Ways To Treat And Control Asthma Naturally
Asthma is a chronic respiratory illness caused by the tightening of the bronchi, the passageways that air flows through in the lungs. Sufferers experience bad congestion that causes breathing difficulties, a chronic cough, wheezing, and other symptoms which reduce quality of life. In this article, well give you eight tips to treat and control asthma.
Although for some it might be a minor sporadic inconvenience, other people suffer from it chronically, and an asthma attack can put their life at risk.
Who suffers from it? How can you control asthma naturally? This illness can exhibit different levels of severity as time passes. Therefore, sufferers need to take good care of themselves to complement their treatment.
Will Medicine Help Me Sleep Better
Yes, if you have nighttime asthma symptoms. Many people wake up with asthma symptoms such as coughing or wheezing. You can control nighttime symptoms by taking asthma medicines as directed by your doctor.;
Removing triggers where you sleep may help you sleep better. Many people are allergic to dust mites and mold found in bedding materials. Using mattress or pillow encasements can help contain those allergens. Dehumidifiers can also be helpful to reduce the humidity in your home that dust mites and mold need to exist. Using air cleaners in your bedroom may also help reduce your exposure to allergens and irritants .;
Home Remedies For Asthma
1. Best Foods for Treating Asthma
Eating a healthy diet supplies asthma sufferers with antioxidants and nutrients to combat environmental toxins, control inflammatory responses and reduce dietary triggers. Eating a wide variety of foods can ensure that you or your child gets;all the nutrients needed to support strong immunity. There have been numerous studies that show consuming the right foods can be the one of the best home remedies for asthma.
Some of the most beneficial foods to include in your asthma diet plan are:
- Brightly colored;carotenoid;foods: This compound gives fruit and vegetables their orange or red color and can help reduce asthma attacks.;Carotenoids are the basis of vitamin A, which is involved in the maintenance of healthy mucous membranes that line the air passageways.;Severity of asthma correlates with low vitamin A, so increase your intake of things like root veggies, sweet potatoes, carrots, leafy greens and berries.;A study of 68,000 women showed that those who ate more tomatoes, carrots and leafy greens had much lower rates of asthma and that people prone to asthma tended to have low levels of circulating carotenoids in their blood.
- Foods with folate : Folate reduces allergic reactions and inflammation.;It might be capable of lowering wheezing by regulating inflammatory processes as well. ;High-folate foods include;green leafy vegetables, beans and nuts.
2. Avoid Foods that Can Make Asthma Attacks Worse
3. Supplements for Asthma
Manage Stress
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Natural Asthma Remedy Risks
As you consider the different types of natural asthma remedies, itâs very important to carefully balance your desire to breathe easier with the possible dangers of the treatments, which may be unknown. Keep these things in mind:
- Never use any dietary supplement before checking with your doctor.
- Some natural herbal products, such as bee pollen, may trigger an asthma attack if youâre allergic to the specific plant.
- Never stop using your asthma drugs without your doctorâs knowledge. If you donât follow your treatment plan, the results can be very serious and even deadly.
If youâre not sure about the claims on a natural dietary supplement product label, call your doctor before taking it. They can check the product to let you know if it has any health benefits.
How To Relax The Airways
Dr. Thiruchelvam says the primary goal is to ensure that you dont avoid exercise. Here are some practical things you can do if you have exercise-induced asthma:;
Gaining and maintaining good control over exercise-induced asthma often requires teamwork. A primary care sports medicine physician can help you keep your asthma well-controlled, so that exercise is less likely to trigger symptoms.
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Top Home Remedies For Asthma: Do They Actually Work
Living with asthma can be demanding, between recognizing potential asthma attack triggers to managing day-to-day symptoms. Those suffering from asthma are often looking for more tips and solutions beyond their physicians office to manage their condition.
Many online organizations and forums list different herbs, fruits and other natural substances that are supposed to relieve asthma symptoms, but do some of these actually work? In this post, we take a look at the scientific evidence behind some of the internets most popular natural asthma remedies.
