We know that asthma existed in ancient Egyptian times, and there is some evidence that asthma has been around even before that. The Georg Ebers Papyrus – found in Egypt in the 1870s – contains prescriptions written in hieroglyphics for over 700 remedies. One of the ancient Egyptian remedies was to heat a mixture of herbs on bricks and inhale their fumes.

China

A few hundred years ago it was common in China to give a person with asthma herbs containing ephedrine from which they could inhale beta-agonists.

Term Asthma Comes From Greek Aazein

The term Asthma comes from the Greek verb aazein, meaning to pant, to exhale with the open mouth, sharp breath. In The Iliad, a Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) describing the siege of Troy, the expression asthma appeared for the first time.

The Corpus Hippocraticum, by Hippocrates, is the earliest text where the word asthma is found as a medical term. We are not sure whether Hippocrates (460-360 BC) meant asthma as a clinical entity or as merely a symptom. Hippocrates said spasm linked to asthma were more likely to occur among anglers, tailors and metalworkers.

Aretaeus of Cappadocia (100 AD), an ancient Greek master clinician, wrote a clinical description of asthma. Galen (130-200 AD), an ancient Greek physician, wrote several mentions of asthma which generally agreed with the Hippocratic texts and to some extent those of Aretaeus of Cappadocia. He described asthma as bronchial obstructions and treated it with owl’s blood in wine.

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204 AD), the rabbi and philosopher who lived in Andalucia (Spain), Morocco and Egypt, was also a physician who practiced medicine in the court of Sultan Saladin of Egypt and Syri. Among many medical texts, Maimonides wrote Treatise of Asthma for Prince Al-Afdal, a patient of his. Maimonides revealed that his patient’s symptoms often started as a common cold during the wet months. Eventually the patient gasped for air and coughed until phlegm was expelled. He noted that the dry months of Egypt helped asthma sufferers. Maimonides also suggested avoidance of strong medication, plenty of sleep, fluids, moderation of sexual activity, and chicken soup.

Jean Baptiste Van Helmont (1579-1644 AD), a physician, chemist and physiologist from Belgium, said that asthma originates in the pipes of the lungs.

Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714 AD), known to some as the father of sports medicine, detected a link between asthma and organic dust. He also recognized exercise-induced asthma.

At the beginning of the 20th century asthma was seen as a psychosomatic disease – an approach that probably undermined any medical breakthroughs at the time. During the 1930s to 1950s, asthma was known as one of the holy seven psychosomatic illnesses.

Asthma was described as psychological, with treatment often involving, as its primary component, psychoanalysis and other ‘talking cures’. A child’s wheeze was seen as a suppressed cry for his or her mother. Psychoanalysts thought that patients with asthma should be treated for depression. This psychiatric theory was eventually refuted and asthma became known as a physical condition.

Asthma, as an inflammatory disease, was not really recognized until the 1960s when anti-inflammatory medications started being used.

Sometimes, people put up with poor asthma control because they don’t realize how well-controlled their asthma can be. They may think that since they have this condition, they just have to live with the symptoms. Ideally, your asthma treatment should control your asthma to the point where it does not interrupt your daily activities or wake you up at night. You shouldn’t have daytime symptoms or need your reliever medication more than twice a week.

But many people do not have this level of asthma control. Often, this is because of some common concerns and misconceptions about asthma treatment, such as the following:

Taking my medication regularly will make it less effective. Many people under-dose themselves because they fear their medication will stop working if they use it regularly. In fact, the opposite is true – if you take only a fraction of the medication that you need, your asthma will get worse and you’ll end up needing more medication later.

I’m worried about side effects. It’s important to talk to your doctor or pharmacist to get the facts about what side effects to expect, how likely they are to occur (many are quite rare), and what you should do if they happen. This will help you put side effects into perspective.

