UTERINE ASTHMA: A TYPE OF ASTHMA DESCRIBED IN TRADITIONAL PERSIAN MEDICINE

Background: Asthma is becoming a major health issue globally. Despite a range of short and long acting agents for the management of acute and chronic asthma, these are not effective on all patients. This encouraged us to find other mechanisms for the treatment of this disease. The aim of this study was to present the uterine conditions which can play a role in development of asthma. Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) describes a type of inter-organ relationship in the form of uterine asthma, in which the asthma symptoms are a result of uterine ailments. Hence, the management of uterine asthma depends on controlling the uterine problem first. Methods: In this review, we searched the major TPM manuscripts and compared our findings with modern studies by searching databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Results: Two uterine ailments can show symptoms of asthma. These are ‘Ehtebase tams' (amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, and hypomenorrhea), and ‘Ekhtenaghe rahem' (uterine strangulation or respiratory and neuropsychiatric symptoms of uterine origin). Each of these has its own set of symptoms. Through the association mechanism described in TPM, they can result in symptoms of asthma. Conclusion: New medical studies support the relationship between menstrual irregularity and asthma symptoms. In addition, there is new evidence to suggest that distant organs in the body are connected to each other through a special network, a concept that is mentioned in TPM manuscripts. Further investigations in the near future can help us better understand these relationships, especially in the field of asthma. Keywords: Asthma, Traditional Persian Medicine, Menstruation, Uterus