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Ailmemts & Remedies

Allergic Asthma

Definition:
Allergic (extrinsic) asthma is characterized by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction. Allergic asthma is airway obstruction and inflammation that is partially reversible with medication. Allergic asthma is the most common form of asthma, affecting over 50% of the 20 million asthma sufferers.Over 2.5 million children under age 18 suffer from allergic asthma. Many of the symptoms of allergic and non-allergic asthma are the same (coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or rapid breathing, and chest tightness). However, allergic asthma is triggered by inhaled allergens such as dust mite allergen, pet dander, pollen, mold, etc. resulting in asthma symptoms.

click & see the pictures
Allergies and asthma often occur together. The same substances that trigger your hay fever symptoms may also cause asthma signs and symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing and chest tightness. This is called allergic asthma or allergy-induced asthma. Substances such as pollen, dust mites and pet dander are common triggers. In some people, skin or food allergies can cause asthma symptoms.

An allergic response occurs when immune system chemicals (antibodies) mistakenly identify a harmless substance such as tree pollen as a dangerous invader. In an attempt to protect your body from the substance, antibodies attack the allergen. The chemicals released by your immune system lead to allergy signs and symptoms, such as nasal congestion, runny nose, itchy eyes or skin reactions. For some people, this same reaction also affects the lungs and airways, leading to asthma symptoms.

Symptoms:

The main symptoms are coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and a tight feeling in the chest.

…...CLICK & SEE

Difference Between Allergy and non-Allergic Asthma:

Allergic asthma symptoms are similar to the non-allergy asthma ones. Both types of sufferers experience wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, chest pain or pressure, shortness of breath, sleep troubles. The early warning symptoms can be signs of frequent colds such as sneezing, sore throat, nasal congestion, running nose, or a permanent feeling of tiredness and bad mood. While both types of asthma manifest the same symptoms, the difference is made by the trigger of these symptoms. In case of allergic asthma, attacks are triggered by allergens such as pollens, pet dander, mold or dust. This is why all asthma sufferers need to be aware of their type of asthma, so they can apply preventive measures such as eating healthy foods and staying away from allergens. It is very important that allergic asthma sufferers try not to get in contact with the substances they are allergic to (allergens). These substances are easy to be determined by running some special tests, which any allergology lab can do.


Causes:

Asthma often runs in ‘atopic’ families. Children are also more likely to develop asthma if their mother smoked during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Most people find several things trigger their asthma. Some of the most common predisposing factors for asthma are allergies to:

•House dust mites
•Mould spores
•Pollen
•Pets
•Food or food preservatives

Asthma triggers include:

•Viral infections, such as colds and flu
•Cigarette smoke
•Certain forms of exercise, such as running
•Exposure to cold, dry air
•Laughing and other emotions
•Medication containing aspirin
•Drinks containing sulphur dioxide, such as squashes and lemon barley water

Treatment:
Some treatment can reduce both asthma and allergy symptoms, but most are designed to treat either one or the other. A few treatments can help with both conditions.

There are two main treatments for asthma:

•Relievers – salbutamol and terbutaline
•Preventers – beclomethasone, budesonide, fluticasone, mometasone and ciclesonide
These all come in a variety of delivery devices, such as aerosol or powder inhalers and nebulisers. You breathe the medicine in through your mouth, directly into your lungs.

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Relievers are drugs called bronchodilators (based on adrenaline) that relax the muscles which surround the airways, making it easier to breathe. You should take these as directed by your doctor as soon as symptoms appear.

Taking a dose of the reliever inhaler before exercise will increase your stamina and prevent breathing difficulty.

Preventers are drugs (usually low-dose steroids) that reduce inflammation in the airways and make them less sensitive. This means you’re less likely to react when exposed to a trigger.

The protective effect of this medicine is built up over a period of time, so you must take your preventer regularly, as directed by your doctor.

Combination preventer and long-acting reliever (formoterol and salmeterol) inhalers have become popular and seem to be particularly good at controlling more severe and persistent asthma.

If your asthma is really bad, your doctor may also prescribe a short course of steroid tablets to calm your inflamed airways.

Newer anti-inflammatory medication includes leukotriene receptor antagonists (montelukast and zafirlukast), which are particularly useful for brittle asthma and patients with aspirin-sensitive asthma.

The most recent addition to the list of possible treatments for asthma is a new injection medication (omalizumab) for those with severe allergic asthma, which works by dampening down the IgE allergic reaction.

An older orally administered bronchodilator, theophylline, isn’t often used these days owing to its unpredictable toxic side-effects and need for blood testing.

