With over two million Australians suffering from asthma, many are binning the inhaler and trying alternative methods of treatment. Sunlight could also have an influence on asthma symptoms.
West Australian research has recently discovered that a 15-30 minute exposure to UV could "significantly reduce" the immune reactions to common triggers like dust and calm the symptoms of asthma in mice.
However, this theory of sun exposure is yet to be proved applicable to humans and sunbaking is not an advised method of control.
Although the most widely accepted method of easing shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing remains the ventolin puffer, the use of unconventional treatments should not be underestimated.
Acupuncture, for example, has long been attributed with easing a broad range of ailments, from cancer to obesity, diabetes and even short-sightedness. Acupuncture is a Chinese concept playing on the body's natural energies. Needles are inserted into the skin in areas which are meant to coincide with other organs or parts of the body.
Its effect on asthma has been debated and some studies show that needle insertion has a marked reduction of asthamic symptoms. For the most part, it is based on needling the areas of the chest and back that are over the lungs, particularly the upper part of the lungs with a small number of adjunctive points elsewhere.
Studies by Hu Jinsheng, from the Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Beijing, show that steroid-dependent asthmatics began to improve after several acupuncture treatments, with the dosage of the drugs gradually reduced. His treatment involved applying acupuncture 4 times per week initially for two weeks, and then reducing to three times per week for the next two weeks, and then 2 times per week for several weeks.
Another alternative method of opening up air passage ways − "tight chest" is one of the most common symptoms of asthma − is breathing exercises and Yoga. Yoga originated in India and involves different sequences of postures which, like acupuncture, play on the body's natural energy flows.
Researchers in the UK conducted a clinical trial that studied the effects of yoga breathing exercises on 18 patients aged 19 to 54 years suffering from mild asthma. All patients practised slow deep breathing for 15 minutes twice a day for two consecutive 2-week periods. The results published in the Cochrane Review concluded that the simple regime may help control asthma. A further study in the same publication also concluded that breathing exercises "significantly improved the quality of life" of some asthma sufferers.
Herbal medicines have been around for a while, although they are thought to help asthma sufferers, there is very little research that proves this. However, some results have been promising.
In one study published in the Thorax journal, patients were treated with a range of Chinese, Indiana and Japanese herbs. Nine of the trials reported significant improvements in lung function and/or symptom scores. These trials included three Chinese remedies (Ginkgo liquor, IKPA tablets, and WTM), one Indian preparation (T Indica), the Japanese herbal preparation (TJ-96) and dried ivy leaf extract.
More than 2.2 million Australians have asthma. Recent surveys show that up to 16 per cent of children and 12 per cent of adults have a current asthma problem. An attack can be triggered by a number of things including pollen, chemicals, some medications, smoke or fumes, exercise and anxiety. The condition costs Australia $700 million a year in medical costs and loss of productivity.
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