Acupressure for asthma: 8 pressure points to relieve symptoms

Asthma is one of the most common health problems in the world today. It is a long-term lung disease that is most commonly found in children. Fortunately, you can relieve asthma with acupressure techniques. Listed below are eight acupressure points that can help ease the symptoms of asthma.

1. Collarbone pressure point – This pressure point is located on the outer side of the chest, three finger widths below the collarbone. To relieve asthma, press this point with your index and middle fingers for three to four minutes. Regularly doing this can also help ease chest congestion, tension, emotional distress, and breathing problems.

2. Breastbone pressure point – Place your index and middle fingers on the points situated in the hollow below the collarbone and beside the breastbone for five minutes to alleviate asthma. Moreover, this point is effective for mitigating chest congestion, breathing problems, anxiety, and coughing.

3. Shoulder pressure point – To ease asthma, press the point one finger width under the tip of your shoulder blade and rotate slightly. Do this regularly for three minutes. Aside from asthma, this pressure point will help ease sneezing, coughing, and severe muscle pains in the neck and shoulder.

4. The base of the thumb pressure point – The fleshy part near the base of the thumb is where this pressure point is located. Apply slight pressure on this point with your other thumb for five minutes. Doing this regularly will free you from asthma, coughing, swollen throat, and shallow breathing.

5. Wrist pressure point – Positioned on the wrist below the base of the thumb, the small groove in this area will alleviate asthma, cough, and lung problems. With your thumb, press this pressure point for three to four minutes. Release slowly and do the same for the other hand.

6. Throat pressure point – Found in the hollow below the Adam’s apple, this pressure point will improve your breathing. Put your index or middle finger on this point and slightly apply pressure on it. Do this regularly for five minutes three times per day.

7. Index finger joint pressure point – This pressure point can be found on the outer side of the index finger that is slanting to the base of the thumb. With your thumb, apply a small amount of pressure on the sore point in the area for two to three minutes, and do the same procedure on the other hand.

8. Ring finger joint pressure point – This pressure point can be found in the depression near the ring finger. To relieve asthma, regularly move your thumb up and down in this area or to the sore point in the area for two minutes. Repeat the same procedure on the other hand.

More on asthma

Asthma inflames and narrows the airways that carry air into and out of the lungs. The precise cause of this disease remains unknown. However, scientists believe that some genetic and environmental factors interact to cause asthma, most frequently in early life. These factors are an inherited tendency to develop allergies called atopy; parents with asthma; respiratory infections during childhood; and contact with some allergens in the air or exposure to viral infections in infancy or early childhood when the immune system is developing. (Related: Asthma attacks found to be caused by suppressed immune system.)

To prevent the worsening asthma symptoms, you should:

• Refrain from getting in contact with allergens from dust, animal fur, cockroaches, mold, and tree, grass, and flower pollens.

• Stay away from irritants such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemicals or dust, and sprays.

• Avoid medicines such as aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and nonselective beta-blockers.

• Avoid consuming foods and drinks with sulfites.

• Prevent viral upper respiratory infections like colds.

• Limit physical activity.

Read more stories on Traditional Chinese Medicine at ChineseMedicines.news.

Sources include:

ModernReflexology.com

NHLBI.NIH.gov