There is little scientific evidence to support the use of breathing exercises, such as Buteyko, in the treatment of asthma. However, some people with asthma find breathing exercises calm their symptoms and reduce their need for reliever medication.

You may need other medications to treat allergies or asthma, especially if your symptoms become severe at times. However, recognizing and avoiding the allergic substances that trigger your symptoms is the most important step you can take.

Who’s at risk of allergic asthma?
A family history of allergies is a major risk factor for allergic asthma. Having hay fever or other allergies yourself also increases your risk of getting asthma.

Allergic Asthma Preventive Measures:
If you’ve already been diagnosed with allery or allergic asthma, then you should also have a list of allergens you are sensitive to. It is not a joke, you need to stay away as much as you can from getting in contact with those allergens, if you want your allergic asthma not to bother you very often. Living a symptom-free life is possible in a big degree, but you need to understand how serious this allergic asthma issue has to be treated. Maybe this means that you’ll need to stay indoors in the days with high pollen activity, or maybe you won’t be allowed to eat strawberries again for the rest of your life. Understand that your lifestyle could change forever after you’ve found out that you suffer from allergy or allergic asthma.


Is all asthma caused by allergies?

Though allergic asthma is the one of the most common kinds of asthma, there are other types with different kinds of triggers. For example, for some people, asthma can be triggered by exercise, infections, cold air or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Many people have more than one kind of asthma trigger.

Pediatric Asthma
Pediatric asthma is one of the most delicate conditions that affect children of all ages. Before getting to the pediatric asthma treatment, we have to talk about the correct diagnosis, as this is a very hard thing to accomplish. Small children and infants cannot tell what bothers them, so the symptoms have to be guessed first by parents, and then by doctors. If a parent doesn’t suspect anything abnormal in their child, why would they seek for pediatric medical consultation? Children get frequent colds and childhood diseases, so there’s another reason for parents not getting too worried if their child coughs and has difficulties in breathing.

Can one prevent asthma?
You can help to avoid asthma attacks by taking preventer medicine regularly and avoiding your triggers. You can also monitor your asthma by asking your doctor to provide you with a peak flow meter, a simple device that measures the amount of breath in your lungs.

Most childhood asthma is caused by an allergy. Skin-prick and RAST tests may be able to discover the allergen. Practical steps can then be taken to avoid it, be it house dust mites, cats, dogs or other pets. Even mould spores and pollen grains can trigger seasonal asthma attacks.

If you’re prone to sudden or severe asthma attacks, keep asthma diary cards and a peak flow meter on hand to monitor your lung airflow so you can take early action.

Discuss an asthma action plan with your GP, who may issue an emergency supply of oral steroid pills. You may need to increase your medication dosage if your peak flow measurement drops steadily.

Remember, never stop taking your preventer medication, even when your symptoms are stable. Don’t wait until your symptoms get worse – they’ll be harder to treat.

By regular practicing Yoga  one can get rid of  Asthma totally

You may click to see :Yoga For Asthma Patients

You may click  for more informations  about Allergic Asthma :

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose.

Resources:

http://understandingasthma.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/in_depth/allergies/allergicconditions_asthma.shtml
http://inflation.us/collegebubble.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/allergies-and-asthma/AA00045

http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=16

http://alltruthabouthealth.info/allergic-asthma-is-the-type-of-asthma-problem/

http://www.poandpo.com/in-sickness-and-health/bronchial-and-allergic-asthma/

http://seerpress.com/causes-of-allergic-asthma-revealed/5423/

http://healthguide.howstuffworks.com/exercise-induced-asthma-picture-a.htm

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Categories
Yoga

Yoga For Asthma Patients

Regular practice of certain Yoga poses workouts for asthma helps you combat asthma attacks better. There have been debates on how yoga and asthma relate to each other. But studies show that certainly there are definite health benefits of yoga. Sukhasana, is the easiest of the yoga poses for asthma as far as yoga and asthma goes.
click to see

Asthma is a respiratory disease characterized by chronic inflammation, labored or shortened breathing, wheezing, coughing and sticky mucous from chest. Before we get into discussing the details of this disease, a brief snapshot of what follows in the paragraphs below would be helpful. We will discuss the health benefits of yoga with focus on yoga and asthma with a dedicated section on yoga poses for asthma.

The Symptoms of Asthma :-
Symptoms of asthma are all apparent unlike certain other diseases. The first symptom that shows up is inflammation in the trachea (wind pipe, connecting throat to lungs) immediately followed by tightness in the chest or shortness of breath. When the asthma attack goes to unmanageable limits, you feel complete constriction of the wind pipe and chest. At this time it is extremely difficult to breathe. But much before this condition is reached; you have sufficient warning signals such as the wheezing sound while exhaling and inhaling (breathing) due to the presence of sputum in the respiratory system, coughs etc.