I’m worried about changes in treatment. Sometimes, your doctor may suggest changes to your asthma treatment plan. This may be done to improve your asthma control (e.g., adding a medication) or to make your plan simpler or more convenient (e.g., switching to a combination product). Whatever the reason, it’s not unusual to have questions or concerns about the changes. Talking things out with your doctor can help you find a treatment that works for you and get more comfortable with using your new treatment.

Is my asthma condition that serious? For some people, ignoring the signs of losing their asthma control can lead to very serious consequences. Talk to your doctor about the potential dangers of not following your doctor’s advice.

Do any of these asthma pitfalls sound familiar? If so, discuss your concerns and misconceptions with your doctor. In general, Dr. Boulet has found that most people are quite reassured by what they learn when they talk to their doctor about their concerns.

Do’s for asthma:

• Remember to be in touch with a doctor to take care of emergencies; and take medications on time and regularly.
• Keep all “controller medications” within reach. These include inhaled corticosteroids, bronchodilators and leukotriene modifiers. You may be required to take such medicines regularly even if feeling well.
• Try to identify and control your asthma attack triggers. Once identified, avoid exposure to the trigger.
• Also learn to recognize the early signs of an attack. Many people benefit from measuring their lung function daily with a peak flow meter which measures the greatest amount of air one can exhale. This helps identify when breathing problems are starting and when to take medicine to prevent a full-fledged attack.
• Do maintain proper cleanliness inside your house. Regularly wash bedding, including pillows, quilts, bedspreads. Try to keep moisture minimum.Ensure a high level of ventilation by opening windows where possible
• If pregnant, and also prone to asthma, be extra careful to keep asthma well-controlled so as to ensure adequate oxygen for the foetus. An asthmatic woman should be in constant touch with her doctor.
• Control your environment – environmental triggers, such as dust mites and pet dander, can be hazardous if you have asthma. Learn from various study material on the internet or from the library on how to avoid triggers.
• Certain practices, such as meditation or yoga especially pranayam exercises which involve deep breathing help control asthma to a large extent. One can try them out.
• Take care of your diet. Foods such as dairy products, shrimps, shellfish, certain nuts which trigger asthma should be avoided. Citrus fruits, particularly the grapefruit, is of great benefit as it aids in clearing the accumulated mucus in the bronchial tube; and also in bringing new mucus forming elements to the tubes by the blood-stream.
• There is no special diet for disease, but the best is two to three light meals a day with the simplest combination of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain cereals and milk. This diet should definitely include citrus fruits, berries and melons, but white sugar should be strictly avoided and brown sugar to be used sparingly.
• Make it a point that if you have asthma, your lungs get plenty of fresh air. However, it is important that you avoid chilling. Warmth of the body is important to prevent an internal congestion that may aggravate an attack. Clothing should be loose at all points.
• Moderate exercises are beneficial. No specific exercises are required, but all active sports that the patient can indulge in will do – especially general setting-up exercises that involve deep breathing and use of the arm and chest muscles should be used. Heat by any continuous means to the upper spine or the upper chest also give relief. The drinking of an abundance of hot water is relaxing and often helps to abort or shorten an attack.

Don’ts in asthma:

• Do not deny the fact that you have asthma. Accept it and take medications to control it. Asthma is a chronic disease, not to be neglected – do not forget or refuse to take the medications that can control it.
• Not following an asthma treatment program is not a good choice. If people don’t take their medications it can lead to asthma flares and may even endanger their lives. In fact, deaths from asthma have actually increased in recent years. This is mainly because many people, especially teens avoid using inhalers or other medications.
• Don’t abandon life-saving tools like daily preventive medicines and peak flow meters if they’re a part of your treatment plan, even if you’re feeling absolutely fine with no symptoms. Remember, asthma is like a dormant volcano, which can erupt any time without a warning. So, its best to be prepared.
• Avoid mucus-forming foods – All mucus-forming foods such as dairy foods, chocolates, refined white flour, bread, cakes, and white sugar are best avoided in asthma. This is because excess mucus further blocks the airways and thus aggravates the condition.
• Do not smoke. Cigarette smoke is a common cause of asthma aggravation not only for yourself, but maybe for someone around you. Secondhand smoke is a common trigger of asthma attacks. If someone in your family smokes, talk to him about quitting.
• I t is necessary to avoid cold applications until considerable general improvement has been secured. Many attacks have been aggravated by cold applied to the chest or upper back.

