Asthma – Focusing on the Source

Asthma has become one of the most common chronic childhood illnesses with a significant impact on quality of life. What most parents don’t realize is that the majority of doctors only treat the symptoms – difficulty breathing, wheezing, etc – instead of the cause.

This means that children s asthma is just managed – NOT cured. Well not in my office! Here is a list of some of the most common causes of childhood asthma. As we say at Healing Solutions – find the cause, find the cure!

(1) Irritant Pollutants: a nonallergenic pathways to asthma, very often associated with new-onset asthma. This includes smoking, outdoor pollution and toxic chemicals found in the home that cause respiratory irritation. Very often children in this category immediately have asthma attacks on “red” days when walking outside. Hepa filters are extremely helpful at eliminated this type of asthma. Honeywell is the brand I recommend.

(2) Volatile Organic compounds: these are most often found in new homes, modern buildings (particularly carpet) and furniture. They include formaldehdye, toluene and chloroform. They are also found in other household products such as glues, paints, fragrances and cleaning products. The American Academy of Immunologists last year stated that fragrances were the new #1 allergen. Going hypoallergenic or buying a hepa filter will dramatically reduce astham. Removing stuffed animals and feather pillows/comforters in the room are also a necessity

(3) Seasonal/Food Allergies: these reactions are mediated by IgE immunoglobulin, often producing the dark venous circles under the eyes, ezcema and cyclic mood patterns. It is mediated by histamine which causes bronchoconstriction. Testing is required to elicite these. Sublinguial Immunotherapy is the new trend for eliminating seasonal allergies (see allergychoices.com)

(4) Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): although this etiology is unknown we believe that irritation to the lower esophageal nerve plexus (through the vagus nerve) has some reflex to the lung tissue causing bronchoconstriction. Often a sign of this is asthma mediated by coughing at night or after meals.

(5) Nutritional Deficiencies: One of the most common causes of asthma is deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA. When a deficiency occurs the body tends to be in a hyper-inflammatory state, where any little immune reaction causes bronchoconstriction. This type of presentation usualy is associated with “asthma symptoms that just started with a cold”.

There are many more types, but the above 5 are the most common. If you child gets diagnosed with asthma, make sure to ask your doctor what the cause of the asthma is – if they say bronchoconstriction or excessive inflammation – remember that is just a symptom from a cause! Get to the cause, and find the cure.