4 Effective Natural Therapies Against Asthma

Asthma has become the most common chronic disease in children and adolescents, with an estimated prevalence of between 8% and 14%, and has been associated, together with allergic diseases in general, with the Western way of life.

In Spain it affects 10% of the population, with an annual expenditure of 1,700 million euros. 80% of adults with asthma already suffered from the ailment as children, and 60% of asthmatic adolescents were already less than five years old.

According to the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians, 52% of asthmatics are undiagnosed, while 26% do not receive adequate treatment.

What is asthma?

Asthma is complex. In 2006 the scientific journal The Lancet echoed a debate around the term asthma, pointing out that perhaps asthma is the clinical manifestation of various diseases rather than a disease itself.

In asthma there is an inflammation that causes the obstruction of the bronchial tubes and makes it difficult to breathe. This inflammation makes the bronchi more sensitive and responds with a contraction that further narrows their diameter. Blockage of airflow causes choking, coughing, a feeling of pressure in the chest, and wheezing.

The contraction of the bronchial tree or the inflammation of its internal mucosa are the apparent reasons for the asthmatic attack. But what narrows the bronchial tree?

Manuel Praena, pediatrician, coordinator of the Airways Group of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics in Primary Care, acknowledges that it is difficult to really determine the specific cause. What is not so clear is why it is triggered in some people and not in others, and what actually causes it.

Biological causes of asthma

The biological factors that can promote this inflammation are varied:

• Respiratory tract infections
• Rhinitis and sinusitis
• Food allergies
• Dust mites
• Certain fungi
• Certain insects (such as cockroaches)
• Snuff smoke
• Air pollutants
• Excessive hygiene.

Yes, you read that correctly: excessive hygiene. Manuel Praena, professor of pediatrics, recalls: “We suspect that excessive hygiene in developed countries prevents the baby from contacting antigens that stimulate their immune system. This is one of the causes that make children more vulnerable to asthma or respiratory allergies. “

The causes also vary by age. Up to four years of age, asthma caused by allergies is estimated at around 25%, while after that age the percentage increases to 79%.

On the other hand, the European Commission attributes some 16,000 deaths annually in Spain to poor air quality, nine times more than traffic accidents in 2010.

Of course, mites, air pollutants and excessive hygiene are not the only cause, because then almost everyone would suffer from asthma. Doctors have found that genetic and dietary factors also play a role.

People with asthma are twice as likely to have food allergies than the rest, so careful diet is also recommended. At least avoid an excess of animal fats, especially dairy, and foods with many additives.

The pulmonologists themselves warn that asthma vaccines should be used in a very restricted way and should not be administered indiscriminately.

And psychologists and homeopathic doctors highlight the role of emotional factors, which can act as triggers for an asthmatic attack.

In summary, in asthma we find a mixture of causal agents in a variable proportion according to the peculiarities of each person.

The psychological factor in asthma

Edward Kaspbrak, known as Eddie, is one of a group of seven preteen boys who call themselves “The Losers.” When faced with tense and terrifying situations in IT, the Stephen King novel where a deranged clown terrorizes a small town in the state of Maine, in the United States, Eddie has to reach for an inhaler because he gets asthma attacks. Without the inhaler he cannot go on, he chokes, he breathes with difficulty, as if he were short of breath.

The author of this horror book describes Eddie’s mother as domineering and overprotective, especially since the death of the boy’s father. The mother fears that anything could happen to her son and treats him as if he were practically helpless.

Over time, Eddie realizes that his inhaler is just a placebo, a safe saline solution according to the pharmacist, and that he does not need it.

Can this situation be adjusted to reality? Is asthma sometimes a bad joke of the mind? How is it to be treated? Be it more biological or psychological, something will have to be done with it.

For Miguel Luqui, a homeopathic doctor, anguish is the emotion most linked to asthma attacks:

“From birth, first and radical separation of the unit until death, that reintegrates us into her anguish and trust are the two emotions that accompany us all in different proportions. Anguish and fear involving a On the other hand, separation from the mother and, on the other, knowing that they are mortal cause physical oppression and contraction. On the contrary, the confidence of feeling united provides relaxation and expansion “.

With these elements it is possible to understand the depth from which the anguish that suffocates the asthmatic arises, and how this respiratory difficulty increases the anguish and feeds back the disease.

What natural treatments for asthma are effective?

When someone has an asthma attack, it is not the time to reason about whether what they have is the product of their mind or not. The bottom line is to find an effective solution ; sometimes, it goes through natural therapies.

Acupuncture’s view on asthma

Ángel López Hanrath, an expert in Chinese medicine, explains that the first thing that surprised him when studying asthma from the point of view of that medicine was the approach so different from the Western one.

“The reason is that allergic or precocious asthma did not occur in ancient China and even today it is atypical there. It does not seem so much a matter of race as of lifestyle, because when the Orientals come to live in the West they suffer similar problems” .

He comments that the newborn may have a deficiency in the immune system that affects the bronchi. “An inherited constitutional weakness, problems in the mother during pregnancy related to smoking or the consumption of certain drugs can be the root of an energy imbalance.”

