natural remedies for asthma/ Buteyko breathing etc

[Minitoots]

I'm allergic to dust and cats and we have both, especially as we are clearing the attic etc at the moment.

I use a seretide inhaler and have tried things like quercetin and luffa and other things to help the immune system occasionally but am not sure if they work. Any suggestions for other remedies? Has anyone tried Buteyko breathing exercises?

[Robert Poste's Child]

Haven't tried that one, but some years ago I was seeing a kinesiologist for something else, which she was treating with supplements, and my hayfever and asthma disappeared at the same time. Came back later though.

[PeckhamRose]

I would recommend you contact AsthmaUK charity (and become a member) as they were doing research into Buteyko and if I remember rightly they did not get enough proof it worked.

Of course the problem with asthma is that once you have an attack you can not do breathing exercises because you can not breathe hardly at all and indeed asthma kills around 1500 a year in this country.

I would seriously work hard at trying to discover exactly what your triggers are. I am not allergic to cats dogs horses grass housedustmites or any one of the things they stuck under my skin in the 60 odd pin prick tests I had as a kid where they told me I was allergic to everything. They did not put essence of cigarette smoke or stress and unhappy homelife under my skin. My point is it could be one or more of loads of things. I am now allergic to anything sprayed and the smell of furniture polish!

If you absolutely positively sure it is the cats then sadly if you want to avoid a potential fatal asthma attack then there is only one answer. Dust is more difficult. No carpets of course, and clean everything regularly (if you are not allergic to the sprays and polishes - see above!). As well as your prescribed drugs (once you have got the correct ones for you) I would look into prevention. Do you really need to be cleaning the attic if you know you are liable to get an asthma attack? Wear the best mask you can get then.

Please go to your doctor, or specialist asthma nurse (and remember not all designated 'asthma nurses' in GPs surgeries are necessarily specialist at asthma, they have just been put in charge of it because no-one else was available). If you are not happy get an appointment at KCH and ask to see the specialists there.

Complications from some preventative inhalers can result in later life. I now suffer from one such complication but without these drugs I would be dead. But I do everything I can to avoid my triggers and do not apologise for having gone on so long here. It is not heresay or opinions you seek, it is cold hard facts and tested remedies, and mostly importantly, preventative strategies. Best wishes to you.

[Crokes]

I've no experience of butekyo but I've had respiratory physio and it's really helped with my asthma generally.

I agree with peckham rose that discovering and (frustratingly) avoiding your triggers is vital, and second that Asthma UK are worth contacting.

I have one of these for short periods when I can't avoid my triggers: http://www.vogmask.com/products/orange-n99-c2v-organic (amazon stock them intermittently).

Good luck!

[woodyhamster]

I have exercise induced asthma and used the buteyko method to learn to control my breathing when playing sport. It was a useful aid, along with medication, which helped to stave off or reduce the severity of asthma attacks. It's a useful tool for the right people, but I would caution that if you are going to try it, make sure you are not struggling with your breathing as it can place quite a bit of pressure on you and your lungs as you learn a new breathing technique.

Add with most things, it's a helpful tool, but not the complete answer. I would have struggled to even try to learn it if I was surrounded by dust and cats though...perhaps one to research more and discuss with the right health professionals as the other posters suggest. Best of luck and best of health to you.

[Saffron]

Because asthma is an inflammatory disease, it tends to be progressive. This progression can sometimes be obvious, but often it is 'silent'. Symptoms may seem to improve only to emerge worse over months or years later. Afaik there is no research demonstrating that buteyko can halt or reverse the underlying inflammatory disease.

Nevertheless, respiratory physiotherapy may help some people control symptoms. Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is a specific sub-type of allergic airways disease, and it's been suggested that EIA may even be a separate disease to typical asthma (because its pathological cellular profile differs greatly). I would hypothesize that buteyko breathing helps prevent airways dessication, which is thought to be one of the main triggers of EIA. Since this isn't the main trigger of other asthma types, this suggests that airways dessication has little role in the symptoms of typical asthma. Therefore buteyko would be unlikely to remedy symptoms of typical asthma.

Also it's worth noting that the stated mechanism of action of buteyko is reduction of excessive cellular oxygenation. However, there is no research to suggest that pathological oxygenation plays a role in the symptoms or progression of asthma. On this point, its use in typical asthma has been discredited. (And the putative mechanism by which it might improve EIA is not reduced cellular oxygenation, it's reduced airways dessication unrelated to cellular oxygen levels.)

If you find that buteyko or other breathing exercises help you feel more mindful and in control of your symptoms, then the associated fall in stress levels may have an 'anti-inflammatory' effect. However, the current evidence base suggests that breathing exercises alone are not sufficient to control asthma over the long run.

[Seabag]

Thank you Saffron

That's useful indeed. I've had the Sirdupla inhaler for about a year, with much improvement. And from that I find walking and cycling supports my breathing greatly. However, neither are cures, merely better management tools. The condition isn't going to miraculously go, not in my lifetime anyway.

Sure, try new stuff, but be safe and keep medication at hand if required. You're a long time dead otherwise.

[Minitoots]

thanks for all the helpful comments. I'm going to look into the respiratory physio and also will see the GP rather than the nurse who at our practice who is not a specialist in asthma.