If you have been diagnosed with asthma, it isn’t your fault. It can be easily controlled, you just need to be a bit cautious, alert and regular. With a well managed asthma, a person’s quality of life can be as good as that of a normal person

Below are ten different steps that will help you deal with an asthma attack.

1. If you notice that you’re coming down with an asthma attack, it is very important that you stop what you are doing immediately, no matter how important you think it is. There is no such thing as an unimportant asthma attack.

2. Remember to remain calm. If you begin to stress out, this will only make the attack worse.

3. If you are in the company of other people take the time to explain to them what is going on. If they have never experienced an asthma attack, they may become excited and cause you to stress out more than you already are.

4. If the attack happens while you are at home, try to avoid as much stress in the background as possible such as heavy traffic, loud dogs in the background, and any other loud noise that may be going on.

5. If at all possible, drink a lot of water. Extremely cold water will actually make your attack worse, so remember to drink lukewarm water whenever possible.

6. Do not run or walk fast in order to get to a particular place. This will only speed up your metabolism and make your asthma attack worse.

7. As soon as you make it home, make sure that the first thing that you do is sit down and relax. If possible ask someone to grab the medications that you need.

8. Talk as little as you possibly can because talking is hard work on the neck muscles, and may cause them to tense up.

9. Remember to stay warm if it is cold outside. An extra undershirt or jacket is never a bad idea if you are especially prone to asthma attacks.

10. If it’s hot outside, drink a lot of fluids and stay as cool as possible. Overheating your body will only heighten the chance that you will come down with an asthma attack.

Asthma that begins during childhood is called child-onset asthma. This type of asthma happens because a child becomes sensitized to common allergens in the environment – most likely due to genetic reasons. The child is atopic – a genetically determined state of hypersensitivity to environmental allergens.

Allergens are any substances that the body will treat as a foreign body, triggering an immune response. These vary widely between individuals and often include animal proteins, fungi, pollen, house-dust mites and some kind of dust. The airway cells are sensitive to particular materials making an asthmatic response more likely if the child is exposed to a certain amount of an allergen.

Adult-Onset Asthma

This term is used when a person develops asthma after reaching 20 years of age. Adult-onset asthma affects women more than men, and it is also much less common than child-onset asthma.

It can also be triggered by some allergic material or an allergy. It is estimated that up to perhaps 50% of adult-onset asthmas are linked to allergies. However, a substantial proportion of adult-onset asthma does not seem to be triggered by exposure to allergen(s); this is called non-allergic adult-onset asthma. This non-allergic type of adult onset asthma is also known as intrinsic asthma. Exposure to a particle or chemical in certain plastics, metals, medications, or wood dust can also be a cause of adult-onset asthma.

Exercise-Induced Asthma

If you cough, wheeze or feel out of breath during or after exercise, you could be suffering from exercise-induced asthma. Obviously, your level of fitness is also a factor – a person who is unfit and runs fast for ten minutes is going to be out of breath. However, if your coughing, wheezing or panting does not make sense, this could be an indication of exercise-induced asthma.

As with other types of asthma, a person with exercise-induced asthma will experience difficulty in getting air in and out of the lungs because of inflammation of the bronchial tubes (airways) and extra mucus.

Some people only experience asthma symptoms during physical exertion. The good news is that with proper treatment, a person who suffers from exercise-induced asthma does not have to limit his/her athletic goals. With proper asthma management, one can exercise as much as desired. Mark Spitz won nine swimming gold medals during the 1972 Olympics and he suffered from exercise-induced asthma.