“The manifestation of asthma is related in Chinese medicine to the wind element. It is said that the coming and going of attacks, outbreaks and spasms has the same nature as the wind. If the attacks are very repetitive, it will be necessary to fix the Treatment focus on reducing that wind. And when the attacks are widely spaced, the acupuncturist will reinforce the energy of the lungs and kidneys. “

But there are cases of asthma that do not occur in childhood, but over the years. It is considered that then it does not correspond so much to some hereditary problems as to dietary aspects (excess of animal fats, especially dairy and sausages, and excitements such as coffee and alcohol) or emotional that have blocked the energy of the liver.

“In the case of emotions, it could be frustration, repressed anger and long-term resentments,” says López Hanrath.

Yoga and breathing: a tool for asthma

Yoga can also help.

When asked to Ramiro Calle, a pioneer of yoga in Spain, he responds: “It is curious that the government of India today only subsidizes yoga and its research to put it at the service of combating or alleviating two disorders: asthma and diabetes. “

“Yoga can be very useful in so-called tension asthma and, especially, in asthma of a psychosomatic nature. There is no doubt that a person skilled in conscious relaxation will be able to be more calm in the face of an unpleasant asthma attack. Having trained yourself with mental mastery techniques will help you not to become so alarmed during the crisis, not to become energetic and thus not to escalate it. “

Ramiro Calle advises practicing those yoga postures that work on the rib cage and expand it ; in addition to “exercising assiduously in relaxation, breathing exercises and meditation ; avoid toxic or unhealthy foods and overcome attitudes of conflict, anxiety or tension”.

“When the asthmatic crisis occurs, you have to try to relax, be calm and apply some deep breathing exercise but without craving, otherwise the symptoms will intensify.”

Asthma and sport

With respiratory techniques, you not only improve the quality of life of an asthmatic, but you can also practice sports.

Franchek Drobnic, pulmonologist, head of the Physiology department of the Sant Cugat High Performance Center, in Barcelona, ​​recalls that years ago a child with asthma was recommended not to make any physical effort. Instead, the opposite is now advised : exercise.

Aerobic exercise normally produces bronchodilation, but in the asthmatic person it causes a constriction of the bronchi, especially on cold and humid days. The reason is that the bronchi are cooled by the increased ventilation that exercise implies. Opting for a sedentary lifestyle worsens the problem because cardiorespiratory capacity is reduced.

Participating in some type of aerobic sport continuously along with the control of breathing can delay the moment when an asthmatic attack can occur . It is not a theory. The swimmer David Meca or the cyclist Miguel Induráin are two known asthmatics.

7% of the athletes of the Spanish national teams suffer from asthma and their secret weapon is the control of the breath and the mind.

Healing asthma with homeopathy

The case of Anna, 25, is encouraging: “I have not taken any asthma medicine, not even homeopathic, for a year and I feel good, safe, autonomous and without dependencies.”

“Three years ago and as a result of pneumonia I was diagnosed with asthma. The pulmonologist sent me to the allergist and told me that the asthma was due to an allergy to mites. I have been using inhalers for more than a year. The doctor assured that it would be for life , and I kept changing my inhaler because sometimes I had a tachycardia.

“The fact is that it was not improving, so I went to a naturopath who recommended me. He prepared me a personalized prescription for homeopathy. And it was a relief from day one. I started to put off the inhaler and I no longer use it at all. Some tension I have learned to use breathing techniques to relax “.

Can asthma just go away? Spontaneous remission

It is also not so surprising that asthma can disappear overnight.

Carolina Pérez, a family doctor with a master’s degree in dietetics and nutrition, explains it : “Some asthmatic adolescents have ceased to be so when they become independent from the family environment, by residing in a home other than that of their parents. Not always, but it is common for them to asthmatics have parents who are too perfectionists and at the same time very protective. That combination produces anguish and suffocation, metaphorically and literally speaking. If you irritate the failures and you do not allow the child to face the error, you are drowning him. “

Bronchodilators relieve short-term seizures but do not prevent the true cause of the problem and often lead to dependence. Glucocorticoids are an extreme remedy if the person is no longer responding to the bronchodilator.

In any case, Carolina Pérez warns that there is no reason to stop using the inhaler when an acute crisis occurs: ” We cannot play with asthma, because it is possible to die in a crisis. But it is useful to address later the emotional situation that has been able to unleash that picture.

Generally these are people who do not express what they feel, children and adults who swallow everything, do not let go, do not draw … The problem of asthma is not so much the difficulty of inhaling as the problems of exhaling, to take out, both the stale air and the troubles. “

Not only does this doctor say it. Studies carried out around the world conclude that around 35% of asthmatics stop being so after a few years. There is a 60% that can present remissions and exacerbations throughout life. And 5% who have severe asthma from a very young age. In these cases, it is difficult for them to stop having asthma one day, but they can lead a practically normal life.

Samuel is 23 years old and he says he had asthma between the ages of 7 and 12. “When I had an attack I had to take the inhaler because I felt like I was drowning. And then my mother wouldn’t let me do anything. But without her knowing I did gymnastics and that made me feel good. At 12 years old my asthma passed away. no more. I am now preparing to take off my black belt in karate. “