Asthma

A subject I feel well qualified to write about having suffered for a good many years until I got to grips with what was causing the problem. I'm not cured, but I very, very rarely have to use chemical inhalants.

I discovered that I have allergies to dust mites, cats and dogs, and grass pollens. These are true allergies rather than intolerances, as indicated by the presence of antibodies. I knew long before I had the blood tests that I was allergic to dust, cats and dogs (a shame because I like both). To control the dust allergy I learned to wet dust, as I find polish to also be an irritant. Recently I have found that I can tolerate cats and dogs without becoming a sneezing wreck. I attribute this to a combination of the following: euphrasia, butterbur and chlorophyll.

The triggers for asthmatics vary from individual to individual and so there is no blanket cure that I am aware of; my junk mail tells me there is, but of course I have to buy the book first. Observation was my way to recovery, a long process for me, unfortunately.

I have always been a fan of real ale, but it was not as freely (I wish) available as it is now, so in the past I used to drink keg beer, which has chemical additives. After a weekend I would always find that my asthma would worsen and then by mid-week alleviate. However, now that I drink nothing but real ale, well apart from the occasional glass of water ;-) the Monday and Tuesday syndrome eased, but I have since discovered that the main culprit was that my body could not tolerate pulses. Who'd have thought the humble baked bean or chickpea flour, or soya could trigger asthma?!

The removal of dairy products from my diet helped tremendously. Again it appears to be an intolerance, rather than an allergy, and the problem seems to be an over production of mucous. Wheat is also recognised as a common allergen for some asthmatics, but I've not been able to pin-point it for my condition. However, it may be worthwhile for sufferers to experiment with exclusion diets, but please take qualified medical advice.

To relieve symptoms try adding garlic, onions, ginger, chillies, cloves and liquorice (not the sweets :-( but do not take if you have high blood pressure) to your diet, as they all act as decongestants. I find that using liquid ginkgo helps a lot in relieving wheezing and that this is probably due to its anti-inflammatory properties. As a habit, I now use it daily first thing in the morning.

I am very interested in peoples anecdotal stories about how they overcame niggling or even chronic health problems