This is one mom’s amazing story of reversing asthma symptoms in her son using natural remedies. She lists the specific steps they took to reduce his asthma symptoms and keep him free from asthma attacks for two years!
Guest post by Daniele of Domestic Serenity
As a Mom focused on natural living and herbal remedies, most of time, I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with normal childhood illnesses.
Things like colds, coughs, fevers or even cuts and scrapes were easily handled by our natural medicine cabinet.
Until our son faced significant struggle with asthma attacks and breathing issues.
I cannot imagine living in a country where emergency medical care isn’t so quickly available — without a way to find help. Each and every time we visited the hospital (and there were many!), I gave thanks. Many physicians and allergists played a critical role in getting our little guy’s health back on track.
But every time my son ingested drugs known to have long-term side effects, I cringed.
Surely, there had to be another option or choice? I dove deep into a world of research and came up with a plan to naturally reverse these asthma symptoms.
It wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve done, but it worked! I’ll shared the steps we took.
Image by Alvimann
Naturally Reversing Asthma Symptoms
For super detailed information, you can read the entire series of posts on my blog. Today, I’ll simply share some highlights.
Our path is best described in three steps: CLEANSE, STRENGTHEN, and then NOURISH.
CLEANSE the Body
A basic definition of asthma includes inflammation of the respiratory system resulting in extra mucus production and spasms within the muscles of the system. And yes, it’s scary to watch!
Food and environmental allergies both impact asthma symptoms, so it seemed wise to us to remove any possible triggers in these areas. An elimination diet became important to our journey; I kept a journal of what we did when and tracked the effect on his breathing patterns or the severity of the attack. Find tips on an elimination diet here.
Then after reading about the effects of hydrogenated oils on asthma, we quickly (and I do mean overnight!) switched to using coconut and olive oils alone. This step was a significant factor, and within 2-3 weeks, our son’s breathing calmed without the use of daily medication.
CLEANSE the Home
I describe many steps for removing environmental triggers in my post, but instead of overwhelming myself, I focused on his bedroom. So much time is spent in there sleeping and playing, so this seemed logical.
We chose allergy testing to pinpoint various triggers, and this step proved helpful to fight the irritation of dust mites. After I had a handle on his room, I slowly worked through the rest of the house.
The entire family enjoyed the benefits of clearing out environmental toxins or triggers — it’s good for everyone, not just asthmatics!
STRENGTHEN the Body
After working so hard taking out the not so good stuff, I read more and more on the importance of replacing good in its place!
Our next step was to strengthen our son’s ability to fight off sickness, especially colds. It’s not that I didn’t want him to ever get sick, but instead to heal as quickly as possible.
Since 75% of our immune-fighting ability is in the intestinal tract, my efforts focused on building up this area. And we continued to see huge improvements!
Image by Mae Chevrette
NOURISH the Body
By this point (it was over a few months), I was convinced of the path we had chosen.
Our son’s health improved to the point his allergist removed the need for ongoing medication, and he stayed free of asthma attacks for nearly TWO years!
We continue to nourish his body, providing helps particular to those with breathing issues. I was introduced to essential oils and found them to also be beneficial in relieving a cold-induced attack this winter. We avoided the hospital, and he recovered naturally at home!
All details, posts and information — including the supplements or aids we used — are found in this series.
Have you found anything else to be helpful in dealing with asthmatic children?
Daniele is a homeschooling Mama of five kiddos and a voracious reader of books. Passionate about her faith, home and family, she blogs about the intentional life over at Domestic Serenity and writes for other online and print publications. Daniele thinks life is more enjoyable with a cup of herbal tea in hand!
Tessa Homestead Lady
This was all great advice! We’re in the middle of it – next up, cleanse! My husband is the one who has asthma and he’s been so much better since we cleaned up our diet but its still a threat in the background so we’re going to get rid of it altogether! Thanks for the great article – pinned it and shared with my readers.
Clarkfamily
It is so wonderful to read this kind of information! My 28 year old son had severe eczema. No thanks to the MDs, we finally figured it out as a milk allergy. My now 7 year old son had on and off breathing problems and required nebulizer for 9 months out of the year. It affected his appetite but this was dismissed by the MDs (who then were disturbed in the next visit that he wasn’t gaining wait and wanted to put him on a drink supplement that had junk in it). Thanks to an awesome ND we finally figured out that milk and honey were an issue for him. (the drink supplement had whey in it and would have exacerbated his symptoms. No breathing problems since!! After years and years of no good answers from MDs about a variety of health issues in the family, we no longer go see them at all. We seem so much healthier for it!!!
Clarkfamily
*weight
Teresa
Interesting. Hubby has allergy-induced asthma (animals, grass, seasonal).
