Avoid Irritants Inside Your Home
Minimizing pollutants in your home can greatly lessen susceptibility to outdoor asthma attacks. Our indoor environments are two to five times more toxic than our outdoor environments:
- Avoid secondhand smoke .
- Try to keep a window open even during the winter to bring fresh air in.
- Switch to natural cleaning products or use baking soda, lavender oil and vinegar to make your own.
- Avoid antibacterial soaps and disinfectants.
- Avoid aerosols and petroleum – based ingredients in your health and beauty products. Instead use natural products made from essential oils.
- Use a dehumidifier in damp areas, and fix water leaks to reduce mold.
- Buy a water filter to remove chlorine from your tap water.
- Install flooring or carpets that you can vacuum beneath to reduce dust mites.
- Wash bedding weekly, and keep upholstery and carpets regularly vacuumed.
- Use sheets and pillow cases that are non-allergenic and don’t contain down or feathers.
- Keep pets out of the bedroom to limit the amount of pet hair you’re exposed to. Clean and brush pets regularly to remove some of their fur that can wind up around your home.
- Cockroaches are another asthma trigger.
Chiropractic Care for Asthma:
A condition known as forward head posture (FHP) has been linked to asthma. To correct FHP, get the assistance of a chiropractic physician.
Manage Stress:
Stress increases the severity and frequency of asthmatic attacks because it hinders immune function and raises inflammation. Many studies show that stress management techniques help reduce asthma severity. Abour 70% percent or more of asthmatics have diminished adrenal capacity, increased anxiety and other mood disorders – “adaptive diseases” – that result from a person’s inability to deal with stress.
Try natural stress relievers, including massage, deep abdominal breathing, Transcendental Meditation, muscle relaxation, guided imagery and art therapies. Pranayama yoga – breathing exercises reduce the severity and length of asthma attacks. Try breath work. The most effective approaches are pranayama techniques (breath control exercises taught in some yoga classes). You can do these after the initial warm – up when symptoms are almost felt. For beginners, start with “The Relaxing Breath,” a technique Dr. Weil describe in his books and on this website.
Exercise and Movement:
Decreased physical activity and dietary changes of modern lifestyle, are key contributing factors causing an increase in asthma prevalence and severity.
Vigorous exercise can sometimes cause symptoms in people who already have asthma, but staying active is very beneficial for improving immune function, preventing obesity, dealing with stress and lowering inflammation.
Warm up very slowly to the point where you almost feel the “tightness” associated with exercise – induced asthma. Then stop and stretch or, if you’re exercising vigorously, slow down. By taking this break, you often can block the development of asthmatic symptoms. You can then go back to your normal pace. This may take some getting used to, but can sometimes eliminate the need for medication.
Find a form of physical activity that minimizes your exercise-induced symptoms. Sports or activities that have intermittent rest periods (such as tennis, softball, and golf) can allow you to regain control of your breathing. Swimming may be better than running outdoors in cold weather, but no type of exercise is off-limits with proper treatment. In fact, some of the world’s top athletes have exercise – induced asthma, and they’re still able to compete successfully in Olympic-level events.
Traditional Home Remedies Include:
1. Clove : Take 5 – 6 cloves and boil them in half a glass of water, followed by adding a spoon of honey. It is an excellent remedy in curing asthma at home and should be consumed twice in a day for beneficial results.
2. Ginger : Ginger has so many benefits on your heath and body. It is equally effective against asthmatic treatments. Make a juice with equal quantities of ginger, pomegranate, and honey. Consume it 2 – 3 times a day for effective results.
Else, take one tbsp of ginger juice. Mix it up with a tbsp of honey and two tbsp of dried fenugreek seeds. Soak it overnight and consume it every morning to detoxify your lungs.
3. Mustard Oil: Take some mustard oil and mix camphor in it. Massage with it all over the chest, till you get relief from the asthma. Make sure that you warm the oil before massaging with it so that your chest feels the warmth and gets relieved quickly.
4. Figs: Figs are another efficacious home remedy against asthma. Soak some dried figs in water, overnight. Eat them in the morning on an empty stomach. Also, drink the fig water for having an effective relief from the problem of asthma.
5. Black Tea/ Coffee : Caffeine present in coffee helps asthma. Besides, it clears your air passage and makes way for air to enter and exit easily through those passages. If you are not a coffee person, you can opt for black tea. But, make sure that you consume not more than 3 cups in a day.
