Articles
Columbus Polarity Center for Integrative Health & Wellness, Columbus Ohio
One late evening, as you are getting ready for bed, you are frightened by the wheezing and air gasping sounds coming from your child?s room. "Mom, I can?t breathe." As the short, fast, pumping breaths continue you have this sick feeling in your stomach ? what can I do? You either reach for the inhaler or head to the emergency room.
Coughing, wheezing, bronchial infection, puffy eyes, and unbearable chest congestion are all part of the chronic conditions of allergies and asthma. Unfortunately, children constitute the largest growing population of people affected by bronchitis and asthma. There are five to six million children that suffer with asthma. According to Energy Times, "the rate of asthma among children five to fourteen years old increased 74% between 1980 and 1994; the rate of preschool kids skyrocketed by 160%." Asthma, is the number one cause of hospitalization for children under the age of 15. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, the fatality rate from asthma among children five to fourteen years old doubled from 1979 to 1995.
What has happened to drastically increase these conditions, namely asthma? Is it environmental pollution, poor diet, antibiotics/drug use, unsafe living conditions in our homes and schools? Has the air quality in our cities changed so much that it could affect a 160% increase in asthma among preschool children? Many researchers are saying that our current rise in breathing problems is directly linked to pollution.
Learn more about herbal medicine.
We are constantly exposed to pollutants daily! Automotive exhausts, radon, secondary cigarette smoke, chemical cleaners, hairsprays, the list goes on. We constantly clear our throats, sniffle, wheeze, and blow our nose, while not paying any attention to the fact that the air we breathe may be slowly suffocating us. The American Lung Association says deaths from breathing problems have increased more than 61% since 1979. Why??
Antibiotic drug use and vaccines have also been associated with the epidemic of asthma in children. Vaccines and antibiotics can actually negatively affect the immune system.
Learn more about our herbal medicine services.
In a recent report from the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, several points were made that clearly show why drugs and especially vaccines can cause immune deficiency in children, leading to asthmatic response:
- Vaccines cause important cells in our immune system (T-cells) to commit themselves to a specific antigen. Once committed, it will not respond to other challenges.
- Vaccines and antibiotics cause T-cell counts to drastically decrease, which compromises our immune system.
- These drugs all leave the immune system weaker in its response to other viruses, bacteria, and pollutants that enter the body.
Win the war but lose the battle. The question is simple: how many vaccines, antibiotics and over-the-counter drugs can an infant or child handle before severe damage is created to the immune system? Result ? chronic conditions like asthma.
Dr. Howard Urnovity, the Science Director of the Chronic Illness Research Foundation says, "there appears to be a limit on how much foreign material the human body can be exposed to before some level of genetic damage occurs and a chronic disease initiates."
Have we compromised the health of our children and/or are we forced into making very dangerous trades. An example of this is the Hepatitis B vaccination that is being required of every child, before four to five years old. It?s new, untested, and the side effects are just being recognized ? Consumer Beware!
Learn more about our herbal medicine services.
Plan of Action
There are always options:
First and foremost: Ask questions, do not accept the fact that every medication and vaccine is safe. What are the side effects? Do the benefits outweigh the potential harm.
Second: There are options, become familiar with herbal remedies (see the past articles in Healing on herbal approaches), homeopathic natural medicine, and nutrients vitamins/minerals that will support the body?s immune system.
Third: Advocate, advocate, advocate ? for your children. Find Holistic and Integrative Health Care Practitioners who may look at your child individually and who will consider their specific needs. Individualized Health Care.
Fourth: Be aware, become educated and understand that there is a correlation between Environmental and Drug Induced Illnesses like asthma. Yes, we can create our own diseases.
Learn more about our herbal medicine services.
Natural Approaches Available
- Antioxidant nutrients like Vitamin C, Flavonoids, Vitamin E, Selenium, Vitamins B and B12 are very useful for asthma
- Herbs like Echinacea, Goldenseal and Garlic help the body fight asthma
- Breathe Free an anti-asthma and anti-allergy formula that contains Nettle, Eyebright, Goldenseal, Mullein helps congestion
In the next two issues of Healing we will explore, with vim and vigor, the world of Homeopathic Medicine, a world that children live in very easily. Children respond so well to Homeopathic Remedies that it sends a very clear message to us all; Try Non-Invasive Therapies First, they just might work.
When it comes to Breathing, it is not an option, become aware of your breath, your breathing patterns and recognize early signs of trouble. This will change an unconscious pattern to a conscious one!!
Conscious Breathing Becomes Conscious Healing: Change Your Breath, Change Your Life.
May the long-time sun shine upon you.
Learn more about our herbal medicine services.
