September 04, 2004

Along with millions of other people, I have asthma. About 7 to 10% of our children have it to one degree or another, and it is quite common in every age group. Those of you who know little about it might want to click here and spend a little time catching up on the basics, since it is too complex to include in this article.

Asthma is just one of a large number of conditions that result from problems with the immune system and the body's reaction to allergies, so people with asthma usually have other immune problems as well. Not everyone with immune system problems has asthma, however. There are also many different types and degrees of severity, so it is not uncommon for people to suffer from it and not know that they have it. If you have have breathing problems of any kind, or even a nagging cough, you might want to pay special attention and perhaps have a doctor investigate.

Fortunately, there is a lot of good information available on the internet and elsewhere. In addition to the basics linked above, you might want to look here for an excellent "Question and Answer" page. If you do a simple web search using just the word "asthma", you will get more links than you could begin to read.

This, of course, is where we run into trouble. Which ones do you read? How do you know if this or that one is the most current information? Do you know if this is the truth or some wild-eyed exaggeration? How does an article or news story relate to you and your particular kind of asthma? The purpose of this article is to give you some kind of yardstick to measure these things with so you can find the information you need and can trust.

"Asthma, A New Epidemic?" was chosen for the title here because many current news stories about this condition hype the idea that we are in the middle of some kind of pandemic outbreak of asthma, usually pushing a thinly veiled- or even blatant - pseudo environmentalist theme. While more people may now be identified as asthmatic these days, there is nothing in the scientific medical journals to indicate that there is any vast increase in the actual percentage of the population who have it. Solid research is being done, and effective treatments are available.

Don't get me wrong. There are serious environmental components to both the cause and treatment of asthma, as well as many other diseases and health problems, but the radical "greenie" nonsense promoted in much of the popular media reporting has little or nothing to do with reality. This article from the "Environmental News Network" is a prime example of bogus information. Since "global warming" has no serious scientific backing, one might consider being properly skeptical of anything else they had to say. The Center for Consumer Freedom is an excellent website for honest information about these phony "environmental" outfits and their activities.

The radical "green" agenda is the total destruction of all modern technology and a return to the stone age for the few non-elite humans they might allow to live. Since I've not heard of one of them currently living in caves without any modern conveniences, you can believe that they expect everyone ELSE to make the sacrifices. Nobody with an ounce of intelligence can deny that technology has created problems as well as solving them, but a return to the stone age is not an option most of us are honestly willing to accept. Therefore, technology will have to be used to continue to solve problems so that we can all live our lives in optimal comfort and health. It will take a lot of work, but a retreat to a primitive lifestyle for everyone holds no promise at all.

As you will see if you read this, asthma is tied closely to allergies and environmental irritants. It is also tied to the emotional health of the patient, as well as to other conditions that may be present. Treatment, therefore, is very seldom simply a matter of medication, though there are many good ones now available. Used with a program that promotes good general health, avoidance of allergens and irritants, and appropriate exercise, asthma need not hinder a full and active life.

As I covered in my introduction last week, all health and wellness is tied to our emotional/spiritual integrity, overall nutrition, along with healthy activity and environment. Our bodies are a complex mixture of systems and tissues that rely on each other for everything. No body part or function can be totally isolated or treated alone. Whatever we eat, drink or put into our bodies any other way affects our entire being.

There are NO "perfect" medications, foods or anything else on this earth. There are risks and benefits to everything, and it is your responsibility to discover both, determine - to the best of your ability - if the benefits outweigh the risks, and decide what to do about it. Logic would seem to indicate that it is best to start from the simple and move toward the complex in seeking treatments. Start with doing everything you can to help your own body build healthy tissues and fight disease, then carefully seek professional help if needed.

Asthma is just one of the hundreds of diseases and conditions that plague mankind. We have within us the ability to heal and to cope. As a nation, we have too long allowed people with an evil agenda to distort the truth, and distract us from self responsibility and self reliance. We have been manipulated and herded like sheep into accepting government "answers" for our problems, paying for them terribly with our property and our liberty - and too often with our lives.

I have taken back responsibility for my own life and health. How about you?

Next week: The Health Professional And You

Please send me your comments and questions too! Use the feedback form below. Thanks! Susan Callaway, RN

Other health information resources:

The Mayo Clinic has thousands of pages of information about asthma and almost every other health problem known to man. The information at this site is presented in language that most people should be able to understand. Bookmark this page and use it regularly to find reliable and timely information about any health issues that interests you. Other good resources are listed below.

MedlinePlus is owned and operated by the U.S. Government, so take things here with a grain of salt. Lots of good information here anyway. This is much more technical and is most useful to medical professionals or people who have done a lot of reading about the subject already.

National Library of Medicine. This is also owned and operated by the U.S. Government, but it contains a great deal of useful information on every medical topic imaginable. Unfortunately, most of the medical research in this country is done by government funding, at least in part, so there is not much available that is totally independent. That will only be possible when the free market can be restored and government reduced to its Constitutional limits.

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