Another Wacky Idea of How Conventional Medicine ThinksA "non-drug" procedure to treat asthma that essentially burns off muscle tissue on the inside of the lungs is being tested. The procedure is called bronchial thermoplasty, and researchers have compared it to a microwave oven, which cooks meat on the inside but doesn't scorch the outer layers.
What happens during a bronchial thermoplasty? A lighted catheter is inserted into your nose or throat and into the airways that fill the lungs. The tip, a wire basket, is inflated to touch the airway walls, then radiofrequency (RF) waves are beamed through the wires. The RF waves heat the muscle tissue to 149 degrees, causing some of it to disintegrate, while apparently not scarring the airway's thin lining.
The idea is that overgrown muscle tissue in air tubes inside the lungs is responsible for some asthma cases, and bronchial thermoplasty can get rid of half of the thickened muscle. Side effects that are known include coughing and wheezing, but no one knows what the long-term effects -- such as late scarring or weakened airways -- of burning away muscle tissue inside the lungs will be.
Ironically, while researchers are touting this procedure as the "first non-drug treatment for asthma," they've also stressed that this is not a replacement for asthma medications.
But why subject yourself to either? Normally, asthma is not that difficult to treat if you address the underlying cause by:
- Optimizing your diet, including eliminating sugars and grains
- Making pure water your beverage of choice
- Adding a regular source of animal-based omega-3 fats to your diet
- Recognizing the emotional component
Yahoo News May 22, 2006
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