Acute bronchitis is a condition in which the air passages of the lungs become inflamed. This inflammation tends to occur shortly after a person contracts a respiratory infection. Initially, the symptoms may affect your sinuses, nose, and throat. It then can spread into your lungs resulting in wheezing, chest pain, shortness of breath, productive cough, fever, and fatigue. The people who are most prone to developing bronchitis include people with heart or lung disease, smokers, infants and children, and the elderly. Standard remedies for bronchitis include steam therapy, drinking lots of fluids, rest, and prescription or over-the-counter drugs for the wheezing or coughing. Acupuncture treatment offers an effective, safe, and natural alternative or complement to your bronchitis treatment.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of Chinese healing that’s been around for more than 3,000 years. It involves the placement of filform needles at various acupuncture points scattered across the body to prevent disease, balance the body, resolve illness, and boost health. Specific acupuncture points or acupoints are stimulated by acupuncturists in order to activate the vital energy, known as qi or chi, in your body and to tell the brain to produce and release chemicals and neurotransmitters that lead to the improvement of health and relief of pain. This extremely useful form of alternative healing only became popular in the US since its introduction in the 1970s in spite of the fact that it’s been used for thousands of years.
Research
Bronchitis symptoms can be addressed with acupuncture treatment in Bellingham. The Chinese medical journal “Shongguo Shen Jiu,” published a study in its September 2007 issue that observed the short as well as the long-term effects of acupuncture treatment on 200 patients with bronchitis. The subjects were treated with acupuncture treatment during the three hottest months of the year, which typically is the time where cases of acute bronchitis attacks are at its highest. When compared with 100 subjects who only made certain changes to their lifestyle, the group treated with acupuncture experienced superior short and long-term improvement in their symptoms.
Treatment
If you plan to visit an acupuncturist for the first time, expect him or her to ask you a series of questions regarding your current lifestyle, symptoms, complaint, and family and medical history. Your acupuncturist will feel your pulse and observe your tongue in order to come up with a Chinese medical diagnosis. After diagnosis is made, you will be asked to lie comfortably as he or she sticks tiny acupuncture needles at specific acupoints on your body, including your chest area, feet, hands, legs, and arms. Your acupuncturist may use additional treatment techniques such as cupping therapy, Gua Sha, or Chinese massage. After the needles are inserted into the corresponding points, you will be engulfed by a deep relaxing feeling that can last for a whole day. The needles are left in place for around 20 to 60 minutes, during which time you may feel so relaxed that you fall asleep.
Safety
Prior to using acupuncture for treatment of acute bronchitis, consult first with your doctor. It may be true that acupuncture is considered safe and rarely has adverse side effects, you nevertheless can experience infection, bleeding, or discomfort at the site of the needle, especially if the practitioner is not trained well enough. When necessary, we do not recommend using acupuncture as a substitute for standard medical care. Ask your local health department or doctor for a referral for a licensed and reputable acupuncturist in or near your area.
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