Asthma

The word asthma comes from the Greek word for “panting”. It is a chronic inflammatory disease that is accompanied by wheezing and shortness of breath. The two main types of asthma are intrinsic asthma, which usually develops in conjunction with an infection or later in life or may follow the birth of a child or after change of life, and extrinsic asthma, which is caused by allergies.

Symptoms

During an asthma attack the mucous membranes swell and the bronchial tubes go into spasm, breathing is an effort, and the exhalation of air from the lungs becomes more and more difficult. For children this is a very frightening experience.

Causes

In some individuals foods may cause an adverse reaction that leads to asthma. Clinical studies have shown that egg, fish, shellfish and nuts (in particular peanuts) can cause the immediate onset of asthma.

Delayed onset of asthma may be caused by chocolate, wheat, citrus fruit and colourings, in particular tartrazine ( yellow dye food additive number 102).

Other foods such as those high in amine or salicylate could also be the cause of allergic symptoms such as asthma.

Unfortunately many individuals may suffer from multiple allergies and if this is the case then time will be needed to establish all allergy problems.

Asthma attacks may also be caused by small particles of feathers, pollen, dust, mould, animal dander, air pollution and fly sprays etc. These allergens can aggravate the bronchial tubes in sensitive children or adults, causing an asthma attack.

Natural Therapies

Medical management is required for the treatment of asthma. Complementary therapy includes:

• Vitamin C to reduce the severity of symptoms of allergic reactions.
• Cod Liver Oil is a rich source of Vitamin A which is essential for lung and mucous membrane repair, and omega-3 fatty acids which are soothing to inflamed respiratory tissue

Lifestyle Factors

Avoid dairy products, as they increase the body’s tendency to form mucus. Light exercise can help reduce asthma frequency in some individuals.

Remedy

If you smoke, stop smoking – it causes the build-up of toxic material in the lungs.

Always wear protective masks when exposed to fumes or sources of industrial pollution.

Avoid any foods or dusts that are known to cause problems

Important Notes

Consult your health care professional or go to hospital:

• If your asthma does not respond to your medication
• If the attack is worsening even after using relieving medication

]]> http://asthmaalternativemethod.com/2009/07/patient-handout-for-asthma-from-blackmores-company/feed/ 0 http://asthmaalternativemethod.com/2009/07/patient-handout-for-hay-fever-suffers-from-the-blackmores-company/ http://asthmaalternativemethod.com/2009/07/patient-handout-for-hay-fever-suffers-from-the-blackmores-company/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:28:27 +0000 hs http://asthmaalternativemethod.com/?p=259

Hay fever symptoms are an allergic response to pollens and other airborne substances that irritate the mucous membranes of the nose, throat and eyes. This results in itchiness and swelling of the affected area.

Symptoms

Hay fever occurs seasonally (every Spring for example), and includes symptoms such as:

• Sneezing
• Itchy, painful nose, throat
• Nasal and sinus discharge
• Stuffy, runny nose
• Coughing
• Watery, itchy eyes
• Head and nasal congestion

Causes

An allergic reaction is a response to an allergen and develops when the immune system cannot tell the good from the bad and releases histamine to attack the harmless substance as if it were a threat. In the case of hay fever, the allergen is an airborne substance such as pollen from a particular plant. When the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, mouth and air passages come into contact with the allergen, they become irritated and inflamed.

Sneezing and watery discharges from the nose and eyes are some of the body’s methods for flushing away the allergen particles.

Many allergies have a genetic component, and it is quite common for people with hay fever to experience or have a family history.

Natural Therapies

• Vitamin C and bioflavonoids help to improve that part of the immune system concerned with allergies and histamine release; 1000mg daily is recommended during hay fever season
• Vitamin A for maintenance of healthy mucous membranes of the nose, throat and eyes
• Horseradish & Garlic and Fenugreek help to dry up discharge and relieve hay fever symptoms

Lifestyle Factors

The best way to combat the allergens that are assaulting you is to avoid them.

Keep windows closed and the air conditioning turned on.

Avoid mowing your lawn or raking leaves since these activities stir up pollens. If you must work in the garden yourself, wear a filtered mask and protective glasses. Wash your face, hands, and hair and rinse your eyes when coming in from outdoors to avoid leaving traces of pollen on your pillow.

Avoid mucus-forming foods such as dairy products and processed foods, as well as any foods you are allergic to or don’t tolerate very well.

Remedy

Taking a horseradish supplement every hay fever season, helps to alleviate hay fever or reduce its severity.

Shock horror, you have just been told your practitioner cannot see you, as they are too ill to treat you! Even natural practitioners with an excellent life-style, can become pray to modern life and stresses.

