Friday, July 30, 2010
Craig Amrine, L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist and expert on cold laser therapy. He can be reached through his website at www.hiddenrhythmacupuncture.com
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If you have lived in Phoenix, or the surrounding southwest desert
area for any length of time, you have probably heard of Valley Fever,
otherwise known as coccidioidomycosis. It involves an infection of the
lungs (specifically in the upper region of the lungs) from the spores of
the fungus Coccidioides immitis commonly found in the dusty soil of the Arizona desert.
Symptoms
of Valley Fever include including fatigue, cough, chest pain, fever,
rash, headache and joint aches. People can also acquire red bumps on
their skin. In can be confirmed through chest x-rays. While at least
1/3 of Arizonans will get Valley Fever, few will actually exhibit
symptoms since most cases resolve themselves over time. Occasionally,
however, the disease becomes acute should be taken quite seriously. The
standard treatments involve the use of anti-fungal medication such
fluconazole. Side-effects from this medication can include dizziness,
digestive disorders, skin rashes, and liver damage.
When I first began treating patients with Valley Fever with
acupuncture, I had no reference literature to lean on, be it case
studies or standard treatment protocols since it is such a relatively
local disease. So, I went back to basics... tongue and pulse
diagnosis....major symptoms diagnosis....using both cupping and bleeding
when appropriate. As a result, most patients showed a huge
improvement, enough to eliminate the use of anti-fungal drugs. Their
improvements most commonly involved huge increase in energy, less
coughing, and decrease in joint pain. One patient confirmed the success
with comparing chest x-rays at the beginning of our treatments and
about 6 weeks following our treatments. Her pulmonologist noted an
unexplained "remission" of the lung infection. He refused to attribute
this "mysterious" improvement to the acupuncture treatments, however.
Go figure.
If you know anyone suffering with Valley Fever, suggest acupuncture
and Traditional Chinese Medicine as an option. From my experience, a
wide range of respiratory disorders can be successfully treated with
acupuncture, including Valley Fever. Compared to the drugs, our
side-effects are....hmmm...well, we don't really have any.