Asthma, which is a chronic disease that affects the airways (the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs), can be a very frightening condition for both the asthma sufferer and the people who love them. More than 14 million people in the United States have this lung disease. Of these, almost 5 million are children.
Being the parent of a child with asthma, I have learned a lot about this disease. And, being a practitioner in the field of natural health care, I have found several methods that have worked wonderfully for my daughter.
Kaitlin’s Story
Kaitlyn, now almost 18 years old, was in the “Frequent Traveler Program” at our local hospital from the ages of 8 to 14. The Frequent Flyer Program meant she could take it any time day or night and return directly to the doctor and nurses for immediate care: no registration, no forms, no waiting. This is due to the fact that when Kait was in what is called an “acute asthma phase” with her cough variant asthma, we were typically in the ER 2-4 times a week, sometimes arriving there in ambulance.
It was terrifying, to say the least. After an ER visit when she was 14, during which I was kicked out of the room (this had never happened before) due to the fact that her oxygen saturation was below 75, I confronted her doctor. and I threw a mommy tantrum. ‘ ‘How can we prevent this? This is ridiculous! There has to be SOMETHING we can do to know this is coming and prevent it! Something to prevent it!’
According to the document, there was a new round of drugs that were “fresh on the market” at the time: Singulair and Advair. These, combined with a peak flow meter (which measures the opening of the airways by the force the lungs use to push air out) gave us our first grip on Kait’s illness. ER visits decreased, but did not stop. Still, the reduction was a good thing.
The utter exasperation and helplessness I felt every time I watched my daughter struggle to breathe, was more than enough reason to send me looking for natural ways to help her. And I found them. Please don’t get me wrong here. I have never ‘thrown the baby out with the bath water’ and have given up on allopathic medicine. I never told her doctor to ‘go to Hades’. And I always took her to a medical professional when warranted. I implemented these natural therapies *along with* what the doctor ordered.
Here’s what we did (and remember, this started at age 14, along with Advair and Singulair):
Anytime your peak flow meter dropped below 350 (this was your “line” based on weeks of recording peak flow numbers indicating an approaching asthma phase or attack), or at the first sign of discharge or nasal congestion:
1) We started twice a day with foot reflexology treatments of the reflex points corresponding to the lungs and respiratory system, as well as the lymphatic system (for immunity since many times their asthma phases were triggered by something as simple as a cold common). You can find hand and foot reflexology charts at http://www.remedies4.com/
2) We used a blend of Ravensara, Eucalyptus, Pine, Myrtle, Cypress, and Peppermint oils during reflexology treatments, placing the blend directly on the pressure points I was massaging and having her inhale the scent of the blend (3 depths). breaths, held as long as possible) with my hands cupped over her nose after each treatment.
3) He drank an herbal tea 3 times a day that contained the herbs eucalyptus, licorice, and mint. We used this mix until I found Traditional Medicinal’s “BreatheEasy” mix, which is very strong herbal and worked even better than my own mix. I can’t recommend this enough!
4) We invested in a product called BioVent (you can find more about this product on my blog) and used it according to the instructions. This is not the first product that I buy from you and try; I have also used your ADHD remedy for my son (which worked wonderfully!). It is a solid company with unconditional guarantees and all of its remedies are registered with the FDA. So it goes without saying that I highly recommend them.
5) When she was asymptomatic and her peak flow numbers were in the acceptable range, we maintained the combination reflexology/aromatherapy treatments on a 3x/week schedule and continued BioVent’s herbal/homeopathic combination medication. In fact, it got to the point that we could tell when she was starting to dip into an asthmatic attack or phase by the sensitivity of the reflex points in her foot and lung.
“Mom! I got my letter at the track, can I get a Letterman jacket? Please?”
As I said before, Kait is now almost 18 years old. Told at the age of 10 that she would “never play sports or play like other kids” because of asthma, this young woman has now written on Track for the past three years and has been seizure and symptom free for almost 3 years. .
In her sophomore year, during her track physical, her doctor asked the usual questions, but then decided that before he could approve the fact that she was healthy enough for track, he wanted to run some lung tests on her. So, we went to the hospital for a full lung study.
Two days later he called me to let me know that his physical form was signed and ready to be picked up. When I asked her what the tests showed, she said, “I’d love to know what you did. She was shown to have stronger lungs than 80% of HEALTHY children her age and lung capacity in the top 10%.” She is still asthmatic, but her strength and lung capacity are near perfect. She is a healthy girl.”
I just smiled and said a quick prayer of thanks.
