Asthma Main Info Page

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways, making it difficult for a child to breathe. It can cause shortness of breath and reoccurring periods of a high-pitched whistling sound as the child breathes, known as wheezing. Coughing usually accompanies the breathing difficulties at night or in the early morning.

An asthma attack can be triggered by an allergic reaction or some other form of sensitivity to allergens such as pollen, dry leaves, cats, smoke, air pollution, grass, dust mites, mold and burning wood. Today, asthma is one of the most common long-term respiratory conditions found among children.

What Your Doctor May Tell You About Asthma

Your pediatrician may tell you that your child has had many of the risk factors for developing asthma such as:

• Frequent respiratory infections
• Familial history of autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma, especially on the mother’s side
• Second-hand smoke
• Poor hygiene
• Allergies

Mainstream Medical Treatment of Asthma

Your child may be given an inhaler with steroid medication for long-term control, prevention and management of acute asthma attacks. An inhaler is a device with a holding chamber to ensure that the medication reaches the lungs. Alternatively, your child may be given a nebulizer which is a machine that includes compressor tubing and a mask to deliver the medication. These steroid medications can stunt a child’s growth and are also addictive with devastating side effects from long-term usage, but your child’s pediatrician may tell you this outweighs the risk of not being able to breathe.

If medications are unable to help your child, your pediatrician may suggest seeing a specialist such as an allergist or immunologist. The allergist may administer allergy shots (immunotherapy) to help with the allergies triggering the asthma attacks.

In certain cases, your child’s doctor may suggest having an adenotonsillectomy, which is the surgical remove of the child’s adenoids and tonsils. Pediatricians may tell you that this procedure in most cases can eventually stop asthma completely.

Another Way to Think About Asthma

Asthma is an indication that the immune system is compromised and that there are underlying imbalances that have resulted in inflammation in the bronchial tubes that need to be identified and addressed.

The “Atopic March”

Eczema, allergies and asthma are known as the “atopic march” or “atopic triad” because they are so commonly seen together. Up to 76% of children with severe eczema as children will go on to develop asthma.

Steroids Can Drive the Disease Process Deeper

Eczema often leads to the development of asthma if it is treated with a steroid (cortisone) cream. Steroids suppress the immune system, thus driving the disease process deeper. Skin is the body’s largest organ and typically the first organ to visually serve as an indicator that something is wrong with the body on the inside. It is also the body’s largest organ of detoxification. If the body’s immune system is told by steroids not to use the skin as an organ of elimination, it will resort to the next available organs, the lungs.

Asthma Healing Checklist

Regulate the Nervous System

Nervous-system dysregulation is a common root cause of asthma. This dysregulation can come about from a variety of stressors, but birth trauma is a very common cause. Remember that the body cannot heal if it is in a state of stress, so learn about the many ways to destress the body, whether it’s through structural therapies such as neurologic chiropractic care, mind-body-spirit therapies, neurodevelopmental therapies, or strategies to boost vagal tone such as breathwork. Craniosacral therapy, acupunture and breathwork are notable for their accessibility, ease of use with children, and success in reducing stress and anxiety that can contribute to asthma.

Eliminate Dairy from the Diet

Dairy can be one of the biggest culprits of asthma because it is a common food sensitivity, which is a different kind of immune reaction than an outright allergy. Mainstream allergists only check for anaphylactic (IgE) allergies, not sensitivities or intolerances.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), dairy is eliminated for asthma because it is classified as a phlegm-producing food that generates dampness and congestion in the lungs. Dairy also chills and weakens the spleen, which then fails to process fluids properly, leading to mucus accumulation. A TCM practitioner would likely recommend avoiding dairy while instead eating warm, cooked, and moistening foods such as pears and soups to support lung health and clear phlegm.

Check for Other Food Sensitivities

There could also be other foods that trigger asthma attacks such as gluten, eggs and others. An elimination diet can help you determine if any common foods could be contributing to the inflammation and immune dysregulation underlying asthma. It’s best to keep a food journal to detect which, if any, foods your child is sensitive to, as sometimes it can take two to three days for asthma or other unusual symptoms such as headache, constipation, lack of focus, irritability or unusual behaviors to appear.

Use Allergy-Elimination Techniques

Allergy-elimination techniques such as BioSET (Bio-energetic Sensitivity and Enzyme Therapy), NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique), the Ellen Cutler method, Low-Dose Allergen (LDA) therapy, and ART (Allergy Release Technique) can all help with the lowering or elimination of symptoms associated with asthma. Even acupuncture, acupressure and certain digestive enzymes can help.

Correct Cell-Membrane Composition

Daniela Lawler explained in one of our expert interviews that a dysregulated cell membrane can be the missing piece in healing chronic health conditions. Dysfunctional membrane composition can prevent proper cellular signaling and resolution of infections or inflammation. After addressing cell-membrane health through lipid replacement and foundational factors, she has observed that chronic health conditions, even mold sensitivity, can sometimes resolve without direct treatment, suggesting that the root problem is often cell-membrane instability and an inability to cope with insults.

