Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that affects 15 million
persons in the United States. An estimated 5 million children have asthma, which makes it
the most common chronic disease of childhood.
Some 60 percent of people who use steroids long
term for asthma and other diseases will develop a mood disorder, such as
depression or manic depression. Obesity is
a known risk factor for type II diabetes, heart disease and some forms of
cancer. Evidence is now mounting that obesity is also a risk factor for asthma.
Smoking during pregnancy is known to raise a child's future asthma risk.
Intermittent periods of worsening airway inflammation, indicated by
exacerbations in asthma, lead to faster lung function decline.
Natural therapies for asthma
management
Avoid or reduce exposure to allergens listed above
Eat more cold water fish with high content of
Fish-Oil-Wild. Eating oily fish like salmon
or mackerel regularly may reduce the risk of asthma symptoms, according to new British
research.
Have hot soup and tea -- warm liquids lessen severity
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Have a wide variety of produce, preferably organic.
Reduce hydrogenated and trans fats
Reduce omega-6 oils such as corn, safflower, and sunflower
Fish
oil supplements may
help reduce the severity of exercise-induced asthma.
Eating oily fish such as salmon or trout during
pregnancy appears to help protect babies predisposed to asthma from developing
the condition during their first years of life.
Forskolin supplements
could be helpful. See
Forskolin
supplement information here.
Boswellia is an
Ayurvedic herb that has been found
to be helpful in asthma. You can find
Boswellia here.
There is no added benefit with peak flow monitoring for asthma management
Reduce your sugar intake,
for a natural sugar alternative, consider stevia.
Reduce weight - Excess pounds increases the likelihood of being hospitalized for
a severe asthma attack. Diet Rx works well for appetite suppression.
Fish oils, omega-3 fatty
acids, and asthma
Fish oil intake compared with olive oil intake in late pregnancy and asthma in
the offspring: 16 y of registry-based follow-up from a randomized controlled
trial.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 July. Olsen SF, Østerdal ML, Salvig JD, Mortensen LM,
Rytter D, Secher NJ, Henriksen TB. Maternal Nutrition Group, Department of
Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Our aim was to examine whether increasing maternal intake of omega-3 PUFAs in
pregnancy may affect offspring risk of asthma. In 1990, a population-based
sample of 533 women with normal pregnancies were randomly assigned 2:1:1 to
receive four 1-g gelatin capsules/d with fish oil providing 2.7 g omega-3 PUFAs
(n = 266); four 1-g, similar-looking capsules/d with olive oil (n = 136); or no
oil capsules (n = 131). Women were recruited and randomly assigned around
gestation week 30 and asked to take capsules until delivery. During the 16 y
that passed since childbirth, 19 children from the fish oil and olive oil groups
had received an asthma-related diagnosis; 10 had received the diagnosis allergic
asthma. The hazard rate of asthma was reduced by 63%, whereas the hazard rate of
allergic asthma was reduced by 87% in the fish oil compared with the olive oil
group. Under the assumption that intake of olive oil in the dose provided here
was inert, our results support that increasing omega-3 PUFAs in late pregnancy
may carry an important prophylactic potential in relation to offspring asthma.
Asthma triggers include
Additives to alcoholic beverages or foods metabisulfites, MSG,
tartazine (yellow dye #5), yeast, sulfite additives in wine.
Allergens from animal dander, cockroaches, dust mites or mold spores, pollen (trees,
grass, weeds), indoor and outdoor pollutants. Children who are sensitive to cats
appear to have an increased risk of developing asthma or hay fever as young
adults.
Cleaning agents have many chemicals that could cause lung tissue damage. These
cleaning fluids used in hospitals may present a health hazard to staff, and
potentially patients. People who work as cleaners have higher-than-normal rates
of asthma, asthma-like symptoms such as wheezing, and skin problems such as hand
eczema.
Foods such as eggs, milk, nuts, soy, wheat and peanut. Toddlers who consume large amounts
of margarine and foods fried in vegetable oil may be twice as likely to develop asthma as
their peers who eat less of these foods.
Changes in humidity or barometric pressure.
Diseases such as GERD, sinusitis, rhinitis, viral infections, hyperthyroidism.
Drugs-- aspirin, NSAIDs, beta blockers, sulfites, estrogen.
Irritants -- tobacco smoke, wood-burning, perfumes, cleaning agents, carbon dioxide,
pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone. Children who live near a busy
road may be at increased risk of wheezing, a symptom of asthma.
Exposure to air
pollutants may increase the risk of death among people with severe asthma. Almost 100 million people in 21 U.S. states
breathe unhealthy levels of tiny particles spewed by coal-burning power plants,
cars and factories.
The closer people with asthma live to roadways with heavy traffic,
the lower their lung function.
Physical triggers--exercise, hyperventilation, cold air.
Physiological factors - stress, psychological factors. Stress of finals may worsen the
symptoms of asthma.
Infant swimming lessons in an indoor pool may have the unintended effect of
raising some children's risk of asthma later on
Environmental control measures include removing carpets from the patients bedroom and living areas, weekly washing of bedding and clothing in hot water, specially designed mattress and pillow covers, removing stuffed animals, keeping pets outdoors. Quilts made of synthetic fibers like polyester might trigger wheezing in some children with asthma.
Aspirin and asthma
Results from the Physicians Health Study indicate that
regular use of aspirin may reduce the risk of new-onset asthma in adults.
However, there is no evidence that aspirin improves symptoms in people who
already have asthma, and it may, of course, cause acute breathing difficulties
among individuals with aspirin-intolerant asthma.
Weather and asthma symptoms
Asthma symptoms can be worsened by certain types of weather. Some asthma
patients get worse with cold, dry winter air. Windy weather stirs up pollen and
other irritants. Sometimes hot and humid air is harmful. Thunderstorms can
trigger asthma worsening in some patients due to changes in barometric pressure.
Asthma information
Asthma may be classified as mild,
moderate, or persistent. Patients with persistent asthma require medications that provide
long-term control of their disease and medications that provide quick relief of symptoms.
Medications for long-term control of asthma include inhaled corticosteroids, cromolyn,
nedocromil, leukotriene modifiers and long-acting bronchodilators. Inhaled corticosteroids
remain the most effective anti-inflammatory medications in the treatment of asthma.
Quick-relief medications include short-acting
beta agonists, anticholinergics
and systemic corticosteroids.
Airway
inflammation in asthma
Airway inflammation is the primary problem in
asthma. An initial
event in asthma appears to be the release of inflammatory mediators (e.g., histamine, tryptase, leukotrienes and prostaglandins) triggered by exposure to allergens, irritants,
cold air or exercise. The mediators are released from bronchial mast cells, alveolar
macrophages, T lymphocytes and epithelial cells. Some mediators directly cause acute
bronchoconstriction, termed the "early-phase asthmatic response." The
inflammatory mediators also direct the activation of eosinophils and neutrophils, and
their migration to the airways, where they cause injury. This so-called "late-phase
asthmatic response" results in epithelial damage, airway edema, mucus hypersecretion
and hyperresponsiveness of bronchial smooth muscle.