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NEWS
RELEASE
May
5 , 2003
For More Information Contact: Rebecca Wilkowski, Phone: (800) 729-0941
Pacific College Reaches Out With Acupuncture During Asthma Month
According to a recent issue of the New York Times, asthma is affecting
Americans at an alarming rate. One in four school-age children in central
Harlem have asthma alone. In honor of Asthma Month, Pacific College of
Oriental Medicine is offering complementary acupuncture treatments to
people who have asthma throughout the month of May. (New patients only.
Physician's referral required in Illinois.)
Asthma is a syndrome of airway inflammation and constriction that affects
the patient with cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. A 2000 National
Health Interview survey estimated that 27.6 million people have had a
diagnosis of asthma in their lifetime. This includes 8.9 million children
under age the age of 18. Of those diagnosed, 84 percent of patients and
78 percent of parents admit that asthma has had a negative impact on their
lives. The National Center for Health Statistics estimated that in 2000,
there were 4,426 deaths from asthma. The American Lung Association estimates
that missed time from school and work, as well as medical, all contributed
to estimated U.S. asthma costs of $11.3 billion in 1998.
The World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health both
recognize the use of acupuncture in the treatment of respiratory disorders,
including asthma. Acupuncture is free of the side effects associated with
asthma medications, and often results in fewer attacks. According to the
National Library of Medicine, a study conducted in May 2000 found that
using traditional Chinese acupuncture to treat patients with bronchial
asthma was 79 percent effective. According to Lily Chang, a licensed acupuncturist
and an allergy/asthma specialist at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine,
acupuncture can "decrease or even eliminate symptoms of asthma naturally
without the use of inhalers or steroids."
For more information on how acupuncture can help those suffering with
asthma, please call (800) 729-0941. To make an appointment at Pacific
College’s community clinic, call (619) 574-6932 in San Diego, (212)
982-4600 in New York, or (773) 477-4822 in Chicago.
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