Asthma- A Holistic View

While the tendency to have asthma is oftentimes an inherited trait, the condition is usually related to persistent embedded viral infections. As with all conditions genetic or acquired, the key to health is making sure that the immune system can regulate itself and prevent infections from becoming imbedded and allergic reactions from occurring. An embedded infection is different from an acute infection. As the name suggests, an embedded infection means that the pathogen resides within the tissues of the body. The pathogen is enclosed into the matrix of the tissue, and it is usually sub-clinical (not detectible) until the encapsulated material grows into a mass that is detectible or has otherwise transformed the tissue affected into a morbid state. It is sort of in an "inactive state" due to the way non-specific immunity works to neutralize the infection, but it remains an "active" cause of disease and always rears its ugly head when an acute infection occurs.

The immune process that deals with embedded infections is different than the immune process that fights pathogenic attack from the outside environment. Ideally the "defensive" immune system (known as cell-mediated) should be able to effectively deal with pathogenic attack from the outside environment so that they don't "infect" and become embedded in the matrix of vital tissues. In order for infectious agents from the environment to cause great harm to the body, they first have to penetrate through the skin and protective lining of membranes. The immune system has a very sophisticated and complex security system in place at this level to keep the body from becoming contaminated - and it usually works.

Repeated exposure to infection - whether an "outside job" or an "inside job" (from the outside environment or from imbedded viruses) -- wears the system down and perpetuates the fight or flight mechanism. The immune system becomes locked into a sympathetic mode where there is heightened sensitivity in the nervous system. This requires certain body functions to become and stay more active (i.e, the heart, lungs). In this state, the autonomic functions of the body defer to the "fight or flight" mechanisms – which basically means that normal functions (such as digestion, assimilation, elimination, non-specific immunity) are put on hold so that the energy of the body can be directed to putting out fires. In health, the parasympathetic mode is dominant - which simply means that autonomic functions are more active and "things are working as they should". In chronic "immune disorder" conditions such as asthma, the immune system is locked in the sympathetic mode. This "heightened sensitivity" scenario creates a "viscous cycle" of illness that ultimately leads to chronic adrenal insufficiency and "immune deficiency" states. This state of health puts constant pressure on the heart and lungs, making it difficult to remain calm and breath properly. This is one reason why most asthmatics end up with heart disease and/or hypertension later in life.

Asthma is as much a nervous system disorder as it is an immune deficiency condition. They co-exist and one creates the other and vice versa. Once a person becomes asthmatic, the nervous system is so wired that just about anything and everything triggers an immune response - an asthma attack, wheezing, etc. The triggers include acute infections, food or environmental irritants (pollution, pollen, etc.), excessive emotions or physical activity that puts additional stress on the adrenal-corticosteroid mechanism. The "lung or bronchial disease" aspect is secondary - a consequence, you might say, of the immune deficiency condition. This is where inherited traits factor into the equation. In an asthmatic or wheezing attack, the inflammation of the air passages is an allergic response of the immune system responding to the trigger.

Many asthmatics start out healthy (no asthma) but become asthmatic between ages two and five. This would suggest that the cause is due in large part to embedded viral infections. Like all immune disorders, the condition involves "complicated" patterns of disease. This means that in order to reverse the disease or effectively control it, you must treat the excess patterns (inflammation), the deficiencies (organ weakness and hormonal failure) and the immune regulation out of control problem. This is not an easy task. Conventional medical treatment for these conditions target only one aspect - the inflammation. Anti-inflammatory medications suppress the immune system. These medications are catabolic steroids - meaning they are designed to break things down. They are life-saving and pain relieving - but long term use of these anti-inflammatory medications break down tissue (which leads to scarring or degeneration), cause kidney damage and irreparable damage to the fluid metabolism system (causing bloating, weight gain and edema) and cause additional allergic reactions to occur. The treatment only temporarily "fixes" the inflammatory problem ... until the next asthma attack is triggered. This is what we call treating the branch only. Meanwhile, the root causes of the disease - imbedded infections and immune deficiency illness - are not treated and certainly not cured.

Regards curative treatment, you must treat the branch and the root at the same time. The over-reactive immune system must be stabilized first. Then you must treat the underlying root or organic causes. This involves stimulating the non-specific immunity and restoring vitality to weak and/or diseased organs. This can be accomplished using appropriate Chinese herbal medicines and clinical homeopathic formulas. Some cases are more difficult to treat because there are other things going on. The key to health is making sure that the immune system can regulate itself and prevent infections from becoming imbedded and allergic reactions from occurring. We will always be burdened with the programmed organ and genetic weaknesses that we are born with. A person may "have" to treat his/her asthma all their life - but the choice of treatment determines the future health of the individual. Chinese Medicine treats the whole person, including the branch and the root of the disease.