Reply to Article in the Blade
As a healthcare provider, I found the article “Childhood Asthma Signs Dangerously Deceptive” on June 17th to be informative overall but it carried only one point of view. Traditional medical care is effective in managing the disease and necessary to prevent tragedy, but it is not the only treatment available.
One complementary therapy is chiropractic. Doctors of chiropractic can assess the patient’s physical and nutritional status. Careful evaluation of the biomechanical components of the mid-back and ribcage can reveal problems that can hinder the patient’s ability to breathe. The rib joints in the front and the back should be able to move freely. The patient’s posture is important as well because a slouched posture can impede breathing. With co-treatment by a chiropractic physician, many children can decrease or eliminate their medications after consulting with their medical doctors. The addition of a doctor of chiropractic can be a valuable asset to a healthcare team and help to improve the quality of life of children and adults with asthma.
In addition, parents not only need to try to reduce their child’s exposure to allergens in the air, but they need to reduce or eliminate any foods to which the child may be allergic. The most important allergies to be concerned with are those that produce an anaphylactic reaction and cause breathing emergencies, but these are not promoters of asthma and inflammation in the lungs. Sub-clinical allergic reactions build up over time and increase a child’s sensitivity to other allergies. These sub-clinical allergies do not show up on a typical scratch test and are often overlooked, but they can be tested for with an advanced blood test. Elimination of the foods which return as positive for allergies can greatly reduce the symptoms and severity of asthma and reduce the frequency of acute asthma attacks.
Reply to “Childhood Asthma Signs Dangerously Deceptive” on 06/17/2007