Asthma

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways making it difficult for a child to breathe. It can cause shortness of breath and reoccurring periods of a musical high-pitched whistling sound as the child breathes, known as “wheezing”. Coughing usually accompanies the breathing difficulties at night or in the early morning.

An asthma attack can be triggered by an allergic reaction or some other form of sensitivity such as pollen, dry leaves, cats, smoke, air pollution, grass, dust mites and burning wood. Today, asthma is one of the most common long-term respiratory conditions found among children.

What Your Doctor May Tell You About Asthma

Your pediatrician may tell you that your child has had many of the risk factors for developing asthma such as:

  • Eczema
  • Low birth weight
  • Caesarean section
  • Early antibiotic usage
  • Tylenol usage
  • Frequent respiratory infections

Your child may be given an inhaler with steroid medication for long-term control, prevention and management of acute asthma attacks. An inhaler is a device with a holding chamber to ensure that the medication reaches the lungs. Alternatively, your child may be given a nebulizer which is a machine that includes compressor tubing and a mask to deliver the medication. These steroid medications do slow down a child’s growth and are also addictive with devastating side effects from long-term usage, but your pediatrician will tell you this outweighs the risk of not being able to breathe.

If medications are unable to help your child, your pediatrician may suggest seeing a specialist such as an allergist or immunologist. The allergist may administer allergy shots (immunotherapy) to help with the allergies triggering the asthma attacks.

In certain cases, many doctors will suggest having an adenotonsillectomy, which is the surgical remove of the child’s adenoids and tonsils. Pediatricians will tell you that this procedure in most cases will eventually stop asthma completely.

Another Way to Think About Asthma

Asthma is an indication that the immune system is compromised and there are underlying imbalances that have resulted in inflammation in the bronchial tubes which needs to be identified and addressed.

One of the biggest culprits of asthma is dairy/casein. Sometimes, eliminating all dairy can have a dramatic effect on eliminating symptoms of asthma. There could also be other food allergens triggering asthma such as wheat, gluten, and eggs and airborne allergens such as mold, pet dander, pollen and dust. In addition to the elimination process of these allergens, dietary changes are necessary to treat and heal the gastrointestinal issues (leaky gut syndrome) and the microbiome.

Nutritional supplementation may also be used to improve the immune system and reduce the inflammation in the lungs. A key supplement often times overlooked is sulfur, a very important mineral needed for detoxification of the liver, elimination of allergies and strengthening the lungs. If a child has high levels of toxicity such as yeast, heavy metals, and other pathogens, then it is probably best to apply sulfur in a transdermal form or just give Epsom salt baths instead of using an oral supplement.

Detoxifying the body from yeast overgrowth, fungus, Candida, heavy metals, parasites, viruses, bacteria and other pathogens can collectively improve the immune system so that the number of food and airborne allergies are eliminated.

Identifying underlying imbalances, eliminating toxic overload and strengthening the immune system can eliminate allergies, reduce the inflammation in the lungs and reduce symptoms of asthma.

An Asthma Healing Checklist

Make Lifestyle Changes

  • Get 10 hours of sleep per night (or more if your child is under 10)
  • Get outside every day
  • Get an hour of exercise or movement per day
  • Sync circadian rhythm by getting up when the sun does and going to bed after it sets
  • Limit screen time as much as possible
  • Use blue-blocking lightbulbs and glasses at night, especially when looking at screens
  • Put bare feet in wet ground when possible
  • Drink half body weight in ounces of water

Eat a Clean Diet

Use Only High-Quality Fats

  • Coconut oil
  • Olive oil (unheated)
  • Avocados
  • Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT) oil
  • Grass-fed ghee
  • Duck fat
  • Grass-fed beef tallow
  • Cod liver oil (unheated)
  • Walnut oil (unheated)

Remove Vegetable Oils and Trans Fats

  • Canola
  • Corn
  • Soy
  • Safflower
  • Sunflower
  • Hydrogenated vegetable oils (Crisco, etc.)
  • Margarine

Include High-Quality Protein with Every Meal

  • Pasture-raised eggs, chicken and other fowl
  • Grass-fed beef, lamb and other red meats
  • Wild-caught fish
  • Legumes
  • Nuts

Add Fermented Foods and Probiotics

These will keep the gastrointestinal system and microbiome healthy and strong which in turn will keep the immune system strong.

  • Eat kefir yogurts, if dairy is tolerated
  • Eat fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut and kim chi
  • Eat umeboshi plums, which are very alkalizing
  • Eat miso soup, if soy is tolerated
  • Take a quality probiotic, such as VSL #3, Gut Pro, Dr. Ohirra’s Live Cultured Probiotics, Garden of Life, Klaire Labs. Work with your practitioner for a more targeted probiotic.

Optimize Blood Sugar

Blood sugar that is too high can lead to excess inflammation and hormonal imbalances.

Blood sugar that is too low can lead to attention and behavioral problems.

