Acupuncture and asthma in South Carolina

This is another good question. I was asked this last week by a woman who had chronic fatigue syndrome, food allergies, and asthma. I have a particular interest in this because I am Chinese and my relatives, including my parents, are strong proponents of Traditional Medicine. This has been studied, although some of the studies were poorly controlled. The bottom line is no, unfortunately acupuncture thus far has not been shown to benefit asthma. My sources include the World Health Organisation's (W.H.O.) page on Traditional Medicine as of 2008. Note this contradicts earlier reports by the W.H.O. in 1998 and 2003. These reports can be read in their entirety on the W.H.O.'s website [search "acupuncture, asthma"]. Many websites refer to these reports or cite literature from Chinese Medical journals. I have nothing against them, but why can't these results be duplicated elsewhere? The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews similarly concluded that there was not evidence of recommend acupuncture for asthma.

Acupuncture is relatively new option in South Carolina. When I first moved to South Carolina in 2000, there were less than 10 licensed acupuncturists. At the end of 2008, there are about 115 licensed acupuncturists in the state. I think this is because Traditional Medicine is both being examined more carefully and being selected more often by people. The Upstate area has at least 8 by my count. They can be found on the South Carolina Department of License, Labor & Regulation's website (search by city).

If you have questions about acupuncture, ask your doctor...