Monday, 28 February 2011

Conventional Versus Homeopathic Asthma Treatment

When it comes to alternative asthma treatments, there are many options available. Which one is right in your case depends largely on the severity and type of asthma that you suffer from. It also depends upon what kind of relief you're looking for. Conventional treatments generally only focus on prevention and control of symptoms, whereas some homeopathic treatments attempt to actually cure the disease.

Conventional medicine usually seeks to provide long-term control of symptoms whenever possible. This is not a cure, but a long-standing treatment. It usually involves taking medication daily, generally in pill form or by an inhaler. To stop taking the medication would mean ending the preventative effects. Symptoms would quickly return.

Sometimes asthma is caused by allergic reaction to a particular allergen. In cases like this, the conventional approach is usually to treat the allergy with something like shots, pills, or nasal sprays. If attacks only occur in response to an allergen, then controlling the allergy will end the attacks. But again, we are not talking about a cure, just a way of preventing attacks. Stop treating the allergy, and the attacks will return.

The other main option offered by conventional medicine is quick-relief medication. Usually in the form of an inhaler, but also sometimes taken orally, this is used only to alleviate symptoms in the short-term. It is often used only during an attack. Clearly, this is not meant to be a cure.

Homeopathic medicine, on the other hand, offers a bit more hope. The practice of homeopathy encompasses a variety of treatments from independent sources. Many of these types of treatments have not been evaluated by the FDA, though this does not necessarily mean that they won't be effective.

Similar to conventional answers, some homeopathic options for asthma are only meant to control or prevent symptoms. More often, however, the homeopathic approach is to treat the underlying cause. The idea is that by correcting the cause of the problem, the problem itself will go away for good. In essence, this would be a cure.

The use of homeopathic remedies comes with both benefits and risks. Most homeopathic remedies are considered quite safe to use. Another benefit is that they tend to be all-natural. The chance for an actual cure, as opposed to prevention-only, is quite an obvious benefit. The main risk involved centers around the lack of evidential support from scientific and clinical studies as to the effectiveness of homeopathic medicine. This absolutely does not mean that it doesn't work. It just means that caution should be used, particularly if you intend to stop using conventional asthma treatments altogether while trying a homeopathic method. It is very important that your homeopathic treatment come from a legitimate and reputable source. Also, you may want to at least involve your conventional doctor, especially if your case is severe.

The best and only current hope of a cure for asthmatics probably comes from homeopathy. Conventional asthma treatment only aims to prevent or offer relief of symptoms. Choosing to go only with conventional options means giving up on the idea of ever being cured.

No comments:

Post a Comment