Home remedies for asthma

The word Asthma comes from the Greek word for panting.  It is a condition where there is chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways (bronchi) are reversibly narrowed. It affects nearly 300 million people worldwide. During an asthmatic attack , the smooth muscle cells in the bronchi constrict, and the airways become inflamed and swollen causing breathlessness. Asthma kills thousands of people in India alone every year.

The condition can be classified into four types:

1.    Intermittent: Less than one attack a week with variability of peak expiratory flow rate (FEV₁)  of less than 20%

2.    Mild Persistent: More than one attack per week but less than once per day with FEV of 20-30%

3.    Moderate Persistent: Daily and with more than one attack per week during nights with FEV of more than 30%.

4.    Severe persistent: Daily and frequent attacks during nights throughout the week with FEV of more than 30%

Symptoms:

Because of the wide spectrum of severity within asthma, some people with asthma only rarely experience symptoms. And in those who do, the common signs/symptoms are:

a)    Breathlessness or gasping for breath. Actually, this is an illusion because in reality they have more difficulty in breathing out than breathing in caused by spasms of the smaller airways in the lungs.

b)    Alertness in which the patient seems agitated

c)    The patient talks in from sentences to phrases to words depending upon the severity of the condition

d)    Increase in pulse rate

e)    Increase in respiratory rate

Some of the common and effective home remedies for asthma are:

1.    Honey: Inhale the air coming out of a jug of honey

2.    Ginger: Take a teaspoon of fresh ginger juice.  Mix it with a cup of fenugreek extraction after boiling with water. You can add a little honey for taste. Taken twice a day, once in morning and once in evening it works as a miracle and honey to taste, acts as an excellent mucolytic agent for asthma patients.

3.    Garlic: Take 8-10 cloves of garlic. Boil them in half cup of milk. Taken once at night it proves to be very good for patients with early stages of asthma.

4.    Mustard Oil: Mix some mustard oil with camphor and massage it over the chest of the person when the patient is having an attack. It is known as a very effective remedy for patients having an attack. The mustard oil and camphor mix massage to the chest gives fast relief.

5.    Cinnamon:  Mix half teaspoon of cinnamon powder with one tablespoon of honey. This is also an excellent home remedy for asthma patients.

Important: As is relevant with many diseases, a healthy lifestyle goes a long way to check and prevent asthma. If you are an asthma patient go out, expose yourself to sun, fresh air, exercise regularly, avoid smoking, maintain correct postures.