Many patients who suffer from extreme asthma look to natural remedies to help reduce their symptoms, in addition to doctor-prescribed medications (i.e., inhaled corticosteroids such as Fluticasone or Flovent HFA) and other breathing therapies. The following natural treatments are meant to compliment your medication to ease your symptoms, lower the amount of medication you consume, and enhance the quality of your life. Of course, seek doctor advice before using any of these natural treatments.
However, it is essential to note that these treatments only work best when consumed alongside your regular prescribed asthma medications.
1. Yoga
Yoga entails breathing and stretching exercises to help improve flexibility and enhance your general fitness. For most individuals out there, incorporating yoga-exercises can lower stress, which triggers asthma in most cases. Secondly, the breathing strategies used in yoga training may also lower the frequency of asthma attacks. Nevertheless, there is no conclusive evidence that exists to prove this allegation.
2. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of ancient Chinese treatment that entails placing small needles into particular points on your body. However, long-term benefits of this treatment method have not yet been proven to be efficient in treating asthma. All in all, some individuals that have asthma alleges that using this treatment therapy is beneficial as it helps in enhancing airflow and managing various symptoms such as chest pains.
3. Biofeedback
Biofeedback is ordinarily an approach that utilizes electronic monitoring gadgets to assist the asthma patients in learning how to handle their bodies’ physical responses. For instance, you can use it to keep an eye on your heart rate and also discover various strategies to keep it regulated at a moderate pace. Some studies indicate that this treatment method has an impact on heart rate variability. With this aspect, the treatment helps asthma patients boost airway flow as well as the lung function. Additionally, it is another signal that shows that relaxation plays a huge role in preventing asthma attacks naturally.
4. Herbal therapy with Ding-Chan Tang (DCT)
It is believed that various Chinese herbs, such as Ding-Chan Tang (DCT), play a huge role when it comes to lowering inflammation and relieving bronchospasm. For years, this herbal therapy has been utilized as a bronchodilator.
Some of the natural treatments described above may be essential for reducing symptoms associated with asthma. So, it would be helpful to stick to the medications as prescribed by your practitioner. Moreover, most of the remedies described above have limited evidence showing that they reduce asthma attacks.
While an asthma attack may seem minor at first, it is worth noting that it can become risky very fast. During an asthma attack, your airways will narrow due to inflammation and swelling, and the muscles surrounding them will also tighten. Furthermore, the body will emit extra mucus, limiting the air that passes via the bronchial tubes. With this, it’s quite tricky for one to breathe appropriately. Some of the symptoms associated with asthma include:
- Coughing that doesn’t stop
- Shortness of breath
- Gasping when breathing out
- Pale and sweaty face
- Very rapid breathing
Treating the above symptoms helps a lot when it comes to preventing the onset and severity of an asthma attack.
