What is Asthma? Treatment of Asthma by Homeopathic Medicines.

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic disease in which sufferers have repeated attacks of difficulty in breathing.It is an inflammatory disease of the airways of lungs. It makes breathing difficult and brings on attacks of coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. 

In recent decades there has been an increase in the number of people affected by asthma all over the world, especially in children.

Asthma is on the rise in the urban areas. It is not sure exactly why this is, but these factors may contribute:

We grow up as children with less exposure to infection than did our ancestors, which has made our immune systems more sensitive.

• We spend more and more time indoors, where we are exposed to indoor such as dust and mold.
• The air we breathe is more polluted than the air most of our ancestors breathed.
• Our lifestyle has led to our getting less exercise and an epidemic of obesity. There is some evidence to suggest an association between obesity and asthma.

What happens in an “Asthmatic attack”?

To understand what happens in an asthmatic attack, it's helpful to visualise the basic structure of the airway tubes of the lung.

The main airway (windpipe, trachea) of the body is about 2 to 3cm across. It divides into its main branches (bronchi), which lead to the right and left lung. Each bronchus divides further, like the branches of a tree, to supply air to all parts of the lungs.

The smallest tubes (bronchioles) are only millimeters wide and they are made up of ring-shaped muscles that are capable of contracting or relaxing.

During an asthma episode or "attack," there are three main changes that stop air from moving easily through the airways:

• The bands of muscle that surround the airways tighten and make the airways narrow. This tightening is called bronchospasm.
• The lining of the airways becomes swollen. This is called inflammation.
• The cells that line the airways produce more mucus, which is thicker than normal.                 

These three factors - bronchospasm, inflammation, and mucus production - makes it more difficult for the air to pass through (so making it harder to breathe) and also gives rise to the characteristic wheezy noise that a person makes when they have an asthma attack.

 Types of Asthma:

Allergic Asthma (Extrinsic Asthma): Allergic asthma is triggered by allergens like:

• Pet Dander
•  Food Preservatives
• Mold
•  Pollen

Allergic asthma is more likely to be seasonal because it often goes hand-in-hand with season allergies. 

Non-Allergic Asthma (Intrinsic Asthma): Irritants in the air not related to allergies trigger this type of asthma. This includes:

•  Burning Wood And Cigarette Smoke
•  Air Pollution
•  Air Fresheners
• Household Cleaning Products
• Perfumes

Cough-Variant Asthma (CVA): Cough-variant asthma doesn’t have classic asthma symptoms of wheezing and shortness of breath. CVA is characterized by a persistent, dry cough. Cough-variant asthma can lead to full-blown asthma that includes the other more common symptoms.

Exercise-Induced Asthma (EIA): Exercise-induced asthma affects people during or after physical activity. EIA can occur in people who are not sensitive to other asthma triggers such as dust, pollen, and pet dander.

Nocturnal Asthma: This type of asthma is characterized by asthma symptoms that worsen at night. Triggers such as heartburn, pet dander, and dust mites can cause bring on symptoms while sleeping.

Occupational Asthma: Occupational asthma is a type of asthma induced by triggers in the workplace. These include:

• Dust
• Dyes
• Gases
• Fumes
• Animal Proteins
• Rubber Latex
• Coal

These irritants can exist in a wide range of industries including farming, textiles, woodworking, and many manufacturing companies.

Signs & Symptoms of Asthma:

• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing (a hissing sound while breathing): It may be worse at night or early in morning. It can be made worse by cold air, exercise & heart burn.
• Chest tightness or suffocation.
• Cough ( dry or with sputum)

Warning symptoms:

• Bluish Color To The Lips And Face, Called Cyanosis.
• Severe Anxiety
• Rapid Pulse
• Excessive Sweating
• Drowsiness Or Confusion       

Causes of Asthma:

Although the cause of asthma is unknown, a number of things that can increase the chances of developing the condition have been identified. These include:

• A family history of asthma or other related allergic conditions (known as atopic conditions) such as eczema, food allergy or hay fever.
• Having bronchitis (a common childhood lung infection) as a child.
• Childhood exposure to tobacco smoke, particularly if your mother also smoked during pregnancy.
• Being born prematurely, especially if you needed a ventilator to support your breathing after birth.
• Having a low birth weight as a result of restricted growth within the womb.

Asthma symptoms can have a range of triggers, such as:

• Respiratory tract infections – particularly infections affecting the upper airways, such as colds and the flu
• Allergens – including pollen, dust mites, animal fur or feathers
• Airborne irritants – including cigarette smoke, chemical fumes and atmospheric pollution
• Medicines – particularly the class of painkillers called non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which includes aspirin and ibuprofen, and beta-blockers sometimes given for high blood pressure or some types of heart disease
• Emotions – including stress or laughing
• Foods containing sulphites – naturally occurring substances found in some food and drinks, such as concentrated fruit juice, jam, prawns and many processed or pre-cooked meals
• Weather conditions – including a sudden change in temperature, cold air, windy days, thunderstorms, poor air quality and hot, humid days
• Indoor conditions – including mould or damp, house dust mites and chemicals in carpets and flooring materials
• Exercise
• Food allergies – including allergies to nuts or other food items       

Treatment of Asthma:

In conventional method, the purpose of treatment is to manage the asthmatic attack. The medication is of two types:

1.  Bronchodilators such as Salbutamol and Bricanyl.
2. Anti-inflammatory steroids such as  BeclomethosoneI.

In short terms uses, they have minimal side effects but in long term uses there are many side effects like:

• Mood swings or depressions
• Flattened ‘moon’ face
• Restlessness
• Sleep disturbance
• Heart burn & indigestion
• Muscle weakness
• Trembling or fidgety of limbs etc.       

Homeopathic treatment:

Homeopathy is a system of medicine which tries to ‘cure’ this disease, instead of trying to provide symptomatic relief. While dealing with a case of asthma, a homeopath not only records the symptoms of the disease but also studies the medical history, family history, physical and psychological characteristics of a person. This helps to find the cause, the precipitating factors, and the hereditary tendency etc. Of special interest to a homeopath is the history of suppression of skin disease. 

There are lots of medicines in homeopathy for asthma symptoms and it is not possible to list them all here.

Some of the common medicines are :

Aconite, Ars-alb, Ipecac, Lachesis, Pulsatilla, Spongia, Sulphur, Ignatia, Ant-tart, Hepar-sulph, Nat-sulph, Tuberculinum etc.

The selection of medicine varies from patient to patient.