Heal the Gut

A gut-healing diet such as the GAPS diet, Body Ecology Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet and the Paleo/primal diet can help to rebalance the gut dysbiosis that is common in children with asthma. These diets typically remove the preferred food of gut pathogens while providing prebiotic and probiotic foods to helpful gut microbes. We recommend following one of these specialty diets for at least six months and keeping a food journal to see if any positive or negative changes occur for your child. You can also read our page on healing the gut here.

Check Vitamin D Status

Low vitamin D levels are significantly correlated with asthma, particularly regarding disease severity, control, and exacerbation risk. Supplementation with vitamin D might or might not improve asthma episodes, though, as it is but one factor of the total load of factors that contribute to the immune dysregulation underlying asthma.

Give Epsom Salt Foot Baths

Both magnesium and sulfur supplementation can be used to help with symptoms of asthma; see Sources & References below. Epsom salts are chemically known as magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, meaning that they contain both magnesium and sulfur. Magnesium can relax the airways, while sulfur can assist with detoxification of the liver.

Check for Mold

Mold exposure is associated with an increased risk of developing or worsening asthma. Keep in mind that exposure could be happening at home or at your child’s school. One of the best indicators that mold may be a problem for your child is if symptoms improve while away from the home or school for more than a few days. We have extensive resources on our website about how to test for mold in the home or school, which you can find here, and how to test if there is reactivity by your child’s body, which you can find here.

In our experience, if healing of a chronic health condition has stalled or plateaued, there is usually a hidden mold problem in the home or school. In addition, as stated above, cell-membrane dysregulation could be an underlying factor to mold sensitivity.

Detoxify the Body

Asthma is a signal by the body that it needs help with detoxification. There are gentle ways to help a child’s body detoxify, such as Epsom salts baths (mentioned above), sweating, and eating cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. You can learn more about these and other methods here. In addition, practitioners such as homotoxicologists and naturopaths can provide additional tools for detoxificaiton.

Avoid Acetaminophen

The use of acetaminophen (also known as Tylenol and paracetemol) is associated with asthma in children, primarily because it depletes the body of glutathione, an important antioxidant. This can lead to oxidative stress and airway inflammation, potentially triggering asthma symptoms or exacerbations.

Avoid Antibiotics

Antibiotics contribute to gut dysbiosis, which in turn can drive the immune dysregulation that underlies asthma. If antibiotics are presented as the only option for a condition or situation, consider working with a naturopath, functional-medicine doctor, herbalist, homeopath or Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner for alternative options.

Avoid Antibacterial Products

Antibacterial soaps, toothpastes, lotions, sprays and other personal-care and home-care products can contribute to gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation, just as antibiotics do. Instead of being in the mindset of “killing germs”, which is impossible and only leads to more-resistant bacteria such as MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), consider taking a more-balanced approach. Handwashing and other forms of hygiene are fine to do without using antibacterial products.

Avoid Harsh Chemicals and Synthetic Fragrances

Not only are harsh household chemicals such as chlorine bleach irritating to the lungs, but they can also contribute to the total load of toxicity in your child’s body. In addition, synthetic fragrances such as the ones found in dryer sheets, fabric softeners, detergents, lotions, soaps and perfumes are known to trigger or worsen asthma in a large subset of asthmatics. Even natural essential oils can trigger asthma attacks, so avoid them as well. Learn about ways you can support your family’s health by checking out our greening your home and life resources.

Watch and Read Other Parents’ Success Stories

We have been documenting the success of parents helping their children heal from chronic health conditions for quite a while. We have quite a few that we’ve collected about children healing from asthma. Watching and reading their stories may give you inspiration for your own child’s healing journey:

• Nathan
• Maggie
• Ethan
• Rodger
• Johnny and Nate

See a Homeopath

Homeopathy is a gentle way to induce healing reactions in the body. Consult a homeopath to see if any of the following remedies could reduce your child’s asthmatic symptoms.

• Ipecauana
• Antimonium tartaricum
• Arsenicum album
• Phosphorous

Consider using Schueller’s cell salts which can be effective as well. Sequential homeopathy can also very effective for asthma.

Your child’s homeopath might use lobelia — Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflate) — for an acute asthmatic attack. Three parts tincture of lobelia are mixed with one part tincture of capsicum (red pepper or cayenne pepper). Twenty drops of the mixture in water are typically given at the start of an asthmatic attack. This process is then repeated every thirty minutes for a total of three or four doses.

Other Items to Consider

Please review the lists in the blue box below to see if there are other diet, lifestyle and therapies to consider. Click on the small white circles at the bottom of the box to advance to the next subject.

About Maria Rickert Hong CHHC

Prior to working on Wall Street, she was a marketing specialist for Halliburton in New Orleans, where she also received her MBA in Finance & Strategy from Tulane University.

She is the author of the bestselling book Almost Autism: Recovering Children from Sensory Processing Disorder and the co-author of Brain Under Attack: A Resource for Parents and Caregivers of Children with PANS, PANDAS, and Autoimmune Encephalitis. She is a co-author of Reversal of Autism Symptoms among Dizygotic Twins through a Personalized Lifestyle and Environmental Modification Approach: A Case Report and Review of the Literature, J. Pers. Med. 2024, 14(6), 641.

Maria is also a Certified Holistic Health Counselor. Her work can be found on DocumentingHope.com, Healing.DocumentingHope.com, Conference.DocumentingHope.com and MariaRickertHong.com

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