What Triggers Asthma:-
Some common triggers leading to asthmatic symptoms are allergens like cold, house dust, pollen, animal dander, irritants such as smokes, chemical fumes etc. For some people, in certain cases, stress from emotional and exercising reasons can trigger the symptoms.

Some Statistics on Asthma:-
Asthma is not known to take death toll unless proper and timely care is not taken. However, the figure of asthma deaths has been on the rise since 1970s in the United States as well as around the globe. There are about 20 million asthma sufferers in the United States itself. What is alarming is slightly less than half of them (about 9 million) are children below 18 years. Out of the total asthmatics, about 70% have other allergies and 10 million of Americans suffer from allergic asthma. Cases of asthma in children have shot up by a mind boggling 160% is the 1980-1994 period. Incidences of reported deaths have mounted to 5000 annually and direct cost of treatment is pegged at $11.5 billion and indirect costs at %4.1 billion. Prevalence is 39% higher in African Americans than white Americans. Total loss of work days is 24.5 million and school days lost is 12.8 million.

Some Yoga Poses that Help in Combating Asthma (Yoga for Health)
Here is a list of yoga poses for asthma. Regular practice of these workouts for asthma helps you combat asthma attacks better. There have been debates on how yoga and asthma relate to each other. But studies show that certainly there are definite health benefits of yoga.

Easy Yoga Pose:click to see
Sukhasana, is the easiest of the yoga poses for asthma as far as yoga and asthma goes. Sitting erect on the floor, cross your legs and clasp your knees easily and that’s it. Breathe easy for 5 minutes.Click to see different poses of sukhasana.

Shoulder Lifts:-click to see
Lie down flat on floor on your back with your hands stretched above head. Relax for a couple of breaths and slowly lift up shoulders towards front together with head crouching abdomen as in curls. Inhale as you get up and exhale when retracting.

Sun Salutation:click to see
Yoga sun salutation (Surya namaskara) is a combination of 12 poses in a sequence beginning and ending in stand-at-ease pose, the 5th and 6th of them being standing on four limbs with body horizontal to the ground while forehead and nose touches ground. The sequential breathing series during the Sun Salutation prepares respiratory mechanism for the asthma combats. This is also helpful for backaches. This is among the top 10 yoga asana to relive asthma.

Kapalabhati Breathing Technique:-click to see
Yoga and asthma cannot distance themselves from pranayama, a highly meditated breathing technique. Kapalabhati requires that you breathe rapidly in short sequences and consciously control the movements of the diaphragm (a membrane separating abdomen from chest.) This exercises the entire respiratory system.

Anuloma Viloma Breathing Technique:click to see
This is known as alternate nostril breathing technique. You inhale through one nostril and exhale through the other with a long retention of the breath in between. This brings breathing a much needed rhythm.

You may click to learn more:->
*Best Yoga Poses for Asthma
*Prevent Common Cold With Yoga
*Be Free From Anxiety With Yoga
*Open Your Heart To Yoga – Yoga For Heart Diseases
*Yoga – Can Help You Shed The Bulk!
*Make Back Troubles Back Off -With Yoga
*Yoga INC – Yoga In The Corporate World

Resources:
http://yoga.am/2009/12/30/yoga-for-asthma-patients/
http://www.yogamiracles.com/yoga-articles/yoga-and-asthma.htm

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Categories
Yoga

Some Breathing Exercises For Body & Soul

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The essence of yoga lies in BREATHING.Get to know it like your best friend because it will always be there for you as long as you live.Breathing is healing,soothing,cleansing and wholesome, bringing freedom to the body and mind.Take a pause to notice how many times you freeze to breathe……The answer , never.

In Yoga the mouth is rarely used for Asanas/Postures. Breathing Exercises help to :

1. Strengthen lungs and build resistance to conquer respiratory disorders.

2. Stimulate optimum oxygen and blood circulation to different parts of the body.(anatomically and physiologically)

3. Realise that your breath is your life force , or prana , which when awakened increase your life span.

Let me jot down a very few out of many breathing exercises that can be regularly practiced to help fight psychosomatic disorders like anxity,asthma,pain,cancer,constipation,depression,fatigue,headaches, hypertention,insomnis and obesity.

DEEP BREATHING:
———————-
Standing tall on your feet,with erect spine and gaze straight,bring your arms with palms joined in front in line with the shoulders.

