Home Remedies For Asthma

Go with the flow. The phrase peak flow refers to the total volume of air that you're able to exhale in one breath. Peak flow decreases shortly before an asthma attack. So by regularly monitoring your peak flow, you know in advance when symptoms are going to strike-and you have time to take steps to prevent them.

A peak flow monitor is easy to operate. It has two basic components: a tube similar to the one at the center of a roll of paper towels and a gauge. You blow into one end of the tube, and the gauge measures the force of your exhalation.

Peak flow monitors are available from asthma specialists as well as from medical supply houses and catalogs. If you have questions about the monitor's operation, ask your doctor.

Breathe from your belly. If you have trouble getting air into your lungs, you understandably feel anxious. But this anxiety contributes to rapid, shallow breathing, which can lead to an asthma attack. It's a vicious circle.

To break the circle, Dr. Firshein recommends regular practice of a technique called belly breathing. "Most people think that breathing is automatic;" he notes. "Few know that there's a right and wrong way to do it. Belly breathing helps condition the lungs and diaphragm to prevent asthma attacks."

To try belly breathing, lie on your back and place a book on your abdomen. As you inhale and exhale, your abdomen should expand and contract enough to move the book up and down several inches. Practice this exercise for 5 minutes three or four times a day.

Decorate with potted plants. While studying how to freshen the air inside spaceships, NASA scientists discovered that ferns clear out formaldehyde and other airborne pollutants. So fill your home and office with ferns and other environmentally friendly plants, including areca palm, weeping fig, peace lily, corn plant, and philodendron.

Learn to spurn heartburn. To prevent nighttime heartburn and the asthma symptoms that it triggers, avoid eating or drinking anything within 3 hours of bedtime. Also, sleep with your head elevated, suggests Anne Simons, M.D. You can do this by using extra pillows or by propping up your head­board on bricks or wood blocks.

Kick-start with caffeine. According to pharmacists Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D., coauthors of The People's Pharmacy books, coffee can serve as a bronchodilator in a pinch. The caffeine in coffee is chemically related to the bronchodilator theophylline, once a mainstay of asthma therapy. If you're not a fan of coffee, you can get a shot of caffeine by sipping black tea or most any cola.