Will I Always Have To Take The Same Amount Of Medicine
Not always. You will probably take more medicine when you begin treatment to get control of your asthma. Work with your doctor to learn which medicine control your asthma best and how much you need. Once your asthma is well-controlled, your doctor may be able to reduce the amount of medicine you take. The goal is to gain control of your asthma as soon as possible and then control it with as little medicine as possible. Once long-term anti-inflammatory therapy begins, your doctor should monitor you every one to six months. This is to see how your asthma medicines are working and if your asthma is well controlled.;
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Can Medicine Alone Help My Asthma
Not usually. Although medicines help a lot, they may not be able to do the job alone. You have to avoid the things that cause or trigger your asthma symptoms as much as you can. Asthma triggers can be found outside or inside your home, school, or workplace.;
Improving the indoor air quality in your home is an important part of asthma control. Your indoor air can be more polluted than outside air. Our interactive Healthy Home can show you ways to improve the indoor air quality of your home. A healthier home can reduce your exposure to allergens and irritants.;
Severity Of An Asthma Attack
Mild asthma is fairly common and usually can be addressed with natural remedies. Its good to know the symptoms of each stage though, so you know when to seek a doctors care.
- Mild slight wheezing and difficulty breathing but adequate air intake. This can be intermittent or persistent .
- Moderate conspicuous wheezing, respiratory distress at rest, use of abdominal muscles to breathe. These flare-ups can make regular activities and sleeping difficulty.
- Severe obvious respiratory distress, blue skin , absent breath sounds.
- Respiratory Failure severe respiratory distress, lethargy, confusion, sweating, low blood pressure.
If you or someone you know is having an asthma attack that resembles severe or respiratory failure, call 911 right away.
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How To Control Your Asthma Naturally
- FAQ
- How To Control Your Asthma Naturally?
Your asthma is starting to dictate your life. You are wheezing and coughing so much that your work colleagues always know where you are. That attack you had last year where you ended up in hospital for a few days has left you fearful and frustrated for your future.
The amount of medication you are taking is scary and you cannot even get through the night without waking up and needing a few shots from your puffer. You have become tired and exhausted all the time, your allergies, hay fever and colds have all become worse and now you are finding it a struggle to take your dog for a walk each evening.
You also notice that your children are developing breathing problems and this is your worst nightmare. You do not wish your children to go through the terrifying experience of a severe asthma attack but what can you do about it. You know that despite all the asthma medications that you take, your asthma is not really under control and in fact is getting worse.
As if that is not enough, the cost of all this medication is killing you and you suspect that someone else is making a killing off you.
Then you get told that you are allergic to your pets to your much loved dog and cat and that you should get rid of them. Should what? you say. But they are treasured members of the family and you would no more get rid of them than you would get rid of your child. But if they are triggering asthma attacks, what are you to do.
Include Ginger In Your Diet
Just like garlic, ginger has anti-inflammatory qualities too. A study conducted in 2013 showed that ginger supplements were able to ease symptoms of asthma. Having some ginger daily can help you get some relief. Add ginger to your tea during winters. You can also add ginger while cooking your food and reap its benefits.
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Know The Relationship Between Iron & Asthma
I saw firsthand how my sons iron levels dropped when he was having breathing issues. In this case, it was pneumonia that occurred due to his asthma . Just a few days before he was taken to the hospital because of a significant drop in oxygen, his iron level was normal. The day we took him to the ER it was dangerously low and he had to be given iron via an IV. I then noticed that when he seems to be lower in iron, based on bluish tinted lips, being tired and not having stamina, his asthma acts up. When I give him an herbal iron supplement regularly, there isnt an issue.
I did some searching in medical journals and found that there is indeed a strong correlation.
Here are some of the studies:
Herbal Iron supplements are much easier for the body to use and absorb than synthetic ones. We use Floradix here. Because vitamin C increases iron absorption, I mix the Flordadix with his green drink and the C capsules.
Risks And Side Effects
While most of the supplements and tips described above can provide;natural allergy relief safely, there are some precautions to keep in mind.
When allergies are mild or moderate, they are usually not very threatening and go away with time. However, severe allergic reactions can be dangerous and require medical attention.
Anaphylaxis is the term for;a;severe allergic reaction, which can happen due to contact with;food allergens, drugs/medications or;insect stings. Symptoms usually affect the lungs, blood vessels or heart and can include:
- trouble breathing
- rash
- vomiting
If you or your child experience these symptoms, head to your doctor or the emergency room right away to prevent complications.
What can you do for severe allergies? Your doctor may need to prescribe allergy shots or prescription asthma medications, such as bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids.
Discuss these options with your health care provider, and consider trying the natural allergy relief remedies described above in addition to using medications.
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Risk Alerts Watch Out For These If You Have Asthma
Royal jelly and propolis risk of asthma attacks
Royal jelly and propolis are both made by bees. There is evidence that taking royal jelly has caused very serious side effects in some people with asthma who have allergies.