Inhail deeply, spreading your arms away from each other and exhale deeply while brining them back togather to the starting position.

Coordinate your breathing with the movement of your arms.

Repeat 10-20 times.

Feel the deep sense of freedom and control over your breathing, specially after an exhausting day at work.

YOGA BREATHING:
———————-
The poster is same as deep breathing .

Place your arms by the sides and keep your eyes closed.Inhale slowly to raise both the arms togather and exhale smoothly by brining them back to the start position.

Coordinate your breathing .

Repeat 10 times with ease,as it detoxifies the mind and body.

DEEP BREATHING WITH RESISTANCE.
———————————————-
Holding the same poster ,first the palm like a shell brining it close to the mouth and keep eyes open.

Inhale from the mouth and exhale from blowing the air from the mouth right into the clenched fist that acts as a resistance to the blowing.

Blow with cheeks puffed like blowing air into the balloon.

Repeat 10 times.

This exercise immediatly refreshes the whole face and head with blood.Lungs regain their tone and strength. Deep blowing also stregthen the cervical spine (neck) muscles.

Source:Meera Vaghani’s (Yoga therapist) journal on The Telegraph, (e mail:yoga therapist,at12@abpmail.com)

Categories
Healthy Tips

Best Flu Remedies

Fenugreek6 steps to take at the first sign of flu symptoms.

At the First Sign of the Flu
Unlike the common cold, which is annoying but ultimately harmless, the flu can be dangerous — even deadly. Your best bet? Focusing on the twin Super Threats of chronic stress and immune weakness. With a strong immune system, you’re much more likely to fight off this potential killer.
If you do get the flu, act fast. Prescription antiviral medications can help you get better faster, and numerous studies find that natural remedies can also significantly reduce the amount of time you suffer — but you need to take them at the very first sign of symptoms, or as a precaution during flu season.

Do This Now
Follow these six steps at the first sign of the flu.
1. Call your doctor and ask for an antiviral medication such as amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir, or oseltamivir.

2. At the same time, start taking 1 tablespoon of the liquid elderberry extract Sambucol   four times a day for three to five days.

3. Also start taking the homeopathic remedy Anas Barbariae Hepatis et cordis extractum 200c, more commonly known as Oscillococcinum or Flu Remedy. Follow the dosage instructions on the package.

4. To relieve headache and achiness, take 500 to 1,000 milligrams of enteric-coated aspirin, 200 milligrams of ibuprofen, or 500 to 1,000 milligrams of acetaminophen every four to six hours, or 275 milligrams of naproxen twice a day. Don’t take acetaminophen if you have liver disease. Don’t give aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen to children or adolescents (use acetaminophen instead).

5. Now that you’re medicated, work on bringing your fever down to make yourself more comfortable. Start with cool compresses on the pulse points at the neck, throat, and wrists.

6. If your fever is still high and you’re still achy, add a cup of Epsom or sea salt to a warm tub, soak for 20 minutes, then wrap up warmly and lie under blankets to induce a sweat. Adding 10 to 15 drops of eucalyptus or peppermint oil to the bath will help with congestion, cough, and muscle aches.

Why It Works, Plus More Approaches
Antiviral drugs can decrease the severity and length of your infection if you take them within the first day or two of symptoms. They’re particularly helpful if you got the flu even though you were vaccinated, because chances are you’re dealing with a different strain from the ones in the vaccine.

Sambucol also fights the flu directly. One well-designed study of 60 patients, all of whom had the flu, found that those who received the supplement were nearly recovered by the third or fourth day of treatment, whereas it took seven to eight days for the people in the placebo group to feel better. Researchers think that compounds called anthocyanins in elderberry may be responsible; they boost the immune system and also seem to prevent the flu virus from sticking to cells.

The other treatments are all about making you more comfortable and relieving aches and pains. The warm bath has an added effect: it causes a slight increase in body temperature, which makes bacteria-killing enzymes more effective, potentially helping to prevent a secondary bacterial infection when your defenses are down.

Other Medicines and Approaches
Fenugreek. If you’re coughing, take 2 capsules three or four times a day. This herb helps thin mucus and also soothes a dry cough. (Note that it makes your urine smell sweet.)

Cough suppressants. If you want to use a cough suppressant, choose one that contains dextromethorphan. At night, try Delsym, which lasts for 12 hours.

Sports creams. For body aches, massage a pain-relief rub or sports cream like Ben-Gay or Tiger Balm onto the achy areas.

Fluids. Drink lots and lots of fluids, both hot and cold. Avoid caffeinated and overly sweet drinks like sodas and undiluted fruit juices.

From:Best Remedies

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