ASTHMA : Homoeopathic Management

By Dr Anmol Arora ( Sr Homoeopathic Specialist )

What makes a child more likely to develop asthma?

There are many risk factors for developing childhood asthma. These include:

• Presence of allergies
• Family history of asthma and/or allergies
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Low birth weight
• Exposure to tobacco smoke before and/or after birth
• Being male
• Being black
• Being raised in a low-income environment

Why are more children getting asthma?

No one really knows why more and more children are developing asthma. Some experts suggest that children are being exposed to more and more allergens such as dust, air pollution, and second-hand smoke. These factors all are triggers of asthma. Others suspect that children are not exposed to enough childhood illnesses to build up their immune system. It appears that a disorder of the immune system where the body fails to make enough protective antibodies may play a role in causing asthma.

And still others suggest that decreasing rates of breastfeeding have prevented important substances of the immune system from being passed on to babies.

How can you tell if your child has asthma?

Signs and symptoms to look for include:

• Frequent coughing spells, which may occur during play, at night, or while laughing. It is important to know that cough may be the only symptom present.
• Less energy during play
• Rapid breathing
• Complaint of chest tightness or chest “hurting”
• Whistling sound (wheezing) when breathing in or out
• See-saw motions (retractions) in the chest from labored breathing
• Shortness of breath, loss of breath
• Tightened neck and chest muscles
• Feelings of weakness or tiredness

Keep in mind that not all children have the same asthma symptoms, and these symptoms can vary from asthma episode to the next episode in the same child. Also note that not all wheezing or coughing is caused by asthma.

In kids under 5 years of age, the most common cause of asthma-like symptoms is upper respiratory viral infections such as the common cold.

If your child has problem breathing, take him or her to the doctor immediately for an evaluation

How is asthma diagnosed in children?

Asthma is often difficult to diagnose in infants. However, in older children the disease can often be diagnosed based on your child’s medical history, symptoms, and physical exam.

• Medical history and symptom description. Your child’s doctor will be interested in any history of breathing problems you or your child may have had, as well as a family history of asthma, allergies, a skin condition called eczema, or other lung disease. It is important that you describe your child’s symptoms — cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness — in detail, including when and how often these symptoms have been occurring.
• Physical exam. During the physical examination, the doctor will listen to your child’s heart and lungs.
• Tests. Many children will also have a chest X-ray and pulmonary function tests. Also called lung function tests, these tests measure the amount of air in the lungs and how fast it can be exhaled. The results help the doctor determine how severe the asthma is. Generally, children younger than 5 are unable to perform pulmonary function tests. Thus doctors rely heavily on history, symptoms and examination in making the diagnosis.

Other tests may also be ordered to help identify particular asthma triggers. These tests may include allergy skin testing, blood tests and X-rays to determine if sinus infections or gastroesophageal reflux disease (a gastrointestinal condition that causes reflux of acid stomach contents into the esophagus or even into the lungs) is complicating asthma.

How is asthma treated in kids?

Based on your child’s history and the severity of asthma, his or her doctor will develop a care plan, called an “asthma action plan.” The asthma action plan describes when and how your child should use asthma medications, what to do when asthma gets worse, and when to seek emergency care for your child. Make sure you understand this plan and ask your child’s doctor any questions you may have.

Your child’s asthma action plan is important to successfully controlling his or her asthma. Keep it handy to remind you of your child’s daily asthma management plan, as well as to guide you when your child develops asthma symptoms.

In addition to following your child’s asthma action plan, you want to make sure exposure to asthma triggers is limited, and preferably avoided

How do you know when your  child’s asthma is well controlled?

You know your child’s asthma is well controlled if, with medications, your child:

• Lives an active, normal life
• Has few troublesome symptoms
• Attends school every day
• Performs daily activities without difficulty
• Has few urgent visits to the doctor, emergency room, or hospital for asthma
• Has few medication side effects

By learning about asthma and how it can be controlled, you take an important step toward managing your child’s disease. We encourage you to work closely with your child’s asthma care team to learn all you can about asthma, how to avoid triggers, what medications do, and how to correctly give them. With proper care, your child can live free of asthma symptoms and maintain a normal, healthy lifestyle.

Will your child outgrow asthma?

Once a person’s airways become sensitive due to asthma, they remain that way for life. However, about 50% of children experience a noticeable decrease in asthma symptoms by the time they become adolescents, therefore appearing to have “outgrown” their asthma. About half of these children will develop symptoms again in their 30’s and/or 40’s. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict whose symptoms will decrease during adolescence and whose will return later in life.

What do I do when your  child has an asthma attack?

