Asthma is now affecting one of every 13 people in the United States, both children, and adults. While there isn’t a way of getting rid of asthma altogether, there are many treatments people have used throughout the years. One source of help that is just hitting the scene and starting to grow in popularity is CBD oil.
The number of attacks someone goes through suffering from asthma could become less frequent and fewer altogether due to the inflammatory properties found in CBD oil. These properties are powerful enough the use of CBD could potentially help those suffering from asthma be able to breathe more easily.
Before going any further, the information provided within this article is to serve as an educational aid. It should not be taken as receiving medical advice from a doctor or health care provider. The goal isn’t to persuade you into substituting a CBD product for the current asthma treatment you are using. Instead, we wish to show how CBD oil can be useful to lower the number of asthma attacks you experience, helping you breathe more easily.
Benefits of Fighting Asthma with CBD Oil
With asthma, an inflammatory condition, the airways are narrowed, which impedes oxygen being transferred to and from the lungs. The oxygen is transferred through the bronchial tubes which become swollen and inflamed. This results in the person who is suffering from asthma to experience shortness of breath, wheezing, and it becomes difficult for the lungs to properly fill. There are many things that can bring on an asthma attack. Because of this, these attacks can be very difficult to try and manage.
Because CBD oil has both natural antispasmodic and inflammatory properties, it might provide the ability to prevent, or at least reduce the number and severity of asthma attacks. This makes it a great candidate for helping people suffering from asthma to manage their symptoms and attacks.
CBD as an Anti-Inflammatory
Many people don’t realize that asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease. Because of this, sufferers constantly have a low-level inflammation throughout the tubes used for breathing. This takes place even if the individual is not going through common symptoms such as an asthma attack. When these attacks do happen, the airways become constricted because of the inflammation, making it difficult for the person to breathe.
There are several effects the body experiences from CBD oil, especially the impact created on the ECS or endocannabinoid system. There are many cannabinoid receptors throughout the ECS, both CB1 and CB2 receptors. The CBD2 receptors are more impacted by CBD, playing a role in exactly how inflammation is managed.
There was a study conducted in 2015 into how asthma is treated with CBD. It’s important to note that this study was completed using animals, not humans. Still, the study demonstrated that CBD oil could create a positive effect on how inflammation is responded to with asthma.
There was another study completed with animals demonstrating airway inflammation was reduced in the animals that experienced an allergic asthmatic response. There is still plenty of research and study needing to be completed. Still, with what we have been able to discover to this point, CBD oil shows that it could be a promising way of treating asthma. Keep in mind, almost every medical study begins with animals before using humans for testing.
CBD as an Antispasmodic
It can be very difficult to breathe during an asthma attack due to the bronchioles and bronchi being affected by spasms. While the spasms are happening the lung’s muscles go through severe contractions. Research has demonstrated CBD oil muscle spasms.
This is one of the reasons CBD is used to treat epileptic seizures. CBD products have quickly become popular with treating several conditions involving both tremors and spasms including MS, ALS, as well as Parkinson’s disease.
Using CBD to Treat Asthma
If what you have read so far has sparked an interest in using CBD oil to help manage your asthma symptoms, there are a few things you will need to keep in mind.
Before purchasing a CBD product, make sure you are absolutely positive it is legal to use CBD oil where you live. Yes, CBD oil is now legal in the United States on the federal level. Still, there are a few areas that have made it against state and local laws. Once you know it is legal to use CBD oil where you live, it is safe to begin using a product as part of your regimen against asthma symptoms.
If corticosteroids are what you are currently using to manage asthma, you need to be aware that the P-450 enzyme system is impacted by CBD oil. This means, there could be a potential interaction between drugs. The P-450 pathway is inhibited by CBD. This means the time needed for processing specific medication could be elongated. This means the effects of medicine could either become more severe or at least last for a longer period of time.
If you are going to start using a CBD product to relieve your asthma symptoms, be sure you take the time to discuss this with your doctor before getting started. This will make sure the manner in which you are using a supplement is safe. There are also doctors who specifically treat medical conditions with CBD known as naturopathic doctors. It might be worth the time to find one in your area.
Selecting a Method of CBD Delivery
Once you have had a discussion with your doctor and are sure using CBD oil won’t create a negative interaction with your medication, it is now time to choose how you want to use CBD. If you are someone suffering from asthma, things could end up being worse than they already are by smoking cannabis flower. An allergic asthmatic response can easily be created by smoking anything. This will cause inflammation and may even lead to a serious asthma attack.
That being said, vaping products with CBD oil can be very effective with asthma symptoms. This is because of how quickly vaping CBD oil will create an effect. Of all the ways available for consuming CBD oil, you will receive the quickest results with vaping. This is because CBD oil that is vaped goes directly to the lungs. The digestive system is completely left out of the equation. Within a matter of just a few minutes, you will begin feeling relief from inflammation. When someone’s breathing is being interrupted, speed is also important.
Prevention is one of the most significant factors when managing asthma. If you want to stop asthma attacks from happening, it is important that inflammation is being reduced consistently. By using a CBD edible, drop, or capsule, this is easily achievable. Each of these CBD oil products is easy to fit into any schedule. This makes them the best method of getting a regular dose of CBD oil.
A CBD edible or capsule is a little different. It is going to take some time before you experience the effects. With these methods of use, the CBD oil is forced to pass through the digestive system. The timing is going to be influenced by both the food that is already inside of your stomach and your metabolism. While more time is going to be needed before the effects are felt, with a capsule or edible, you feel the effects of CBD longer than you would by vaping. Because of this, you will more than likely only need to be taking one or two doses per day. If you are looking for a way to use CBD that is low-profile and convenient, a capsule or edible is the method you will want to use.
CBD oil tincture and drops will produce effects quicker than an edible or capsule, but not as quickly as using a CBD vape. With drops, the most significant benefit is your ability to both adjust and control the dose you are consuming. If you are someone who is expecting difficulties breathing due to factors out of your control such as smog or heat, it might be a good idea to increase the amount of CBD you are consuming, at least for the time being. If you are taking CBD oil in the form of drops, this change is easy to make. These drops and tinctures may not be the fastest way to experience the benefits of CBD oil, but they provide plenty of benefits to using this method.
Dosage of CBD Oil
You are more than likely going to have to do some experimenting to find the CBD dose that provides the best results for you. There isn’t exactly a right or wrong answer here. Everyone’s system is different. There are plenty of factors to consider such as your metabolism, weight, and age. To keep it simple, there isn’t a universal dose of CBD oil that is recommended for consumers. With very few documented side effects and no concern with any kind of overdose, there aren’t too many risks involved when it comes to trial and error with CBD oil.
Unless otherwise specified by your doctor, you are going to want to begin with the lowest dose that is recommended with the specific product. If this dose is providing the results you are looking for, you can slowly start increasing the amount of CBD oil you take. It’s recommended to slightly increase your amount only once or twice a week until you are taking enough to experience the results you are looking for.