Asthma: Snippets from my Shiatsu Thesis (5)
Posted by tfootitt on March 10, 2008
(Parts 1-4 can be found in the preceding posts)
Conclusion
Early on Set Asthma can start without an allergic reaction, this can happen when a child suffers from an upper respiratory infection (Wind-Cold or Wind – Heat) which is either not treated properly or treated with antibiotics. If wind is not dispelled properly, it dispels itself in the lungs and impairs the dispersing and descending of Lung ki resulting in breathlessness and phlegm. On the other hand, the presence of Wind and phlegm in the lungs predisposes the child to further invasions of external Wind which can make the situation worse. Thus, a vicious cycle sets in when the child is progressively weakened and prone to the invasions of external wind and the breathlessness gets gradually worse.
This is certainly the case with myself. I always thought that my Asthma had started in my late teenage years and early twenties due to the stress that I experienced at the time. After discussing my health as a child with my mother whilst doing this project, I discovered that I had very bad whooping cough as a young child which lasted for a year. I was treated with antibiotics and believe that this and the Whooping cough weakened my lungs enabling a Wind invasion resulting in Asthma. I was a very out going child before this, where upon I started to and became very introvert demonstrating the lung deficiency. I believe that my family generally has low Kidney ki.
One thing that is certain is that the treatment of asthma can be expected to take a long time as the dis-ease is always based on an inborn deficiency of lung and kidneys defensive ki systems. Treatment can take many months if not years to produce lasting results.
Oral steroids can induce a deficiency of kidney. Oral steroids give relief in the short run but make it worse in the long run. Thereby worsening the ki deficiency that already exists. It is better for asthmatics to use their inhalers sparingly and only when really necessary. Other techniques should be tried first to control the situation, for example breathing exercises or qigong.