However, having a bout of illness isn’t always a bad thing, its not the same as being sick!

What do I mean by this? If you get food poisoning your body will react by vomiting or by having diarrhea, this is a safely valve the body is getting rid of the toxins. It is not a good idea to take sometime natural or pharmaceutical at the acute stage, to prevent this form elimination.  A couple of days is an acute stage, and most of the time nature takes its course, if these symptoms  persist then you need to seek advice. It is no longer at the acute stage.

The same goes for the flu, even healthy people get ill with the flu and sometimes it is accompanied with fever. A fever is natures way of killing a pathogens. Of course the fever must not go too high, it is necessary to monitor it the whole time, (if a child, elderly or sick person get a fever, this is different get advice immediately).

Our bodies are in a constant state of homeostasis, a balancing act, a constant re-adjusting. Symptoms can mean shifts or warning signs. The difference is as the body adjusts to maintain a balance – in a healthy person this is  something they get over quickly and easily, bouncing back. For a sick person it takes longer to recover and sometimes they are left worse off, for instance for an sick person flu can leave them afterward with fatigue syndrome. Whereas your health practitioner will bounce back to work to treat you.

It is thought that 1 in 10 people dread the end of winter, due to the misery it causes them, due to hay-fever.

First the nose begins to run, the throat becomes itchy and irritated, and finally your eyes water accompanied by sneezing.

Problems in spring will mean allergies to tree pollens

Problems in summer will mean allergies to grass pollens (the biggest group)

Problems in the autumn will mean allergies to mold spores and common weeds

For a few hay-fever suffers, winter is the only time they don’t suffer

Hoe down on Hay-fever –

* Hay-fever is a modern condition, about a 100 years old

* Less females suffer than males

* More city people suffer than those who live in the country, which is a surprise

* The good news is the symptoms become less severe with age

* If you are a severe suffer you might find relief near the coast, where the pollen count is low

* Hay-fever is related to asthma, eczema and other alleries

* Individual seasons can annually make eczema or asthma worse

Medication used –

Anti-histamines can be bought over-the-counter, to help symptoms like watery eyes and a runny nose. They side-effects can be headaches, dry mouth and bowel disturbances.

Decongestant nasal sprays to help symptoms of a blocked nose. Eventually it causes the very condition you are trying to treat.

Anti-inflammatories – to reduce symptoms in general.

Some doctors prescribe steroids – think long and hard about taking this medication.

The alternative treatments and remedies

Homeopathic remedies can be bought over-the-counter, for the best results and the best matched remedy find a qualified homeopath in your area. If you can’t afford the consultation then find a homeopathic student from the associations.Homeopathic remedies are very safe ans easy for children to use.

Some children have found some relief by having honey but it is very important that you find locally produced honey. The honey contains traces of the allergens specific to their problem. This treatment has similar principles to vaccines or homeopathy, treating like with like. Ask around, go to local markets, take a look in the yellow pages, get in contact with the associations of bee keepers etc.

Natural anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory – vitamin C from supplements and foods.

Various herbs can help – ginger, licorice and ginkgo biloba

Studies have found that acupuncture is very helpful with this condition

We have found our clients get so much better with herbs and acupuncture. Many children and some adults do not like acupuncture so therefore we recommend reflexology, the results have been good.

The other interesting thing – a lot of people vastly improve when they give up cow’s milk. However, natural yogurt seemed fine for some .

Mark Perrin-Jones

A study by the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in children has seen some enormous differences from country to country. New figures on childhood asthma worldwide revealed that in Japan, small children are more likely to have asthma than if they were living in China! In various countries the asthma percentages among 14 year olds can be as low as 1.9% and can be as high in other countries as 36.7%! The highest rates per capita are in Australia, Japan, Canada and Latin America.

In the Western Pacific region, Japan and Hong Kong have the highest at 13.2% and 12.4% respectively whilst China however has the lowest at 3.1%

These figures came from The Lancet.

Researchers in Britain and Finland studied 90 children aged 6 to 13 with chronic moderate to severe asthma over a period of 18 months. They discovered that the more a child was under stress, the more likely he or she is to suffer from asthma attacks.

The researchers observed 2 types of stress which they termed chronic ‘background stress’, such as poor housing, problems with other family members, serious difficulties at school, and what was called ‘severe events’ such as the loss of a person close to them, or a divorce, separation of their parents.

Severe events increased the likelihood of new asthma attacks significantly.

The majority of children that suffer chronic asthma attacks are normally given drugs to deal with their problem, but according to the study its also vitally important to deal with the child’s problems as well.