… ask the Boogor Doctor …

Ask The Expert – Breathe Easier with Acupuncture Part 2

by Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD

This is Part 2 of the Ask-the-Expert article on using Acupuncture as a remedy for Childhood Asthma. Please see Part 1, Acupuncture for Childhood Asthma, for an introduction to our expert, Robin Green, who has earned a Masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as a License in Acupuncture.

I want to send a HUGE Thank You to Robin for contributing to this blog!

Robin Green Acupunturist

Acupuncture for Childhood Asthma

By Robin Green, MTCM, L.Ac.

What to Expect

Immediately

Having worked with many patients who have asthma it has been my experience that most notice an immediate improvement in their breathing during or immediately after an acupuncture session. Many report they feel a reduction in chest tightness, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

While every patient needs to be evaluated on an individual basis to determine an appropriate treatment plan, an initial series of 4 – 6 treatments are generally recommended. Several series of visits may be required to improve symptoms further. Because acupuncture treatments have a cumulative or building effect, your practitioner may recommend two to three treatments per week in the beginning. As symptoms improve, the frequency of treatments can decrease to weekly or bi-weekly.

Over Time

Long term, a series of treatments helps reduce the frequency and severity of asthma, allowing the patient to rely less on their inhalers and other asthma medications (as determined in conjunction with their doctor).

For Kids? You Must Be Crazy!

Many parents are probably thinking, “Acupuncture sounds great, but you must be crazy! There’s no way my kid’s going to let someone stick them with needles!”

The word needle conjures up all kinds of scary images.

Acupuncture Needles in Sterile Peel-packs

The good news is that acupuncture needles are nothing like the needles most of us are familiar with. Pediatric acupuncture needles are hair-fine, stainless steel, sterile and disposable. Unlike hypodermic needles, nothing is injected into the skin.

In babies and children under age 8, acupuncture needles are swiftly tapped in and removed in less than a second with little or no pain. The procedure takes only a few minutes and, when the baby or child is distracted by Mom and Dad, the procedure may be over before they know it. Starting around age 9, children can relax with needles in for about 5 to 15 minutes before they are removed.

Many parents are shocked and amazed that kids – yes kids – will try acupuncture… and like it!

Not every child is going to be brave enough to try it on their first visit, but many work up the courage to try it and find it doesn’t hurt.

I’m not the only practitioner that finds this to be true.

According to Acupuncture Today, “An April 2000 study in the journal Pediatrics, for example, found that 70% of children treated with acupuncture felt it helped their symptoms, and two-thirds found the treatment ‘pleasant’. Fifty-nine percent of the parents agreed that acupuncture helped their children” (Kemper, in Resources, below).

Is It Safe?

Naturally, many parents wonder about the safety of acupuncture.

The good news is that it is one of the safest natural remedies available. In a review of therapies, the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement reports that:

“… One of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted procedures for the same conditions.”

A review of serious adverse events by Ernst and White found the risk of a major complication occurring to have an incidence between 1:10,000 and 1:100,000, which is considered ‘very low.

Cost

The cost of acupuncture will vary depending on where you live. Most acupuncture treatments range from $50 to $85 per session. On the first visit there may be an additional consultation fee.

Insurance companies are increasingly covering acupuncture but the amount of coverage varies greatly depending on the insurance company and your plan. The best way to find out if you have acupuncture insurance coverage is to call your insurance company and check for acupuncture benefits.

In addition, most FSA and HSA plans (family health savings accounts) can be used to pay for acupuncture services.

Alternatives?

For children who are simply too anxious to try acupuncture needles, most acupuncturists have other tools they can use to stimulate the acupuncture points to produce a similar therapeutic effect as needles.

The three most common alternatives to acupuncture are:

• cold laser therapy
• micro current therapy
• shonishin therapy

Each therapy listed is painless but requires the practitioner to hold a device on the skin for 15 to 60 seconds on each point, with the child holding still during that time.

Summary

The potential for healing with acupuncture is enormous, and in some cases can be life changing. It is an extremely safe method of treatment that is well tolerated, even in babies and children.

With its ability to reduce inflammation, as well as to ease symptoms during treatment, it may soon become an integral part of any treatment plan for asthma, and for many other respiratory disorders as well.

For more information on Acupuncture and family health, visit Robin Green at Morgan Hill Family Wellness: http://www.morganhillwellness.com/

Resources

• Barnes, Patricia. National Center for Health Statistics. 2 April 2011. National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, National Institute of Health. 10 Dec. 2008 <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr012.pdf>
• Loo, May. Pediatric Acupuncture. London: Elsevier Science, 2002.
• Devitt, Michael. “Survey Confirms Safety of Acupuncture.” Acupuncture Today 12 Mar. 2011. November 2001
  http://acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27856.
• Vanita, Jindal. NIH Public Access. 12 Mar. 2011. National Institute of Health. 22 Aug. 2008
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518962/.
• CDC Asthma Facts: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/asthma.htm
• Kemper et al. On Pins and Needles? Pediatric Pain Patients’ Experience with Acupuncture. In the journal, PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 4 Supplement April 2000, pp. 941-947.
• Ernst E, White AR. Prospective studies of the safety of acupuncture: a systematic review. In the journal, THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE Vol. 110 No 6 April 2001, pp. 481-485.
• This blog: 13 Startling Facts About Asthma: http://www.boogordoctor.com/2010/09/13-startling-facts-about-asthma/

_____________

Questions:

Have YOU ever used acupuncture?

For asthma?

For your child(ren)?

If so, please leave a comment and tell us about your experience!

_____________

Image Credits:  Robin Green, MCTM, L.Ac.

_____________

Thanks for visiting.

I appreciate your comments and questions.  Keep ‘em coming.  Please, “be excellent to one another.”

I invite you to subscribe (it’s FREE) to this blog for weekly updates – you won’t be swamped by updates, I simply cannot write for the blog everyday.

Click here to receive free weekly updates: (http://eepurl.com/FGnP)

Type in your best email address (the one you actually use).

Your email is safe - will never be shared or sold. Ever.

Click here to read our Privacy Policy: http://wp.me/PR4iB-r

When the confirmation email from boogor doctor arrives, click on the link to give your okay to receive free weekly updates, occasional book reviews or product reviews, occasional discount-coupons for products that I use (not affiliates), all without needing to visit the website.

It’s free, it’s convenient. No ads. No spam. You can un-subscribe at any time. How cool is that?

Stay Informed.

Stay Healthy.

Best of health and success to you and your families.

Until next time, remember … you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose (unless you’re a boogor doctor :~D)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: acupuncture, alternative therapy, asthma, childhood asthma, natural remedy, pediatric asthma, unified airway