Blog About Health & Medicine

“Asthma, Had it for years. Comes and goes. The threat of it is always there. Have been tested and tested. Allergic to dozens of things. Some may bring on an attack, some don’t seem to make any difference. A touch of ‘flu or even a cold may bring it on. Or something upsets me. Mother was affected the same way. I don’t know what to do about it.

Tm tied to this spray. Don’t move without it. Forgot it the other day. Everything going well. Then discovered I had not got it, and the fright was enough to bring on an attack.”

Asthma is one of the conditions which demonstrates clearly the multicausal nature of disease. There is the genetic factor, the allergy, the respiratory infection and the stress factor. In different patients the different factors are of varying importance. The ultimate physiological cause, of course, is the contraction of the small air passages in the lungs. This may be complicated by the exudation of mucus which further obstructs the air passages.

The genetic factor means that some individuals are inherently more susceptible. The allergy produces disordered function of the cells. The infection further irritates them. The muscles in the air tubes are supplied by nerves from the autonomic nervous system, and so are vulnerable to stress. If the influence of one factor can be reduced, it may mean that the total influence of all the other factors is insufficient to produce the contraction of the air passages, and so bring on an attack.

Approximately one third of asthma patients, whom I have seen, and who have learned to reduce their stress through intensive meditation, have ceased to suffer attacks. About one third have been improved, and about one third have not been helped. An interesting point is that many of those who have been helped had very well-marked allergies.

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Old age

“Winter is coming. The sun is setting. The cold wind blows. The last of autumn’s leaves flee across the grass. All natural enough. But why the thoughts? This leaf is me. And the next, and the next. They go to enrich the earth, and the new season’s growth. But me? Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts. It never ends. But of course it will.”

There is such a difference between simple repetitious thoughts and philosophical thinking. The one clogs our brain to no purpose, priming it for inevitable stress. But philosophical thinking allows some new understanding. Our coping mechanisms are enhanced, and the stream of disruptive thought subsides to a trickle.

Widowed

“Widowed, it is three or four years now. And I am coping no better. When part of you has gone you are maimed; life is not the same. Changes are made, and a new way of life starts. That’s not the coping I mean. That’s the chair where she used to sit. It’s empty now. How she would have liked this? What would she have said about that? Strange, because I know that she would have liked this. And I know what she would have said about that. But the thoughts of it are still there. The emptiness of home-coming. Why should I feel like this? I can cope, I can cope. But I can’t. The restless pillow. Restless, because it is made for two. My brain is in turmoil. Peace has gone from me. Team up with another? What would she think of that? If one does not know, how can it matter? But it is not as simple as that.”

We can test ourselves. Toes in the water before stepping in. Explore. Life is a sequence of explorations. One reality after the next. Why call a halt when one phase ends, and we must move to the next?

Dying

“I am older. This trouble I have could break out again at any moment. Keep thinking of death. We all must die. I know that. But knowing it is not much help. Say goodbye to a friend. Is this the last time? Will I ever see him again? It’s my own weakness. Tried going to church, but it did not seem to help.”

With some, the approach of death, and their thinking about it, sends enough messages to the brain to be a real cause of stress. I have seen others with whom the approach of death has brought no stress at all. Not just those who are seeking relief from the burden of life. But people who have developed some inner tranquility in which they seem to understand that life and death are really just different aspects of some greater process.

Many patients dying of cancer, whom I have shown how to meditate, have developed this tranquility of mind, without my saying anything about it.

The experience of letting the mind run quietly has enabled the brain to sort things out. The disturbing messages are integrated, and the individual is free from stress.

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Allergic Asthma

The acute attack of allergic (or extrinsic) asthma is an episodic shortness of breath which lasts hours or days and varies from a tightness in the chest to a severe difficulty in breathing, accompanied by wheezing sounds in the lungs. It may develop suddenly; it may be accompanied by a cough which produces thick mucus; and it may cause breathing which is easy in inspiration but difficult in expiration. Prolonged coughing spells may cause vomiting of food and mucus. Between attacks, the child may be free of symptoms, or he may suffer from spells of coughing and difficulty in breathing.

