Asthma Help Please

[Phoenix Myst]

I was wondering if there are any good recipes that can help reduce asthma
attacks especially when they mostly occur at night. I sometimes use menthol and eucalyptus
but I find when stressed the attacks are much worse and I could use a little help if anyone can.

Myst

[Maggie]

Originally posted by Phoenix Myst
I was wondering if there are any good recipes that can help reduce asthma
attacks especially when they mostly occur at night. I sometimes use menthol and eucalyptus
but I find when stressed the attacks are much worse and I could use a little help if anyone can.

Myst


Ephedra tea is usually used, but have you seen a doctor about these? I have asthma, and I don't think it's a good idea to depend on herbal remedies for this one, it can turn life-threatening too quickly.

Regards,

Maggie

[Phoenix Myst]

Thanks Maggie for your reply and yes I am under a doctors care. I was just hoping for a little extra something to help reduce the effects on my Asthma so that I'm not taking as much medications in that regard. Can I find this tea in a health food store or will I have to go and get the plant and grow it myself? If you cold let me know on this one.

Thanks again and BB
Myst

[Maggie]

Originally posted by Phoenix Myst
Thanks Maggie for your reply and yes I am under a doctors care. I was just hoping for a little extra something to help reduce the effects on my Asthma so that I'm not taking as much medications in that regard. Can I find this tea in a health food store or will I have to go and get the plant and grow it myself? If you cold let me know on this one.

Thanks again and BB
Myst


If you're already taking meds for asthma ephedra is NOT (I repeat, NOT) a good idea. That's the original source for ephedrine--mixing this with other meds could cause problems big time. There are other things you might be able to do, but it depends on what is causing your asthma. If it's allergic in origin there are some histamine blockers on the market that reduce the inflamation and prevent the reaction that causes attacks so that you could cut down on the meds themselves. Does your doctor know anything about herbal medicine? It does depend on the severity too, as to whether or not herbal medicines would be effective.

Regards,

Maggie

[Semele]

My opinion, and it is just that, is that this stuff is not a good idea ......ever....for anyone. Bad stuff that can do some bad things to the body if not taken very carefully. Mol and myself have been round and round over this one!!

Semele

[Maggie]

Originally posted by Semele
My opinion, and it is just that, is that this stuff is not a good idea ......ever....for anyone. Bad stuff that can do some bad things to the body if not taken very carefully. Mol and myself have been round and round over this one!!

Semele

I agree--and in retrospect I shouldn't have mentioned this one.

'Natural' simply means found in nature--cyanide is natural too. Herbal remedies ARE medicines, and interactions can occur between them, and between them and other medications that might be used at the same time. The same cautions about mixing prescribed drugs applies to herbal remedies too.

Regards,

Maggie

[belladonna23]

I also have really bad asthma. I often end up with bad bronchitis, and have had pneumonia a few times. I tried ephedra tea once, and it turns out that some cough syrup I was taking had a derivitive of ephedra in it, and I was hospitalized with palpitations. Won't be trying that stuff again.
I've not had much luck treating this one using herbal remedies. (At least I got my new doctor to get me off the steroids.) I have found that if I use herbal allergy meds, it reduces the frequency of asthma attacks, but once I get one, it's albuterol all the way! I think sometimes we're better off using the advances in modern medicine to our advantage.

[Maggie]

Originally posted by belladonna23
I tried ephedra tea once, and it turns out that some cough syrup I was taking had a derivitive of ephedra in it, and I was hospitalized with palpitations. Won't be trying that stuff again.
I've not had much luck treating this one using herbal remedies. (At least I got my new doctor to get me off the steroids.) I have found that if I use herbal allergy meds, it reduces the frequency of asthma attacks, but once I get one, it's albuterol all the way! I think sometimes we're better off using the advances in modern medicine to our advantage.

As I said--interactions do occur between herbals and other meds!

I'm supposed to be using Intal, that's the blocker I mentioned. However, it doesn't work as well as I'd hoped, and I still have to use the Flovent. And, yes albuterol is a miracle drug! :sunny:

Before the new drugs for asthma, the choice was between breathing and racing hearts. Not a hard choice to make! :) However, these days we often have better choices.

Regards,

Maggie

[Earth Walker]

This may help with your asthma.

FIRE INCENSE(ELEMENTAL)

3 parts Frankincense
2 parts Dragon's Blood
1 part Red Sandalwood
1 pinch Saffron
a few drops Musk oil

Smolder for summoning the powers and beings of
Fire, and also for success, strength, protection,
health, passion and other similiar goals. Genuine
saffron is prohibitively expensive; hence, the smallest
pinch will suffice. If you have none in stock, substitute
orange peel.