We recommend keeping blood sugar optimized so that it's neither too low nor too high.

Do an Elimination Diet

Children with chronic health conditions often have hidden food sensitivities and intolerances that exacerbate their symptoms. With an elimination diet, remove potentially inflammatory foods such as:

  • Casein
  • Gluten
  • Soy
  • Corn
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Shellfish
  • Nuts
  • Peanuts

Clean up Your Environment

  • Identify and remove possible environmental triggers, such as mold, dust, pet dander, and electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
  • Identify and remove possible toxic exposures in the home from purchased products, such as detergents, soaps, lotions, and other cleaning and personal care products
  • Remove animals (both live and stuffed!)
  • Remove carpets
  • Use non-toxic cleaners
  • Use non-toxic building materials

Lower Stress Levels

Viruses, bacteria and other pathogens become more active when the body is in a state of stress.

By teaching your child ways to self-regulate with practices such as prayer, reiki, meditation, yoga, qi gong, tai chi and the Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping), they can become good advocates for themselves and become active participants in the recovery process.

Practitioners of techniques such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Retraining) and jin shin jyutsu can lower stress levels for your child, as well.

See a NAET or BioSET Practitioner

Children with chronic health conditions typically also have food allergies and/or food sensitivities and intolerances.

NAET (Namudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique) and BioSET are two non-invasive methods of allergy elimination.

See a Homeopath, Naturopath or Homotoxicologist

These practitioners can diagnose and treat gastrointestinal disorders naturally so that the child’s immune, sensory, neurological and nervous systems develop without being compromised.

Ask Your Practitioner to Run Some Laboratory Tests

  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for possible food sensitivities and allergies
  • Nutritional deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin D
  • NutrEval by Genova Diagnostics Labs for malabsorption, gut dysbiosis, cellular energy, mitochondrial metabolism, neurotransmitter metabolism, vitamin deficiencies, toxin exposure and detoxification need
  • Organic Acid Test (OAT) for yeast overgrowth, other microbial infections and oxalates
  • Inflammation markers such as C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
  • Fasting blood sugar and insulin levels
  • Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA)

Use Digestive Aids with your Practitioner's Guidance

  • Betaine hydrochloric acid
  • Digestive enzymes with DPP-IV for gluten and casein intolerances
  • Proteolytic enzymes
  • BiCarb
  • Bromelain
  • Papaya

Use Supplements with Your Practitioner's Guidance

Always work with your practitioner to determine the brand, type and dosage of supplements. Common supplements include the following:

  • Cod liver oil
  • Probiotics
  • Vitamin D3
  • Methylated B complex vitamins
  • N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
  • Magnesium, zinc, selenium, iodine and other minerals
  • Others

Help Your Child Detoxify

  • Make sure your child is pooping every day. Learn more about how to clear up constipation and diarrhea.
  • Have your child exercise or move every day. Sweating carries toxins out of the body.
  • See a homotoxicologist, naturopath or homeopath for drainage remedies and detoxification aids.
  • Optimize blood sugar to allow the liver to spend more time detoxing rather than processing sugar.
  • Ionic foot baths can help detox unwanted pathogens and are easy to do with children.
  • Infared saunas can detox heavy metals through the skin by sweating. However, this form of detoxification may not be suitable for young children who lack the ability to sweat.
  • Epsom salt baths add sulfur transdermally to help with detox.

See a Chiropractor

A chiropractor can perform spinal cord adjustments, which can improve bodily functions.

Work with a Health Coach

Our Epidemic Answers health coaches are trained to understand the root causes of your child's chronic health condition.

They provide hands-on helping with the practical matters of healing such as cooking healthy foods, removing toxins from the household and helping you work more efficiently with your practitioner.

See an Acupuncturist

Acupuncture can help lower stress and anxiety. It can also help with blood-sugar and hormonal regulation.

Use homeopathy specific for asthma:

  • Ipecauana
  • Antimonium tartaricum
  • Arsenicum album
  • Phosphorous

Consider using Schueller’s cell tissue salts which can be effective as well. Sequential Homeopathy is also very effective for asthma.

For an acute asthmatic attack:

Your child’s integrative practitioner might use lobelia — Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflate) — for an acute asthmatic attack. Three parts tincture of lobelia are mixed with one part tincture of capsicum (red pepper or cayenne pepper). Twenty drops of the mixture in water are typically given at the start of an asthmatic attack. This process is then repeated every thirty minutes for a total of three or four doses.

See a craniosacral practitioner:

Craniosacral therapy can effectively treat upper respiratory symptoms by removing blocks, releasing compression and alleviating stress and pain.

Ozone:

Ozone (through the ears) can help effectively heal bacteria in upper respiratory infections and strengthen the lungs.

Still Looking for Answers?

Visit the Epidemic Answers Practitioner Directory to find a practitioner near you.

Join us inside our online membership community for parents, Healing Together, where you’ll find even more healing resources, expert guidance, and a community to support you every step of your child’s healing journey.

Sources & References

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