The attack becomes chronic if the above symptoms continue for a few days in which mild activity and minor events (such as laughing) may be enough to start a new strong attack.

The acute attack becomes statics asthmaticus if it is not relieved by the conventional asthma drugs. The child becomes apprehensive and agitated; he leans forward in his bed, sweats, and strains to expand his chest; he has a quick heartbeat and a wheezing sound in the lungs that one can hear at a distance; his chest becomes inflated; and his breath sounds are diminished.

Allergic asthma may be caused by foods such as nuts, shellfish, eggs, chocolate, fresh fruit, and mustard; by inhalants such as pollen, house dust, epidermoids, and molds; by drugs; and by bacteria and viruses.

A special kind of asthma caused by molds has certain characteristics which distinguish it from other types of asthma. It has a dramatic onset at night. The child wakes up short of breath, livid, and panicky, but with very little wheezing in his chest. Or it may happen during any day of the year, provided that day has been sunny and warm. The child is free of symptoms when snow is on the ground because snow covers the soil and prevents the mold spores from rising into the air. It is also connected to the eating of mold-containing foods such as Chinese sauces or blue, Roquefort, or Camembert cheeses or to the drinking of any kind of beer fermented with yeast. It is frequent among children of farmers because manure, compost, dead leaves, and musty hay harbor molds.

The advent of air travel (causing extreme changes in the climatic environment), the increase of intermarriage, the use of molds as drugs (penicillin), and the frenzied pace of modern life all contribute to an increase in this kind of asthma.

Non-allergic Asthma

Non-allergic (intrinsic) asthma comes about when a spasm in the muscles of the bronchi occurs after irritants such as cold, damp air, or air containing fumes, tobacco smoke, insecticides, perfumes, and sprays succeed in breaking a child’s asthma threshold. An asthma threshold is a theoretical line of defense against spasm situated in the sensory nerve endings lying under the mucosa of the lungs.

Mixed asthma is both allergic and non-allergic at the same time; aspirin asthma is neither allergic nor non-allergic.

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•    Breastfeed your children totally for at least the first six months. Wean them on to sugar-free, unrefined whole-foods right from the start of solids.

•     Discourage a taste for sweet foods. Read labels carefully and avoid foods and drinks with added sugar. If you can’t ban sweets altogether, give them in batches after meals rather than letting children eat them between meals; or have a ‘sweet day’ once a week when the children can eat sweets to their heart’s content and then prohibit them during the rest of the week.

•     Give them fruit or savory foods for school snacks and discourage them from buying sweets at the tuck-shop.

•     As a family eat healthy, unrefined foods rich in dietary fibre.

•     Ensure that you have a toothbrush for every member of the family. A good brush should have a small head, with soft nylon bristles and a flat brushing surface, so that you can reach all parts of the mouth. As soon as the bristles begin to splay out, replace the brush.

•     Teach your children to clean their teeth from a very early age. A toddler can play with a toothbrush to get used to it but until they are about 8 or 9 children need to have their teeth cleaned for them by an adult if it is to be done well. Get the child to do them first; then follow up with a proper clean.

•     Teaching children to clean their teeth properly is greatly helped by using disclosing tablets or solutions. These are harmless food dyes that stain the plaque and show how ineffective the brushing has been at getting rid of it. Once the plaque has been disclosed (stained) get the child to try to brush it away-both of you will be surprised at just how sticky plaque is. Disclosing tablets can be obtained from chemists and dentists.

•     Always use fluoride toothpaste, but discourage little children from swallowing it. Never scrub the teeth across, always brush from gum to tooth, and remember to clean the inside surfaces of the teeth and the crinkly biting surfaces of the big back teeth.