[Phoenix Myst]

I would really like to thank you Mystique for the recipe. I'll have to try that and see if maybe that will help in a few of the cases. For the most part I still have to rely on my meds to keep me going.
BB and sweet dreams,
Myst

[folkwitch]

I've been down with asthma and bronchitis fro nearly a week. We finally got a good rain yesterday and it washed the pollen out of the air. What a relief...

[RavenShadow]

Well, abuterol seems to be a miracle doesn't it! Everyone seems to agree. I'm currently completely saturated by the stuff, as a result of an overdose this morning by neglegent hospital staff. Anyway, I was wondering what works for you guys. My meds aren't working, so I am looking for some other way to breathe. Hot water and steam seem to work for me, but has anyone had success with other methods. I'm just so sick of medication right now; being on the most powerful stuff they've got and still sounding like Darth Vader is not my idea of a fun evening...I will take any and all suggestions!

[Maggie]

Originally posted by RavenShadow
Well, abuterol seems to be a miracle doesn't it! Everyone seems to agree. I'm currently completely saturated by the stuff, as a result of an overdose this morning by neglegent hospital staff. Anyway, I was wondering what works for you guys. My meds aren't working, so I am looking for some other way to breathe. Hot water and steam seem to work for me, but has anyone had success with other methods. I'm just so sick of medication right now; being on the most powerful stuff they've got and still sounding like Darth Vader is not my idea of a fun evening...I will take any and all suggestions!

You know what causes your asthma? Mine is mostly allergic, so that control for me comes that way, although I'm still working things out--again. Two years ago for unknown reasons my sensitivities took an extreme upturn and I ended up in the hospital for the first time, had to learn to deal all over again.

The combination that works the best for me is Intal (a histamine blocker) and an oral antihistamine, right at the moment it's Allegra. Doesn't always work because I am piss poor at remembering doses when I'm not sick and Intal depends on absolute every day usage.

However--the really best thing is removing the allergens that provoke the reaction. I am so sensitive to mold now that the allergist doesn't want to give me allergy shots for it--and I've found the stuff in the weirdest places. Very slow plumbing leaks behinds walls, the kind that usually wouldn't cause serious problems, do give molds a place to grow, and clouds of spores can be coming out from behind walls.

My worst attacks can come at night--do you have one of those room aircleaners? In the spring particularly I've found that closing my bedroom up tight and sleeping with one of those running all night helps. We also finally sprung for an electrostatic air cleaner on the house system, and that seems to help too.

Another really simple thing that several asthma sites as well as both my internist and allergist stressed is--drinking water. For some reason that seems to help keep things opened up. The consensus is that an asthmatic should have 6-8 glasses of water a day. I plead guilty here, I never manage that many and so don't really know if it does.

Regards,

Maggie

[belladonna23]

Drinking lots of water really does help. It flushes allergens from the body, and helps keep mucous from getting too thick. I drink enough water every day to support a herd of camels and it helps!
I actually pay someone to come dust and vacuum my place for me, because the dust just kills me. I have a room air cleaner as well, and it really does help, especially since I have central heat and air conditioning. Actually, the central air is nice, because it cuts the humidity in the warmer weather, and that aggravates my asthma as well.

[RavenShadow]

Thanks! That water thing works well. I'm really, really fed up with modern drugs right now. They've got me on Abuterol and Prednizone, and neither is working. Then they shot nuclear radiation into me, so they could tell me that there is nothing wrong. I'm about ready to give up on the stuff entirely, if I didn't know how bad off I'd be if I stopped. Odd that water helped more than either of them. Oh well. It seems only prayers to Her can help me now.

[Maggie]

Originally posted by RavenShadow
Thanks! That water thing works well. I'm really, really fed up with modern drugs right now. They've got me on Abuterol and Prednizone, and neither is working. Then they shot nuclear radiation into me, so they could tell me that there is nothing wrong. I'm about ready to give up on the stuff entirely, if I didn't know how bad off I'd be if I stopped. Odd that water helped more than either of them. Oh well. It seems only prayers to Her can help me now.

<giggle> No, it's not--there's a nice, real , physical reason that lots of water works! Belladonna hit it--it dilutes the mucus that clogs the airways! I just can't stand to drink that much, I have to stay near a bathroom at all times when I do! :D

Regards,

Maggie