Eighty percent of people with other types of asthma may have symptoms during exercise, but many people with exercise-induced asthma never have symptoms while they are not physically exerting themselves.

Cough-Induced Asthma

Cough-induced asthma is one of the most difficult asthmas to diagnose. The doctor has to eliminate other possibilities, such as chronic bronchitis, post nasal drip due to hay fever, or sinus disease. In this case the coughing can occur alone, without other asthma-type symptoms being present. The coughing can happen at any time of day or night. If it happens at night it can disrupt sleep.

Occupational Asthma

This type of asthma is triggered by something in the patient’s place of work. Factors such as chemicals, vapors, gases, smoke, dust, fumes, or other particles can trigger asthma. It can also be caused by a virus (flu), molds, animal products, pollen, humidity and temperature. Another trigger may be stress. Occupational asthma tends to occur soon after the patients starts a new job and disappears not long after leaving that job.

Nocturnal Asthma

Nocturnal asthma occurs between midnight and 8 AM. It is triggered by allergens in the home such as dust and pet dander or is caused by sinus conditions. Nocturnal or nighttime asthma may occur without any daytime symptoms recognized by the patient. The patient may have wheezing or short breath when lying down and may not notice these symptoms until awoken by them in the middle of the night – usually between 2 and 4 AM.

Nocturnal asthma may occur only once in a while or frequently during the week. Nighttime symptoms may also be a common problem in those with daytime asthma as well. However, when there are no daytime symptoms to suggest asthma is an underlying cause of the nighttime cough, this type of asthma will be more difficult to recognize – usually delaying proper therapy. The causes of this phenomenon are unknown, although many possibilities are under investigation.

Steroid-Resistant Asthma (Severe Asthma)

While the majority of patients respond to regular inhaled glucocorticoid (steroid) therapy, some are steroid resistant. Airway inflammation and immune activation play an important role in chronic asthma. Current guidelines of asthma therapy have therefore focused on the use of anti-inflammatory therapy, particularly inhaled glucocorticoids (GCs). By reducing airway inflammation and immune activation, glucocorticoids are used to treat asthma. However, patients with steroid resistant asthma have higher levels of immune activation in their airways than do patients with steroid sensitive (SS) asthma.

Furthermore, glucocorticoids do not reduce the eosinophilia (high concentration of eosinophil granulocytes in the blood) or T cell activation found in steroid resistant asthmatics. This persistent immune activation is associated with high levels of the immune system molecules IL-2 (interleukin 2), IL-4 and IL-5 in the airways of these patients.

If you or some of your friends or family member is experiencing symptoms of asthma, it’s important to see your doctor to be properly diagnosed and medicated. Although alternative therapies haven’t been shown to be as promising for asthma as they have for other conditions, here are the most  popular alternative remedies for asthma.

The Buteyko (pronounced bew-tay-ko) Breathing Technique was developed by Russian-born researcher Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko. It consists of shallow-breathing exercises designed to help people with asthma breathe easier.

The Buteyko Breathing Technique is based on the premise that raising blood levels of carbon dioxide through shallow breathing can help people with asthma. Carbon dioxide is believed to dilate the smooth muscles of the airways.

A study involving 60 people with asthma compared the effects of the Buteyko Breathing Technique, a device that mimics pranayama (a yoga breathing technique), and a placebo. Researchers found people using the Buteyko Breathing Technique had a reduction in asthma symptoms. Symptoms didn’t change in the pranayama and the placebo groups.

The use of inhalers was reduced in the Buteyko group by two puffs a day at six months, but there was no change in the other two groups.

There have been several other promising clinical trials evaluating this technique, however, they have been small in size and may have had other problems with the study design. Critics of the technique say that the technique is expensive, that it makes no difference in the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood, that higher levels of carbon dioxide is not an effective strategy, and that any effects of the technique may be due to general relaxation.