These have included asthma attacks, breathing difficulties, anaphylactic shock and even death.
Although serious side effects from propolis have not been documented in the same way as for royal jelly, we still advise caution and recommend that;people with asthma and allergies should not take royal jelly or propolis. If youre thinking about taking them we strongly suggest you discuss it with your GP or asthma nurse first.
Herbal remedies
If youre planning to try herbal medicine, its very important to seek advice from your GP or asthma nurse first because some herbs have been shown to have serious side effects.
For example:
- St Johns Wort, must not be used by anyone taking theophylline as it can reduce the effectiveness of the medicine and cause asthma symptoms to get worse.
- Butterbur is an unlicensed herbal remedy. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency advises people not to take any herbal products containing butterbur to treat conditions like asthma, hay fever, and cough. Butterbur can cause serious side effects, including liver toxicity and organ failure.
Anyone can report any suspected side effects of herbal medicines via the Yellow Card scheme.
Invest In An Herbal Antihistamine
Because allergies trigger asthma, during the seasons when environmental factors cause a reaction for Lucas, we give him an herbal antihistamine, Histablock, instead of using something like Claritin or Singulair. Singulair, in particular, actually lists hallucinations as a side effect and links to depression and suicidal thoughts For those who cant swallow the capsules, this is something I also add to Lucass green drink each morning when he needs it.
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Tips For When You Dont Have An Inhaler
Mild to moderate asthma attacks can occur at inopportune times. You may be able to manage your asthma more effectively with these tips. If these dont work CALL AN AMBULANCE.
Start On Some Good Quality Cbd Oil
One of the first things that I did after learning that Lucas has asthma, is to research a natural bronchial dilator so that I dont have to rely on something like albuterol .
CBD oil is one of the only natural bronchial dilators I could find that worked in a safe and effective manner, and this I found prior to the CBD oil craze that started just recently. It also works to;decrease both Th1 and Th2 cytokines, which are responsible for creating inflammation in the lungs.;Some studies or literature to consider in regards to CBD oil and asthma: The Anti-inflammatory Potential of Cannabidiol in Relation to Asthma , The Role of Cannabidiol Treatment in Animal Model of Asthma ,;CBD and Asthma .
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The Bottom Line: Are Natural Remedies Safe For People With Asthma
Peters points out that just because studies havent established a definite benefit doesnt mean that some of these wont help some people. Each individual may react differently, and what works for some people with asthma may not work for others. But until many of these complementary and alternative options have stronger scientific evidence to back up their role, they cant be recommended on a large scale to people with asthma, says Hill.
So, if you see something marketed as a natural remedy for asthma, approach it with caution, and dont make changes to your asthma action plan without discussing it with your doctor first.
Additional reporting by Moira Lawler and Christina Vogt.
Be Aware Of The Relationship Of Fear To The Lungs
Both grief and fear reside in the lungs from an energetic standpoint. This is something that you can work on in a few ways, such as using Bach Flower Remedies or counseling, but we chose to use an emotion code practitioner who has helped us with numerous family traumas and history-type things in the past and it really helped. Stuck energy can manifest physically and the key is to get it moving and out. Louise Hay addressed this in her work, Chinese Medicine recognizes it and energy healers from around the world do as well.
Energy aside, think about how, when scared, your entire body tenses. We often hold our breath or go into shallow breathing when this happens. Emotional blockages are directly connected with our breathing. People, who experience anxiety, depression, fear, nervous tension or a poor self-image, tend to subconsciously hold their breath. Thus their breathing is tense, shallow, and sometimes spasmodic .
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Practicing Buteyko Breathing Technique
This is also a system of breathing exercises. Buteyko Breathing Technique focuses on breathing out through the nose and not the mouth. Breathing out through the mouth can dry up the mouth and the airways very fast resulting in more problems. Practising and using BBT also makes you less prone to suffering from respiratory infections. Buteyko Breathing Technique can also be instrumental in decreasing your asthma symptoms with the help of slow and gentle breathing through the nose.
Complementary Therapies And Asthma: 4 Essential Tips
If you fancy trying a complementary therapy to help your asthma or manage triggers like anxiety or stress, make sure you cut any risks by:
Complementary therapies should only ever be an add on to your existing asthma treatment, says Dr Andy Whittamore.;Taking your preventer inhaler as prescribed even if you feel well; keeps down the inflammation in your airways. And it means youre less at risk of symptoms and an attack when you come across different triggers.
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