Allergies and Asthma

Excerpt from Child Health Guide, North Atlantic Books, 2005
Asthma Incidence Dramatically Increasing
Allergic conditions can begin at any age. Infants can develop eczema soon after birth. Babies can also suffer from asthmatic reactions to viruses, with chronic coughs and/or wheezing following colds. Preschoolers may develop sensitivity to milk and chronic sinus congestion or ear problems. It is during the ages 5 through 10, however, that allergies and asthma become especially prevalent. Children at this age develop seasonal hay fever attacks and asthmatic reactions to animals, dust mites, and plants. Asthma may also manifest as exercise-induced wheezing when children begin playing sports (soccer, basketball, swimming) that challenge their endurance.

Allergies affect about 38 percent of all Americans, and about 5 percent of the U.S. population has asthma. The highest proportion of asthma is among children age 5 to 14, a total of 5 million children. Childhood asthma has increased by more than 40 percent since 1980. In other parts of the world, the numbers are even higher. In Western Europe as a whole, asthma cases have doubled in the last ten years, according to the UCB Institute of Allergy in Belgium. "The prevalence of asthma in children can be as high as 30 percent in certain populations," explained Professor Romain Pauwels, Chairman of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). "In Australia, for example, one child in six under the age of 16 is affected today. Experts are struggling to understand why rates worldwide are, on average, rising by 50 percent every decade."

Many researchers have looked at the growing number of childhood vaccines as a likely cause of the rise in childhood asthma. Several clinical studies have confirmed an association between vaccination and asthma. A team of New Zealand researchers followed 1,265 children born in 1977. Of the children who were vaccinated, 23 percent had asthma episodes. A total of 23 children did not receive the DTP vaccines, and none of them developed asthma (Kemp et al., 1997). A study in Great Britain produced similar findings that associated asthma with the pertussis vaccine. In that study, 243 children received the vaccine and 26 of them later developed asthma (10.7 percent), compared to only 4 of the 203 children who had never received the pertussis vaccine (2 percent). Additionally, of the 91 children who received no vaccines at all, only one had asthma. Therefore, the risk of developing asthma was about 1 percent in children receiving no vaccines and 11 percent for those children who received vaccines, including pertussis (Odent et al., 1994). A third study was conducted in the U.S. from data in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of infants through adolescents aged 16. Data showed that children vaccinated with DTP or tetanus were twice as likely to develop asthma, compared to unvaccinated children (Hurwitz and Morgenstern, 2000).

Medications given to children early in life also have a significant effect on the incidence of asthma. Children given Antibiotics or acetaminophen (Tylenol) at some time prior to age 4 were nearly twice as likely to develop asthma, compared to a control group (Cohet et al., 2004). One group of researchers discovered a possible cause for the development of asthma as a consequence of Antibiotic use. Mice given Antibiotics developed an alteration of intestinal bacteria and an increase in the growth of intestinal yeast. These mice developed typical allergic responses in the lungs when they were exposed to mold spores. Mice that did not receive Antibiotics did not experience the allergic reactions (Noverr et al., 2004).

Low income level has also proven to be associated with childhood asthma. In a study undertaken by the Harlem Children's Zone, more than 2,000 children were tested for asthma. All children under 13 who lived within a twenty-four-square block area of Central Harlem were tested, and 26 percent had evidence of asthma, five times the national average. Clearly, healthful nutrition is an important deterrent to the development of asthma in children.

The dramatic increase in childhood allergies and asthma has resulted in an equally alarming number of drug-dependent children. Parents have become dismayed at the inadequacies and dangers of conventional drug treatment for asthma. Most children with asthma are prescribed steroid inhalers with their attendant dangers of growth suppression and immune system depletion. Allergy drug recalls, deaths associated with asthma drugs, and the dire consequences of children on steroids have stimulated millions of parents to find alternatives. All of these drugs merely relieve symptoms for a few hours with no expectation of overall improvement. Effective conventional treatment for young children with allergies is virtually nonexistent.

The Holistic Solution
The solution to allergic and asthmatic conditions lies in the realm of holistic medical care. Allergies can be significantly improved, and even cured, with holistic treatment. Homeopathic constitutional medicine is the most profound and direct way to stimulate a healing reaction and overcome immune system susceptibilities. Children's immune mechanisms can also be strengthened using a combination of nutritional supplements and Chinese herbal treatment. Treating asthma with holistic approaches can be complex and needs to be carefully managed-children cannot stop their medications suddenly. A number of safe and effective herbal formulas exist that can control asthma in children and simultaneously strengthen the immune system to prevent further attacks. The Chinese Modular Solutions formulas Open Air, Deep Breath, and Chest Relief, all developed for pediatric use, are especially effective in managing asthma without drugs.

Nutritional support for asthma is especially important, including adequate supplies of vitamins A, C, D, and E, colostrum, magnesium, and an omega-3 supplement. Several important herbal formulations can also help bolster immunity in older children, especially those combinations that include the immune stimulating mushrooms (maitake, reishi, grifola, polyporus, tremella).

Other treatment methods that can improve lung function and create a healthy balance in the body for energy to flow properly include acupuncture, and chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation.

Finally, the emotional and energetic component of asthma treatment should not be neglected. The field of psycho-neuro-immunology has revealed the important connection between emotions and the immune system. Self-regulation techniques that develop a relaxation state include guided imagery, biofeedback, and simple deep abdominal breathing. These methods can help prevent asthma reactions. Children proficient in these skills can also relieve asthmatic symptoms when they occur. One of the primary mechanisms of asthma is the constriction of smooth muscle fibers that encircle the airway tubes. When the mind is calm, when skeletal muscles are relaxed, and when breathing is deep and regular, these muscles that constrict air flow will also relax and allow children to breathe more freely. Regular exercise, swimming, and dance training have also been shown to increase lung capacity and reduce asthma episodes.

This holistic approach to asthma will strengthen the immune system and lung function, prevent the airway inflammation characteristic of asthma, relieve the muscle constriction that impairs breathing, decrease mucus production in airways, and create a balanced energy flow that allows the lungs to do their job without impairment.

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/155/1/Allergies-and-Asthma%20





References:

Cohet C, et al. Infections, medication use, and the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in childhood. J Epidemiology Community Health 2004 Oct; 58(10):852-7.

Hurwitz, E.L., Morgenstern, H. Effects of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis or tetanus vaccination on allergies and allergy-related respiratory symptoms among children and adolescents in the US. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2000; 318(7192):1173-6.

Kemp T., Pearce N., Fitzharris P. et al., Is infant immunization a risk factor for childhood asthma or allergy? Epidemiology 1997; 8:678.

Noverr MC, et al. Role of antibiotics and fungal microbiota in driving pulmonary allergic responses. Infectious Immunology 2004 Sep; 72(9):4996-5003.

Odent MR, Culpin EE, Kimmel T. Letter to the editor. Pertussis vaccination and asthma: Is there a link? JAMA 1994; 272:592-3.