Consult your doctor before starting any new therapy for asthma.

One of the primary inflammation-causing fats in our diets is believed to be arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is found in certain foods, such as egg yolks, shellfish, and meat. Eating less of these foods is thought to decrease inflammation and asthma symptoms.

A German study examined data from 524 children and found that asthma was more prevalent in children with high levels of arachidonic acid.

Arachidonic acid can also be produced in our bodies. Another strategy to reduce levels of arachidonic acid is to increase intake of beneficial fats such as EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) from fish oil, and GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) from borage or evening primrose oil.

Omega-3 fatty acid capsules are sold in drug stores, health food stores and online. Look for the active ingredients EPA and DHA on the label.

Omega-3 fatty acid capsules may interact with blood-thinning drugs such as warfarin (Coumadin) and aspirin. Side effects may include indigestion and bleeding. To reduce a fishy aftertaste after taking fish oil capsules, they should be taken just before meals.

3) Fruits and Vegetables

• A study examining food diaries of 68,535 women found that women who had a greater intake of tomatoes, carrots and leafy vegetables had a lower prevalence of asthma.
• High consumption of apples may protect against asthma.
• Daily intake of fruits and vegetables in childhood decreased the risk of asthma.
• A University of Cambridge study found that asthma symptoms in adults is associated with a low dietary intake of fruit, vitamin C and manganese.

4) Butterbur

Butterbur is a perennial shrub that grows in Europe, Asia and North America. The active constituents are petasin and isopetasin, which are believed to reduce smooth muscle spasm and have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Researchers at the University of Dundee, Scotland, evaluated the effects of butterbur in people with allergic asthma who were also using inhalers. They found that butterbur added to the anti-inflammatory effect of the inhalers.

Another study examined the use of butterbur root extract in 80 people with asthma for four months. The number, duration, and severity of asthma attacks decreased and symptoms improved after using butterbur. More than 40 percent of people using asthma medication at the start of the study reduced their intake of medication by the end of the study.

Side effects of butterbur may include indigestion, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrha, or constipation. Pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with kidney or liver disease should not take butterbur.

Butterbur is in the ragweed plant family, so people who are allergic to ragweed, marigold, daisy, or chrysanthemum should not use butterbur.

The raw herb as well as teas, extracts, and capsules made from the raw herb should not be used because they contain substances called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can be toxic to the liver and kidneys and may cause cancer.

It is possible to remove the pyrrolizidine alkaloids from butterbur products. For example, in Germany, there is a safety limit to the level of pyrrolizidine alkaloids allowed in butterbur products. The daily recommended dose cannot exceed one microgram per day.

5) Bromelain

Bromelain is an extract from pineapples. One of the theories about how it works is that it is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties. In one study researchers at the University of Connecticut found that bromelain reduced airway inflammation in animals with allergic airway disease. Bromelain should not be used by people with allergies to pineapples. Side effects may include digestive upset and allergic reactions.

• Bromelain Fact Sheet

6) Boswellia

The herb boswellia, known in Indian Ayurvedic medicine as Salai guggal, has been found in preliminary studies to inhibit the formation of compounds called leukotrienes. Leukotrienes released in the lungs cause narrowing of airways.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of forty patients, 40 people with asthma were treated with a boswellia extract three times a day for six weeks. At the end of this time, 70 percent of people had improved. Symptoms of difficulty breathing, number of attacks, and laboratory measures had improved.

Boswellia is available in pill form. It should say on the label that it is standardized to contain 60 percent boswellic acids. It should not be taken for more than eight to 12 weeks unless otherwise recommended by a qualified health practitioner.

It is not clear what dose is safe or effective or how boswellia may interact with other asthma treatments. Side effects may include digestive upset, nausea, acid reflux or diarrhea.

7) Weight Loss

Numerous studies have found that obesity is a risk factor for asthma.