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Shortness of breath due to asthma is very troublesome. As for the treatment, it turns out that there are many natural asthma remedies that can be easily found at home. What are they?
What exactly happens to the body of someone with asthma?
Maybe you’ve been told that you have asthma. When asthma flares up, the airways will swell, narrowing and making it difficult to breathe normally.
This is because air does not flow properly into the lungs. The presence of phlegm mucus also makes it harder for the patient to breathe.
Asthma can suddenly strike due to various allergens such as dust, fatigue during exercise especially in cold weather, cigarette smoke, coughing, emotional outbursts, and even when eating trigger foods.
Asthma itself cannot be cured completely, but doctors usually give inhaled drugs to help improve shortness of breath.
Natural asthma remedies are easy to find at home
Apart from inhaled medications, there are several other ways to relieve asthma attacks, namely by consuming natural asthma medications. The ingredients used as natural asthma remedies are also commonly found at home.
Here’s a natural asthma remedy that you can use to relieve your asthma.
1. Caffeine from tea or coffee
The caffeine found in a cup of black or green tea and hot coffee can help relieve asthma in a similar way to the asthma medication theophylline, which opens the airways.
Caffeine can improve the respiratory function of asthmatics for up to four hours.
2. Essential oils
Eucalyptus, lavender, and basil oils dripped into a diffuser for steam inhalation can help relieve asthma and bronchitis attacks.
3. Mustard oil
It may seem unfamiliar but mustard oil is not an essential oil and its application is different. Mustard oil is a fatty oil containing isothiocyanate (ITC) obtained from pressing mustard seeds.
Applying a mixture of mustard oil with salt and massaging it around the chest several times a day can be done until the asthma attack subsides. This massage is done to help open the airways while improving lung function.
Apart from oil, there are also mustard plasters that can be applied to the chest to give a warm feeling for 15 minutes. Applying mustard plasters may cause sunburn.
4. Garlic
Garlic is known to be very beneficial for health, especially for fighting inflammation. Garlic is said to be effective in relieving asthma symptoms, which is an inflammatory disease.
5. Ginger
Another kitchen spice that can be used to relieve asthma symptoms is ginger, which also has compounds that can fight inflammation. Ginger can be taken in supplement form.
6. Honey
Honey has long been used as an alternative ingredient to relieve cold and fever symptoms by easing throat pain while reducing coughing. A mixture of honey with warm tea can help relieve asthma symptoms by opening the airways.
7. Omega-3 Oil
Omega-3 is a fat commonly found in salmon. Harboring a myriad of health benefits, consuming omega-3 can reduce inflammation in the respiratory tract as well as improve lung function in people with severe asthma.
Light exercise to relieve asthma attacks
Apart from consuming ingredients that can be found at home, relieving asthma can also be done in several ways such as breathing exercises or meditation such as yoga.
A practiced breathing pattern helps to avoid shortness of breath when asthma symptoms strike. Beyond that, alternative treatments such as acupuncture are also said to help improve the respiratory tract and control symptoms such as chest pain.
Controlling asthma by preventing it from attacking and becoming severe is very important. Therefore, make sure you get an accurate asthma diagnosis and discuss with your doctor about what to do if asthma strikes.
Record important things in your asthma journal so that you can keep an eye on yourself such as preventing asthma triggers including food intake.
Don’t forget to adopt a healthy lifestyle by exercising diligently to maintain weight and eating nutritious food and getting enough rest. Don’t forget to take your natural asthma medication.
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