Do you think this could still work for him?
Daniele @ Domestic Serenity
I think it might be worth a try! My son’s asthma was directly linked into his allergies (dairy, trees, dust mites and other) and we have been thrilled with the results.
Mishelle Conkle
We use Holy Basil taken once a day in the morning and chia tea with honey twice a day. We have been medicine free for 2 1/2 years.
Heather
This post is so timely!! I am going to pin and come back later (like, this evening!) and read through the rest of your series in detail. Both of my boys have asthma, but my youngest, who is almost 5, has been struggling since 6 months old. Most recently, he’s had an asthma attack, and I’m ready to give up. I’ve had allergy tests run and the only thing that has come back is “dust mites”. My mommy instinct tells me it’s more, just based on the severity of his symptoms, but I’m at a loss. And I don’t want him on all those steroids either. I’ve been researching for causes and natural remedies for the past week, and praying about it, then this article popped up in my FB newsfeed! God is good!! Thank you for sharing your journey!!
Rhonda
My 6 year old suffers with asthma.. he too is on a nebulizer and is quick to be prescribed steroids.. i hate seeing him cough for 4 days straight and being tied down to all this medicine. His poor little body. He has been to the allergist and they don’t see anything he is allergic to, but they did find that some of his immunity’s were down. So he has to get a booster shot once a year to rev his antibodies to fight upper respiratory infection. I would love to find a healthier way…
skyval
Its his diet and chemicals in the home
get rid of chemical detergents and fabric softeners first above all
then food
he’ll be better fast
susan mongeau
We have stopped using inhalers too! We now use Young Living Essential Oils…no side effects like Zoponex/Albuterol!
Amy
I just got my starter kit with Young Living Essential Oils. I would LOVE to know which ones you have used for asthma and how administered!
JIMMIE LEIDERMAN
What oils are you using?
Brooke wood
My daughter’s triggers are outdoor mold and oak pollen. We have worked with a homeopathic doctor with amazing results. We’ve added a daily probiotic and also worked on her diet. When we started removing food coloring from her diet we saw a huge improvement. She has even recognized how different she feels when she doesn’t make good food choices (she is six). We limit dairy, and allow none during trigger weather/seasons. The oak pollen is winding down here and this is the first year we didn’t have to use steroids! In fact, we only used the nebulizer four times in the last three weeks!
Maudie Faucett
Where do you find this young living essential oils at?
Tracy
My 6 y.o. has asthma, but it only flares up w/ colds. This past year I started using essential oils on him (Native American Nutritionals has oils that I have found just as effective as Young Living & less expensive as they are not a multi-level marketing company – I’ve tried both). At the first sign of a cold I put Breathe Ease oil on his chest & along his spine. Also Immune Strength oil on the bottom of his feet. I do this several times a day for the duration of his cold. When he’s coughing badly, I stick him in a bath w/ peppermint oil in it. Along w/ the oils I give him homemade elderberry syrup 4-6 times a day and a mixture of honey / turmeric. I give that to him as many times as I can get it down him (he’s not a fan of sweets so the honey makes him gag!), this really calms his cough. I also give him one capsule of quercetin w/ bromelain (has anti-inflammatory properties) each day during his cold & once/week as maintenance. After beginning this regimen I have not had to use the inhaler or steroids on him in over a year! I don’t know if this will work for those with allergy induced asthma, but it has worked for my son.
skyval
just get rid of chemical cleaners and fabric softeners and febreeze !!!
Jennifer
Echinacea! I have asthma and allergies have been bad this year, but I take a daily allergy med along with Echinacea (2 pills 2-3x a day) and since I have been adding the Echinacea my breathing have been fine… 🙂
Carlee
We have taken a similar journey. I found DoTerra’s Essential Oil Blend called “Breathe” to be absolutely necessary. We are able to use it in place of a nebulizer treatment (an inhaler wasn’t enough sometimes) now! We also put DoTerra’s On Guard right onto the vacuum filter and the air conditioner/heater filter every 2 months. It actually cleanses the air in the ducts and that comes out of the vacuum. My 8 year old hasn’t touched a steroid or an inhaler or nebulizer in over a year, even though the seasonal allergens were extra bad this spring. *I buy Doterra oils from Amazon.
