Asthma

Asthma is very frequent in modern living. Again, it used to be quite rare (one child in a school of 100, not five in every class!)

All the usual natural health approaches are relevant, but especially Nutrition and allergy.

I am trying to find the answers as to whether introducing bovine serum into the baby’s body as part of the DPT vaccine lies behind the allergic reactions to all cow products. There is a lot of resistance to any criticism of vaccines, but there is yet to be an alternative explanation.

Nutritionally, Selenium and Vitamins A and E are all particularly relevant, as they are all essential to lung tissue maintenance. Zinc is important for combating infection (ie. Colds) so is also relevant.

Allergy is a major factor, and this can be not only foods, particularly cow products but also inhaled allergies. Smoking is one of the worse bugbears and other people’s smoke is not always possible to avoid. Some others such as traffic effluent (particularly diesel) and pollen all virtually impossible to avoid.

However, people did not used to be as sensitive to pollen as they are these days, so I suspect (a) the lungs of the children have been made weaker with a shortage of selenium A and E and (b) some of the pollen, (such as rape seed) is laced with organophosphate pesticide, (c) vaccines are not entirely blameless.

As margarine is falling out of favour we may need less rapeseed (which has a particularly tiny light pollen that readily travels on the breeze). Hopefully, in future, smaller amounts may be cultivated and less treated with pesticides – or not at all!

Farmers please note, if you are growing it anyway for cattle feed, if you grow it organically you will be doing your cows and your locality generally and the customers who drink the milk, a great favour – and they’re worth it! If you are living near a farmer who grows a lot of it, discuss this with him.

The children suffer the most but we can give them drops of selenium and Vitamin E, and this is usually extremely helpful in lessening the number of attacks and the severity. Also Ziman and Vitamin drops to help prevent colds.

It is also important to study “Find Out” and “Watch It”, as many food additives in common use can bring on attacks, and some household cleaners etc.

After all these years of doctors knowing how allergens produce conditions such as asthma, no doubt you will be amazed and angry to see how many of these substances are still in everyday use. You are not alone.

In 2007 Foresight sent the recently up-dated edition of “Find Out” to every single MP in the House of Commons with a covering letter pointing out the suffering that could be alleviated by the publicizing of all those with harm potential, and manufacturers being asked / persuaded / banned from using those not on the safe list. (See “Find Out” summary). The following additives can cause asthma.

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As you know, SIX were banned.

I put a lot down to the fact that probably nobody in the House has ever seen a tiny child having a severe asthma attach. Also, I believe 13 bars in the House is an unlucky number.

I think it would be helpful if some of those employed in the Department of Health had done at least 10 years nursing on the wards looking after people with the conditions they are legislating / organising about. They also need backing by people with many years experience in alternative medicine.

The asthmatic’s home also needs to be guarded against noxious elements as much as possible. Useful people are Eco Paints (toxin-free paint), Healthy House and Green Fibres (toxin free bedding and furnishings). Blendworth at Horndean in Hampshire (spray-free curtain material) Ecover (toxin-free cleaning materials). (See Useful Addresses).

All good for babies generally, but for asthma-prone families in particular.

Many families have found that a tendency to allergy starts, or becomes more marked, after vaccination. This is why the question of vaccination has to be taken so seriously. (See Section on Vaccination).

The homeopaths can give a great deal of help, I think it is really essential these days to have a good homeopath helping you to bring up a healthy family, in what is often not a child-friendly environment.

To summarise: preconceptually make sure your own and the child’s intake of Selenium, Vitamins A and E are optimal. This will fortify the lungs.

Make sure to avoid the intake of food allergens. Often it is gluten or milk. It is particularly likely to be gluten if the sufferer is sensitive to grass pollen, as grains are “big grasses”. (Do you react to lawn mowing?)

Sometimes goat and/or Buffalo milk can be a useful substitute to cows milk. (See Section on Allergy). Fish can also be a problem, as can white of egg, but not with every child.

Do what you can to avoid inhaled allergens. Frequently washed and well rinsed net curtains may be some help, but they must let through some air and the culpable particles are minute, so some will get through, so nets will only be a partial answer.

Organic bedding will help. Toxin-free paint, curtains and carpet will help.

I have seen it being said recently in the papers that mothers “keeping their children too clean” is a factor, and that in the old days when children were dirtier and allowed to play in the dirt, they built up an immunity and were healthier. Rubbish!

In my school-days and when I worked in a school we had hundreds of perfectly clean children without allergies.

This is just one of the clever-clever “we don’t know the answer, so let’s blame the mothers” ploys. (Then if all the children appeared at nursery or at school filthy–dirty – the mothers could be targeted again for fecklessness!)

The children I knew with no allergies had mothers who had taken cod liver oil in pregnancy (judicious amounts of Vitamin A) and by and large, they had not smoked (so no over-use of their selenium!)

The food was not full of noxious additives, nor were the cleaning materials. The furnishings were not full of organophosphates, not was it blowing on the wind from a million fields of pesticide-treated crops.

The children were not jabbed with vaccines containing (a) bugs, (b) animal lymph such as bullocks lymph – which (c) may be contaminated with antibiotics used for “growth promoters” and (d) Thymerasol (mercury preservative).

So let’s just do the best we can to take the environment back to what it was in those days, and see how we get on.

Splendid young mothers who contact me and are willing “to try anything” to get the little ones right, bring back very hopeful reports.

Breathing exercises are also helpful. Books are available about this.

Homeopathy, again, can be a good back up. Nosodes re: vaccination and/or for allergens can help.

I have not heard of reflexology being used for asthma, but if anybody has tried it I would be interested to hear. It can direct energy to where it is needed and this might stimulate the lungs to clear out mucus etc.

Many of you ring me and say “I have one darling little girl/boy, and would love to have another one, but they suffer from asthma and we have had some horrendous scenes – had to rush to the hospital for oxygen therefore she/he’s on steroids… when s/he cries with it I think s/he is going to choke to death… I couldn’t go through this again….”

Yes, we do help. Yes we do get them better. No you won’t have to go through all this again.

Try as above, and keep in touch. We will get there.