CBD and Asthma: Is It Beneficial?
Asthma is a chronic respiratory health problem that leads to shortness of breath, wheezing, and other symptoms. A person with this condition can suffer from unexpected asthma attacks, and in severe cases, if the person doesn’t get emergency treatment, it can also lead to death. Several environmental factors can cause asthma attacks such as dusty weather, cold, dust storm, etc.
Asthma patients need to take serious precautions to avoid attacks. Doctors usually recommend them to stay away from dust. This respiratory condition doesn’t have any cure, but some treatments can help alleviate the symptoms. Some studies show the relation between CBD and asthma. They suggest that CBD is beneficial to reduce and control the symptoms of this disease.
Continue reading to learn more about this condition and the benefits of CBD for asthma.
What Is Asthma and How It Effects On Your Body?
Asthma is a chronic health disorder of the respiratory system and is a common health problem around the world. A person with this problem faces difficulty in breathing. Though asthma is not considered deadly, it took 250,000 lives in 2011. There is no permanent cure available for asthma. The treatment and control of the disease can help you decrease its symptoms.
In this disease, a patient’s air passages become inflamed, which leads to narrowing the airways that are the path of oxygen to travel to the lungs. Asthma can have several adverse effects on humans because it prevents you from breathing properly.
Typically, when a person breathes, their bands of muscles get relaxed, giving the space to the air to move around the body. However, a person with asthma disorder has inflammation in airways and bronchial tubes; the unfavorable environment makes the band of muscles tighter, which leads to wheezing and shortness of breath. The environmental factors that can affect asthma patients can be dust, cold, and fumes.
Asthma has no solution, but people use various methods to manage and control the problem. CBD is one of these methods which are common among asthma patients. This is because multiple studies show the relation between CBD and asthma. It can help people with asthma because of its anti-inflammatory properties.
Reason for Using CBD for Asthma
There are many benefits of CBD, which can help you control and reduce symptoms of asthma. Whether it is oil, supplement, or any topical CBD, the compound contains numerous properties to treat or reduce the symptoms of many health problems, including asthma.
The following are some reasons from which you can understand the relation between CBD and asthma.
CBD Reduces Inflammation
The most significant problem an asthmatic patient faces is the inflammation of the bronchioles and bronchi in the lungs. When a patient has an attack, the lungs become more swollen, which contracts the air passages and prevents the airflow.
The main reason for inflammation is the immune system’s response to the pathogens or allergens such as viruses and bacteria in the respiratory system. The level of inflammation varies from person to person, and it also determines the degree of the attack and symptoms. Some studies show that phytocannabinoids have anti-inflammatory properties and can help to reduce inflammation in asthma.
The cannabinoid receptors in the lung tissues control muscle relaxation and contractions, inflammation, and airflow through the passages. CBD lowers the inflammation by contacting these receptors, which helps to control asthma.
CBD Acts As a Bronchodilator
When a person faces a severe asthma attack, the bronchioles responsible for carrying oxygen become contracted. This decreases the oxygen flow in the body and causes shortness of breath and severe coughing.
The bronchoconstriction can also lead to muscular spasms, which is common in an asthma attack. Doctors can determine the bronchoconstriction of asthma patients by their expiratory flow measurements. They can compare these measurements with the expiratory flow of healthy people to understand the treatment of asthma.
The use of cannabis in various forms can help asthma patients, as its various compounds like cannabinoids, promote bronchodilation. Moreover, cannabis is even beneficial for normal respiratory conditions because it opens the passages for better airflow. Also, phytocannabinoids such as CBD and THC helps to improve muscle constriction.
CBD Decreases Spasms
The muscles of bronchial tubes are smooth enough to let the airflow easily. But in asthma, these muscles get contracted to prevent the airflow. This condition is also common in other respiratory problems. The irritants and allergens in the lung tissues cause inflammation in the bronchioles, which is responsible for bronchial spasms. This results in shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.
Wheezing is the most common symptom of bronchospasms because of the severe constriction in the bronchial tubes. The immune system can also respond to the mucus secretion, which further contracts the tubes and magnify the spasms.
You already know that CBD acts as a bronchodilator. However, CBD can also relax the muscles by causing an antispasmodic effect. As CBD helps in inflammation, it also lowers the level of spasms by preventing muscle contraction.
CBD Relieves Pain
Chest pain is not a major symptom of asthma. However, most of the patients during the attack suffer from moderate to severe chest pain. This pain initially feels like a piercing sensation in the chest and increases with the time during an attack.
Chest pain also occurs with other symptoms such as shortness of breath, which makes it worse. Experts have conducted various research studies to find a way to relieve pain during an asthma attack. Some studies show that CBD plays the role of analgesics to reduce pain. This property of CBD affects the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The ECS consists of receptors and ligands that are responsible for mediating appetite, sleep, pain sensation, fertility, and other body functions in humans. CBD binds with these ECS receptors to reduce the pain caused by asthma.
Bottom Line
CBD and asthma have various effects on your body; the former helps to relieve the symptoms caused by asthma. CBD is one of the best ways to control the severe symptoms of this respiratory disorder. It doesn’t have any side effects like the other medicines, which makes it beneficial to use.