If your child is showing symptoms of an asthma attack:

• Give your child his/her reliever (bronchodilator) medicine according to the asthma action plan.
• Wait five to fifteen minutes. If the symptoms disappear, your child should be able to resume whatever activity they were doing. If symptoms persist, follow your child’s asthma action plan for further therapy. If your child fails to improve or you are not sure what action to take, call your child’s physician.

Danger signs are severe wheezing, severe coughing, trouble walking and/or talking, or blue lips and/or fingernails

Homoeopathy

Homeopathic Treatment for Asthma

Homeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution etc.

General Approach – As far as I know homeopathy is the only system of medicine which tries to ‘cure’ this disease, instead of trying to provide symptomatic relief. While dealing with a case of asthma, a homeopath not only records the symptoms of the disease but also studies the medical history, family history, physical and psychological characteristics of a person. This helps to find  the cause, the precipitating factors, and the hereditary tendency etc. Of special interest to a homeopath is the history of suppression of skin disease. Homeopaths believe that when there is a tendency or predisposition for a disease – it first manifests on the less vital organs, towards the periphery (like skin). If this manifestation is suppressed than the disease shifts inwards, towards the more vital organs (like lungs, heart, brain etc).

The fact that in children asthma is often preceded by eczema is observed by the allopaths also. This fact is written in all their textbooks of medicine. They say that children often ‘move-out’ of eczema and ‘move-into’ asthma. But they are unable to make a correlation. Homeopaths believe that the suppression of eczema with topical preparations, does not cure the disease/sensitivity of the person, it merely drives it inwards.

Now after ascertaining the symptoms and the cause, the homeopath tries to find a medicine which matches the symptoms as well as the general characteristics of the person. The medicine so selected is administered to the patient.

It is often (not necessarily) observed by homeopaths that when a right medicine is given, the asthma disappears but the old eczema (if it was there originally) reappears for some time, before finally disappearing itself. This reappearance of old symptoms is seen as a reversal of disease process and is considered a very good prognostic sign by homeopaths.

Following homeopathic medicines have been found effective in many cases of Asthma:

MEDICINES – There are lots of medicines in homeopathy for asthma and it is not possible to list them all here. Some of the common medicines are ars-alb, ipecac, lachesis, pulsatilla, spongia, sulphur, ignatia, antim-tart, hepar-sulph, nat-sulph, tuberculinum etc. The selection of medicine varies from patient to patient.

Acalypha indica: Cough with bloody expectoration; sometimes violent dry cough precedes the expectoration.

Ailantheus glandulosa: Deep dry and hacking cough, with asthmatic expansion of lungs; cough with headache and congestion of face.

Aletris farinosa: Short, dry and tickling cough worse on waking and talking; discharge of urine during cough; cough suddenly relieved by menstruation.

Aralia racemosa: Cough associated with constriction of chest, worse lying down, after the first sleep, has to sit up and cough violently; asthma, with oppression as from a weight on stomach, worse night on lying down, better by raising a little tough mucus.

Asarium europaeum: Frequent cough followed by difficult breathing; cough caused by deep inspiration.

Blatta orientalis: Asthma associated with bronchitis, suitable for fatty people, cough associated with dyspnoea.

Blumea odorata: Barking like cough controls hoarseness due to cough.

Boerhavia diffusa: Indicated for dry cough as well as cough with whitish thick expectoration.

Ephedra vulgaris: Mother tincture is used to control asthmatic attack; in reduced doses it is also helpful in pulmonary heart disease.

Glycyrrhiza glabra: Used as expectorant; prevents recurrent respiratory infections.

Grindelia: Tenacious mucous difficult to detach.

Justicia adhatoda: Violent cough with tough expectoration and tightness of chest; great fear of suffocation; usually cough associated with vomiting.

Pothos foetidus: Asthma worse from any inhalation of dust. Rumex crispus: Cough usually with headache; worse eating, in the evening and on lying down

Asthma – CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT

Bronchodilators, anti-allergic drugs, and corticosteroids are commonly used to provide symptomatic relief.

Asthma – Lifestyle & General Management

• Avoid the allergen you are sensitive to.
• Do regular light exercise like brisk walking or jogging. Heavy exercise can precipitate an attack of asthma, so always do mild exercise without putting too much strain on your body.
• Learn breathing exercises to improve your lung capacity. Of especial use is ‘pranayam’, a yoga exercise.
• Learn some stress relieving exercises, meditation, or yoga to minimize the psychological factors related to disease.
• Eat healthy, nourishing and well balanced diet

“ Homoeopathy for total safe and Natural way of cure without side effects “

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