Table of Contents
- Avoiding heavy meals and meals with fried food
- Avoiding caffeine, chocolate, onions, and garlic
- Avoiding eating or drinking at least 3 hours before bedtime
- Elevating the head of the bed by 6 inches
- Taking medications to treat gastroesophageal reflux. Be sure to talk to your doctor before taking these medicines.
Managing Hormonal-Related Asthma
Women who suspect that menstrual-related changes may influence asthma severity should keep a diary of their menstrual dates and times of asthma attacks. Sometimes, adjusting medications in anticipation of menstruation may help prevent attacks.
Other Treatments
Children, adolescents, and adults with asthma are widely using alternative therapies. In one study, nearly half of asthma or allergy sufferers resorted to alternative treatments. To date, however, evidence does not support any value from most alternative therapies, including high-dose vitamins, urine injections, homeopathic remedies, and most herbal remedies.
Relaxation and Stress-Reduction Techniques. Some patients report benefits from many stress reduction techniques, such as acupuncture, hypnosis, breathing relaxation techniques, massage therapy, and meditation practices. There have been very few well-conducted studies supporting their use, however.
Breathing Exercises. Breathing exercises may help improve patients’ quality of life even if they do not have a major impact on medication reduction.
Probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial microbes that some believe may help protect against allergies and asthma. Probiotics can be obtained in active yogurt cultures and supplements, which are being studied for protection. However, evidence to date does not support efficacy in preventing or treating asthma.
Herbal Remedies. Few rigorous studies have evaluated herbal remedies for asthma. Manufacturers of herbal remedies and dietary supplements do not need FDA approval to sell their products. Just like a drug, herbs and supplements can affect the body's chemistry, and therefore have the potential to produce side effects that may be harmful. There have been a number of reported cases of serious and even lethal side effects from herbal products. Always check with your doctor before using any herbal remedies or dietary supplements.
Review Date: 05/03/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