•     When your children are older (about 12 or 13) they can be shown how to use dental floss. Pull out about 10 in from the container and wrap it around the middle fingers of both hands and make a ‘bridge’ of floss across your two thumbs. Gently ease the floss between the two teeth (in front of a mirror is easiest) being very careful not to snap it down and cut the gum. Gently scrape it up and down the sides of the neighboring teeth to remove plaque and food residues. Once you have done one gap go on to the next and work systematically from gap to gap. The whole thing takes about two minutes when you get good at it.

•     Take your children to the dentist regularly every six months from the age of 3. This will enable him or her to pick up disease early, to prevent the unnecessary loss of valuable first teeth, and to use surface applications of fluoride which are valuable preventives against decay. Discuss with your dentist whether fluoride tablets would be beneficial to your child.

•     If in doubt about anything ask your dentist, and encourage him or her to be interested in prevention. Show him that you think it is important for you and your children.

•     Adults should follow the advice given above but don’t need to go for regular check-ups nearly so often as children. Fluoride toothpaste is still advisable and valuable.

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•     Feed your baby at the breast alone for at least 4-6 months, especially if there is any family history of asthma, eczema or hay fever. This protects the susceptible baby from cows’ milk proteins and makes asthma less likely to occur in later life.

•     If there is a history of allergy in the family it makes sense to take this one stage further and restrict the intake of eggs, milk, wheat and nuts during pregnancy. Recent research suggests that intra-uterine sensitization can occur in highly susceptible families so an excess of any food, drug or chemical is best avoided during pregnancy.

•     Avoid cold air whenever possible. Keep away from smokers and don’t smoke yourself.

•     Get a good air filter. The best models are high-particulate smoker’s air filters and can relieve asthmatic symptoms in 10-30 minutes. A summer camp in West Virginia installed air filters in the sleeping accommodation and found that the number of asthmatic episodes among the children was significantly reduced.

•     Drink plenty of fluids to keep chest mucus thin and coughable. Drink 1/2-l cup of fluid every waking hour. Drink only warm (i.e. not cold) fluids or you could actually trigger an attack. Warm drinks dilate the airways and can be used as a way of preventing an attack as you feel one coming on.

•    Clear your house of the dust mite if this is what troubles you. Scrupulous cleaning of a child’s room helps. Vacuum the mattress thoroughly and enclose it in an impervious plastic box-type cover. Blankets made from synthetic fibres, foam pillows and vinyl floor coverings are best. Frequent, damp dusting and vacuuming will keep the mite population to a minimum. Certain children obtain relief from a series of desensitizing injections to the house-dust mite.

•    You may have to get rid of your pet if it is causing really troublesome asthmatic attacks but this is often not necessary with scrupulous domestic hygiene. Keep all animals out of the bedrooms.

•    Avoid foods you know bring on your asthma. Similarly, avoid all drugs containing aspirin if they affect you adversely.

•    If you feel an attack coming on-don’t panic. Practice the following deep breathing exercise to abort the attack.

1. Think of your stomach and chest as two containers of air. Breathe slowly through your nose and fill first the bottom container. Continue until your abdomen bulges out.

2. Exhale through your mouth. The abdomen should now feel empty and your tummy should feel flat.

3. Repeat this inhaling and exhaling gently and slowly twelve times. The average asthmatic breathes at only 60 or 70 per cent of his or her total capacity, and during an attack this can fall to 20 per cent. By learning to breathe deeply an asthmatic can increase the amount of oxygen he or she takes in and can reduce the severity of an attack or abort it altogether.

•    Reduce weight. Even being only a little overweight can be a problem for an asthmatic because carrying too much fat, especially around the diaphragm, is like wearing a tight garment-it restricts breathing.

•    Take vitamin C. In one study volunteers who usually suffered from exercise-induced asthma were given 500 mg vitamin Ñ before an exercise test. Their tolerance to exercise was doubled. In another study 1 g vitamin Ñ a day seemed to protect against having asthmatic attacks. Those who took it had 75 per cent fewer attacks than those receiving a placebo. When they stopped the vitamin Ñ they once more suffered from their attacks.

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