6. Eucalyptus Oil : Eucalyptus essential oil can really lend a hand in keeping the asthma at bay and relieving from the existing one. Put a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil in a cup of boiling water and take its steam as it will help in opening up the nasal passages and air passages, so that air can pass through easily.
7. Honey: If you are looking for natural remedies for asthma, honey is the best one. You can consume a teaspoon of honey mixed in hot water at least 2-3 times a day or you can also inhale the aroma of honey. Alternatively, mix one teaspoon of honey with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Have it before sleeping.
8. Onions : Onions are known to have anti-inflammatory properties, and they are proved to be helpful in clearing air passages. So, if you are suffering from asthma, you should consume more and more of onions, be it in raw form in a salad or cooked in vegetables.
9. Fruits and Lemons: Fruits, like strawberries, blueberries, papaya, and oranges have shown benefits to people, suffering from asthma. Also, lemons are rich in vitamin C and should be consumed with water and sugar at least once in a day to get cure from the disease.
10. Fishes : Consuming fishes, such as salmon, tuna, and sardines can be really effective in treating the problem of asthma. They all make your lungs better and stronger to fight the problem of asthma and treat it quickly and effectively. However, if you cannot consume these fishes in cooked form, then you can opt for their oils.
11. Gooseberries (Amla): Gooseberries are good for asthma. Crush a few gooseberries and add some honey to them. Consume the mixture and stay away from the problem.
12. Soup : Take a radish and blend it to obtain a juice from it. Mix it with some honey and lemon juice. Consume it as it will help in clearing up your respiratory track, which will make it easier for you to breathe.
13. Bitter Gourd: Take out the juice of bitter gourd. Add paste of basil and honey to it. Mix them well. This remedy will help in curing asthmatic attacks.
14. Herbal Tea : Herbal tea with a dash of lime juice and crushed ginger can also serve the purpose. Herbal tea, prepared from licorice root, is also an effective treatment for asthma.
15. Fennel Seeds : Consume fennel seeds on a regular basis to get rid of asthmatic attacks.
16. Warm Milk: Add equal quantity of olive oil and honey to a glass of raw/not pasteurized warm milk. Drink this milk along with a few garlic cloves, before having breakfast. This home remedy provides natural asthma relief.
17. Parsley Leaf: Parsley leaf is a good herbal remedy for asthma cough. Prepare tea from these leaves. It will soothe the throat and chest congestion.
18. Dr. Weil recomends using: Lobelia, or Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflate). Mix three parts tincture of lobelia with one part tincture of capsicum (red pepper, cayenne pepper). Take twenty drops of the mixture in water at the start of an asthmatic attack. Repeat every thirty minutes for a total of three or four doses.
Summary.
Long term control and prevention:
- Decrease protein to 10 percent of daily caloric intake. Replace animal protein as much as possible with plant protein
- Eliminate milk and milk products, substituting other calcium sources.
- Eat organically grown fruits and vegetables as much as possible.
- Eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, all partially hydrogenated oils that might contain trans-fatty acids, all foods that might contain trans-fatty acids (such as deep – fried foods).
- Use extra – virgin olive oil as your main fat.
- Increase intake of omega – 3 fatty acids.
- Always drink plenty of water to keep your respiratory tract secretions more fluid.
- Experiment with eliminating (one at a time) wheat, corn, soy and sugar for six to eight weeks to see if the condition improves.
- Eat ginger and turmeric regularly for their anti-inflammatory effects.
- Have some manipulative work done on the chest to break up restrictive patterns in nerves and muscles that develop in chronic asthma. The best systems I know for this are osteopathic chiropractic manipulation, especially from a practitioner of cranial therapy, and Rolfing, a form of deep – tissue massage.
- Minimize contact with respiratory irritants, such as smoke, dust, molds, and volatile chemicals. Remove sources of offending materials from your home, install a good air filtration system, or consider moving if the air is generally bad where you live. Experiment with living in other locations: in high mountains, the desert, or near the seacoast. Asthma may improve greatly with a change of climate.
- In adults, GERD (acid reflux disease) may be an underlying cause of asthma. In such cases, successful treatment of the digestive problem will often clear up the asthma.
- Experiment with traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional healing system of India).
These systems are sometimes able to offer significant help through more specific dietary adjustments and herbal treatments.
Best wishes on your path to stable health.
