowing your individual medical history, I can share some valuable insight with you which may well set your mind at rest. I want to share with you information and advice which will lessen your 'fear of things' if you happen to suffer from asthma and some other allergic responses that have you living great anxiety. The specifics here are prompted from the recent mail I've received and if you have a question of your own, just email me at: BarbaraKSexton@aol.com I will help if I can.
FIRST of ALL: If you have asthma, you need to be under the care of a medical doctor. You must learn to determine and then avoid any and all triggers. It is of vital importance that you avoid penicillin, for instance, if you are allergic to it and you should wear a medic alert bracelet and carry a card to that effect. Don't feel silly carrying a note on you that you are allergic to shellfish, for instance, if it will kill you! It is not always easy to know what's in the dishes we eat in restaurants and at dinner parties and a simple notification could save your life in the event of a severe asthmatic emergency situation.
SECONDLY: If you have mild-to-moderate asthma, there are many easy-to-use NATURAL TREATMENTS you can avail yourself of....with the okay of your regular medical doctor, that is. I urge you to seek out a physician who has knowledge of "Alternative" or "Complementary" Medicine, or who, at least is 'open' to your participating in intelligent self-care under the advice of someone like myself in your area. If your medical doctor balks at anything 'alternative/complementary', I suggest that you find a healthcare provider who is more enlightened pronto. Such closemindedness is not in your best interest and as a patient you must assert your 'patients' rights' or have someone close to you do it for you.
THIRDLY: No matter how bad things are in terms of severity of 'attacks', I promise you that almost always things can be improved for you. I'm not saying that it is possible to make someone who is 'asthmatic' suddenly 'not asthmatic', but you can decrease the frequency and tendency to 'react' by following and utilizing some basic tenets I will be sharing with you. I will also show you how to deal with asthmatic epidsodes when inhaler use is contraindicated. And I have something natural for you to safely use between inhaler treatments, which can a real life-saver in some settings.
FOURTH: Take responsibility for your health. Only you know best how you feel, what works for you and what makes things worse. If you need to, enlist the aid of a trusted loved one to help advocate for you when you visit the doctor. Don't be shy! A good physician always appreciates when patients take responsibility for themselves. Read all you can on asthma. Network and share information and be critical of everything you encounter until and unless it proves to work for you.
FIFTH: KEEP A DIARY. Note times, things, foods, places, environmental conditions, etc so should an asthmatic episode occur, you will be able to analyze it in retrospect. Be sure to note in that diary the specific treatment methods you've used per doctor's orders, how they worked and follow-up with recovery information. If and when you try some of my alternative suggestions or those you've learned of elsewhere, be sure to note those as well. Try to determine what drug/herb or drug/vitamin combination helps make your medications work better, worse or don't have any noticeable effects.
What I am presenting you here with are some valuable tools that may not be so obvious to all. I pray you consider them for yourselves and meet with success. Feel free to send me your feedback, if you are so inclined. Your health and well-being are most important to us at http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/ .
The main thing is that your quality of life and that of your loved ones are improved, so that you can be the very best you can be. God gives us so many good things...if only we have the wisdom to recognize and use them...as He intends us to!
With Love in Christ,
Rev Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/
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