natural remedies for asthma

[Guest guest]

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> 1. Has anyone had any luck in controlling asthma with Ma Huang? (it

supposedly has epidrine in it.)

>

> 2. Has anyone any success with any natural remedy for asthma?

>

> Regards,

>

>

>

Dear ,

I have tried ma huang. It did work, but I have a liver problem that

prevents me from metabolizing it properly. The specific problem that I have

(the cytochrome P450 system of the liver under-functioning) prevents my body

from metabolizing drugs/herbs that are broken down in that way. (Not all of

them are.) The problem is, the drug/herb in question will work for a few

days, then I start running a fever and feeling terrible b/c the medication

is building up in my body faster than my body can process it. I would just

suggest you be careful, it can have cardiac effects (irregular heartbeat,

even death in extreme cases) if abused. Whatever dosage levels are on the

bottle should be safe.

Boswellin is an Ayurvedic herb that has been proven in double blind studies

to greatly improve morning stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, due

to its leukotriene-inhibiting function. (Boswellic acid, boswellia are some

other names. Boswellic acid is the " active " ingredient. Also called Indian

frankincense.) Why this matters: Singulair, Accolate, Zyflo (the new

asthma wonder drugs) are leukotriene inhibitors. It makes sense to me that

a leukotriene inhibitor is a leukotriene inhibitor (leukotrienes cause

inflammation) and should therefore help asthma as well. To my knowledge,

there have been no studies testing this theory. I cannot take

Singulair/Zyflo/Accolate b/c of my above mentioned liver problem. I did try

Boswellin, I started running a fever and feeling terrible after a few days,

so suspect it too is broken down by the P450 system. In all that I have

read on the herb, side effects are extremely rare to non-existent.

I do use something called " respiratory aid " , which does help. It has a

gentle cumulative effect, you may have to use it for a few weeks before you

realize that you aren't reaching for the rescue inhaler as much. It is an

Ayurvedic (Indian, from India) formula, though made in the USA. It contains

tylophora asthmatica, piper longhum (black pepper) and picrorhiza kurroa.

It also has the advantage of being CHEAP. $10. for a months supply. It is

marketed by a company called Inner Balance, .

There is also a class of chemicals called methylxanthines, which are readily

accessible in foods/beverages. (I'm NOT suggesting you replace your

inhaler) These include caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline. Coffee,

tea, some people say chocolate or cola helps them as well (I have too many

food allergies that interfere for the chocolate or cola to be of help to

me.) Coffee works well, but has a tendency to crash my blood sugar.

(black) (the more things you add to the coffee, the slower the absorption

time, and the slower the broncho-dilating effects.) Of course coffee is

high in caffeine. Black tea and green tea also have caffeine, but high

levels of theobromine as well. Theobromine is the kinder, gentler

methylxanthine, a little less likely to make you feel like you are going to

jump out of your skin, and easier on the blood sugar. Green tea works best

for me, (again, PLAIN-no sugar, no cream) The only reason I can think of why

I would get such drastically different results from black and green tea is

that I am mold sensitive and black tea is fermented. I haven't tried oolong

(partially fermented.) Anyway, all of the methylxanthines (caffeine,

theophylline, theobromine) are bronchodilators. (Theophylline is the main

ingredient in Alupent, theo-dur, other meds, as you may well know) They

don't do much for me preventatively, but help tremendously when I am having

difficulty breathing. Be careful if you are on asthma medicines in pill

form. They are potent and caffeine etc. can really increase the jitters.

As far as when I get sick: (a doctor told me to do this) I take one gram

(1,000 mg of vitamin C every hour until I start feeling better.) Also two

capsules of garlic every four hours. Recovery time is much shorter than

with antibiotics alone. Sometimes I don't even need to resort to

antibiotics at all. (Garlic is an antibiotic)

As far as traditional medications, I have a nebulizer with albuterol,

albuterol inhaler, vanceril inhaler when needed (in a crisis, for a week or

two when I am sick), and in dire cases, prednisone. I can get by with a

four day cycle of prednisone combined with the nebulizer, vit. c, garlic,

etc. to dig me out of almost anything. I had the flu and was coughing up

streaks of blood (it hit like a load of bricks, hard and fast), had to use

my epi-pen, etc. after a four day cycle of prednisone, vit C every hour,

garlic every 4 hours, I (an ASTHMATIC) was OVER the flu (way before my

husband, I might add, who does not have asthma.)

Some say stinging nettles helps their allergies, didn't do anything for me.

Ditto for bee pollen. Read labels and save yourself some $, some " asthma "

formulas have the same ingredient under different names, and if you already

know that particular ingredient doesn't help you, there's no sense in

spending the $. (Mormon tea is another name for Ephedra/Ma Huang.) (Again,

it' not that these things don't work, my liver doesn't process them.)

Siberian ginseng helps for the low energy level (resulting from not

breathing well and trying to live a normal life anyway) and for the times

when you know you are burning the candle at both ends and are most likely to

be sick soon. It helps prevent or at least seriously delay the onset of

illness. It HAS TO BE SIBERIAN ginseng, the other ginsengs have different

effects.

I have an asthmatic friend who keeps a sizeable empty spot in her freezer,

when she can't breathe she sticks her head in. (I'm not kidding) I thought

she was nuts until I woke up in the dead of night gasping for breath,

inhaler didn't work, stumbled down to make some coffee, stuck my head out

the front door into the freezing cold, and was considerably improved. Cold

used to set my asthma off, now I find my only difficulty is going from cold

to warm. I'm fine going warm to cold.

Some say moisture helps (humidifier, vaporizer) personally humidity of any

type makes me significantly worse.

I read that licorice is a natural steroid, tried it, didn't experience any

measureable beneficial effects. The bad thing about licorice is you need a

fairly high dose which can result in (like steroids) moon face, weight gain

etc. If you are going to try this, use the DEGLYCCERIZED (spelling?) form,

it will not increase your blood pressure.

Do some research before trying anything if you are on a lot of prescription

drugs (possible interactions) and of course, find a doctor you can trust

and CONSULT HIM/HER FIRST. I know, easier said then done.

Acupuncture helps many people with asthma. I find if I am having a crisis,

and get the acupuncture, it disappears. It was the weirdest thing. I was

heading toward the steroid zone, very bad, sick etc. by the end of the hour

treament, not only were all of the above symptoms GONE< but I felt like they

had never happened. Even steroids don't do that for me. They drastically

improve the situation, but they don't make it feel like it never happened.

Acupuncture doesn't seem to do much preventatively for me, though.

Chiropractic helps some asthmatics, it didn't help me at all. If youa re

going to try this or acupuncture, make sure you go to someone licensed.

Exercise does help (in moderation, of course.) Even walking. Breathe

through your nose, though!

Keeping my nose clear is really important too, if it is blocked, asthma is a

foregone conclusion. " 4-way " brand has a saline spray with mint and

eucalyptus that helps a lot. I haven't had much luck with the minty (dry)

nasal inhaler things, but this spray worked well for me. I got it at

Wal-mart.

Staying hydrated helps, it's important to drink plain water as well as

coffee, tea (which are diuretics)

Have you, or has anyone else out there tried anything I haven't mentioned

(always open to new ideas!!) and did it help you?

Take care, hope some of this helps. There are other things supposedly

beneficial for asthma/allergies, but I only shared the things I've had

personal experience with.

Maxine