Article: EVIDENCE BASED RESEARCH STUDIES ON DIQ AL-NAFAS (ASTHMA) IN UNANI MEDICINE: A REVIEW

Article Category: Review articles

DOI: 10.7897/2277-4343.11018

Pages: 35-40

Author: Shah Alam *, Nighat Anjum, Jamal Akhtar, Fouzia Bashir, Asim Ali Khan

Abstract: Asthma is one of the most important non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which cause substantial disability and death worldwide. It is estimated that asthma accounts for one in every 250 deaths worldwide. More than 330 million individuals are currently suffering from asthma globally, about a tenth of those living in India. Although recent treatment guidelines have led to substantial improvements in asthma management and control but many of these patients continue to have disabling symptoms and severe exacerbations. It is common to find patients with asthma, seeking medications from alternative systems of medicine. Studies have shown that patients use either complementary or alternative medicine only if they are not satisfied with conventional medicine. Adverse effects of conventional medicines, holistic approach in the disease management are also the reasons for choosing complementary and alternative medicine. A wide range of 6-70% prevalence of use of complementary therapy for asthma is reported. Such treatments include acupuncture, homeopathy, and herbal therapy including Unani or Ayurvedic drugs, ionizers and spiritual healing. But there is a lack of evidence that these complementary or alternative medicine approaches work. This article is an attempt to collect and summarize the evidenced based research work done in Unani system of medicine for the management of Asthma or Diq al-Nafas.

Keyword: Asthma, D??q al-Nafas, Unani, Alternative medicine,