Kristen
Yes!! I have had chronic asthma ever since I can remember.. And with super bad food and environmental allergies, has been a journey to naturally calm down my asthma. I didn’t like all the medicine they had me on, not to mention the high prices that went along with the medicines.. I found for me, that stress management was KEY to helping prevent asthma attacks. I discovered that the times my asthma would act up (after getting it calmed with similar things that you wrote about) was when I was overwhelmed, scared, anxious, stressed, etc. I have since learned how to properly handle stress, to let things go that aren’t important, and to relax and calmly address big decisions/events. My doctors were amazed at how much this simple skill of stress management helped control and prevent asthma flare ups. Hope this helps someone!! 🙂
Kara Howery
I work with a health and wellness company that promotes healthy living through excellent nutrition and getting the toxic cleaners out of your homes. We have seen many incredible testimonies from asthmatic families just by them removing the toxic cleaners! So many issues (eczema, psoriasis, allergies, poor sleep, etc) can be related back to the chemical pollution in the home! A study showed that stay at home moms have a 54% higher rate of cancer and it has been directly linked to indoor chemical pollution.
I have a friend who just started with us and we are going to clean her house from top to bottom with our non-chemical cleaners & take the other toxic stuff OUT! We hope to see a real improvement in her family’s health. Four out of six of them have asthma. Our company has so many other testimonies from our vitamins and even cosmetics. Did you know that the number one call to poison control is for children who have consumed cosmetics? They are extremely toxic from most companies! So my advice to everyone dealing with asthma & allergies is to make sure you have good, safe cleaners in your homes, and remove all the other ‘hidden toxins’ as well. If you have questions about how to rid your home of toxins, I’m more than happy to answer questions. Just email me at [email protected].
Rita Harris
Amazing how the key to recovering is so much in natural health–and nourishing our bodies properly and getting rid of the garbage! Proper nutrition ends up healing people in so many ways; its unfortunate the healthcare industry doesn’t have time (take time?) to involve this more in it’s practice.
Anyone dealing with asthma should definitely look into the peer-reviewed published research on the product Juice Plus (juiced & dehydrated fruits & veggies). The research is there to prove it gets into our blood streams and has positive effects… And I have know countless stories of parents who had their children’s asthma symptoms disappear completely because of it. I had to at least share on the off chance even one person would read this and be affected by it. God bless!
Melanie King
For those of you using Essential Oils on your children, please double check the safety of the specific oils you are using and the ages of your children. If you are using an oil from an MLM check for safety information outside the company who wants you to buy so much oil from them. Look for 3rd party testing and safe use on children. Please for the safety of your children do not give them powerful, super concentrated oils until you have found what is safe! Especially on already inflamed and aggravated asthmatic lungs! I will give 2 examples, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and others are high in a constituent called cineole 1.8 this can slow or even stop the breathing of a child under 8. Cinnamon oil, an ingredient in on guard and that type if blend, must be diluted to 0.6% in order to be safe to use on the skin and not cause sensitization and burns. I am by no means an expert, but I have read the research because someone warned me and I wanted to let others know to look too!
Carla Woelcke
Really good advice! Essential oils are powerful and can work well- but you really have to be careful and know what you are doing. Thanks for sharing!
Kristie Williams
Well, this is interesting. I haven’t heard of this and it seems to be helpful. Zarbees
Sara
I’ve also been on a search for natural asthma relief. My middle son is 2 and was diagnosed with asthma at 8 months old. He was in and out of the hospital a lot his first year.
The main thing we have found that has helped was removing wheat from his diet. Since we cut it out a year and a half ago he has stayed mostly healthy unless sick.
Ais'Lynn
I see many of your readers have gone to an allergist who sees no allergies. can you please do am article explaining the difference between allergies, intolerances, and irritants? The dairy is occasionally an allergy (causes ‘eczema’ or rashes) but it is usually an intolerance that causes the mucus build up. I hate to see people discouraged by an allergist because they do not understand the differences.
Amalthea
Cutting out dairy products helped my asthma immensely!
Sherlane
Good day my 2 year 10 old son as just been diagnosed with asthma.please can u give me more advice on the true living essential oils .an how do I use it.
Julian ellis
My COPD got significantly worse and unbearable because of my difficulty catching breath. Last year, i started on a natural COPD Herbal therapy from NewLife Herbal Clinic, i read a lot of positive reviews from patients who used the treatment and i immediately started on it. I had great relief with this herbal treatment. I breath very much better now, no case of shortness of breath or chest tightness since treatment, my lungs condition is totally reversed. Visit NewLife Herbal Clinic website ww w. newlifeherbalclinic. com. This treatment is a miracle!!
Erin
Thank you so much for the suggestion! I’m so glad it’s helped you!
Susan TREVINO
Four years ago I experienced a severe breathing problems. A year later, it worsened and I was diagnosed of COPD. I came across Herbal HealthPoint (ww w. herbalhealthpoint. c om) December, 2018 and learnt about their successful herbal therapy for COPD. I immediately started on the COPD treatment; i began to notice a reduction in symptoms till it all vanished. I feel better and breath better. I Just wanted to share for people suffering from this horrible lungs disease.