Ways of treating asthma naturally
Asthma is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or one type of it to be more precise. It is also one of the most persistent and very expensive when we consider the price of medications. For these reasons, as well as for avoiding unnecessary side-effects of pharmaceuticals, there are many people affected by asthma looking for the ways of treating asthma naturally.
In 2009 there were around 22 million Americans suffering from asthma. Today the number is close to the 35 million with around 8% being children. At the same time, on the other side of the globe in eastern Asia, the number of people with asthma is significantly lower.
Mold spores are a very potent allergen so we need to keep bath and kitchen, or any other high-moisture area, dry and mold-free. Also, clean any moldy objects around the house but be aware that some cleaning solutions may provoke asthma so stay away from those.
Avoid second-hand smoking and other fumes as well, if the environment allows. Many workplaces are unfortunately heavily affected by these.
If we notice our asthma is worsening with the cold weather we should wear a mask when outside in cold weather.
As stated by the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for asthma yet, but there are plenty of things we can do to avoid triggering asthma attacks.
What causes asthma?
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder with characteristics of airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness to inhaled stimuli. Due to this hyper-responsiveness, the airways narrow which affects our ability to breathe properly. In most cases, it is “just” a difficulty but asthma attacks can be very serious and even life-threatening. There are medications to treat asthma which may be necessary, especially if it comes to a severe asthma attack. But, if we look at the causes of asthma, we see that there are things we can actually do to improve asthma symptoms through treating asthma naturally. The fact that asthma is so widespread shows us how often we are surrounded by asthma stimuli. They are all around us…at home, school, work, in the streets, etc. So, since they are so wide-spread, let’s call these environmental causes. Besides these, there is interplay with our immune system. Stimuli push our immune system into overdrive and those inflammatory reactions which are useful in defending our body from infections now make our life very difficult. This is the other part of the asthma equation, the internal causes – our immune system response. So, it is essential for us to control these stimuli and improve our immune system as ways of treating asthma naturally.Environmental Control
This sounds like quite a task, of course, and we can’t always control our environment to the extent necessary. For example, we can’t control the outdoors or our work environment very easily and many of our problems may come from these sources. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, the highest rate of work-related asthma has been reported by wood product and plastic/rubber workers. But, there can also be a lot of less obvious triggers in any work environment, as well, such as cleaning products, mold and poor air circulation. Many chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and their symptoms are related to our home environment and we have a lot more control and opportunities to make changes in our own homes. One of the first and easiest things we can do is use air conditioners. Air conditioners have filters which filter out small particles such as pollen and dust from the air. There are many air conditioning systems with air ionizer systems built in, or we can use separate air ionizer to clear and filter the air. Plus, air conditioners may lower the humidity and our exposure to dust mites which can play an important role in treating asthma naturally.Good cleaning practices
Our home environment, more often than not, attracts dust and we need to keep the dust cleaned away as often as possible. Our beds, for example, collect a lot of dust. In order keep them dust-free as much as possible we can use dust-proof covers for pillows and mattresses. If we have carpets, and can’t remove them, the best idea is to vacuum with high-quality vacuum cleaners which have HEPA filtration which remove very small dust and pollen particles. These vacuum cleaners are also good for mattress cleaning. Vacuuming without fine filtration only removes larger dirt particles but what we also do is actually release more dust into the air and worsen air conditions. HEPA systems aren't always expensive and are well worth researching to find a reasonably priced one.
Mold spores are a very potent allergen so we need to keep bath and kitchen, or any other high-moisture area, dry and mold-free. Also, clean any moldy objects around the house but be aware that some cleaning solutions may provoke asthma so stay away from those.
Avoid second-hand smoking and other fumes as well, if the environment allows. Many workplaces are unfortunately heavily affected by these.
If we notice our asthma is worsening with the cold weather we should wear a mask when outside in cold weather.
As stated by the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for asthma yet, but there are plenty of things we can do to avoid triggering asthma attacks.