My mother suffers from asthma and allergies can you help me ?

Question

Her allergies causes most of her asthma attacks I would like to try and help her cause i am worried about all the meds she is on you never know what the long term effects of meds are

I dont want the obvious we have already taken carpet out of the house she has allergin reduced matress covers and pillow cases vacums the funiture once a week whats left is there any herbal meds that she could take or any more preventive measures that we have missed
By the way she lives in the country so staying away from dust isn't a option.

Answer 1

As an asthmatic I know your frustrations. Controlling your allergies are key to controlling the asthma. There are many things that your mom might be allergic too. Dust and animal dander are the most common, but she could be allergic to mold, food and cleaning items. I know for me having moisture in the air actually helps me. I have a humidifier that is in my room. The moisture keeps the dust settled and it keeps my airway moist. This helps with the inflammation. I often put eucalyptus oil in my humidifier. It helps to open my airway. I also use lavender oil. The lavender oil is good because it helps me to relax. If I get upset it triggers an asthma attack.

When you vacuum you need your mom to be out of the house for at least 30 minutes. Vacuuming can actually stir up more dust and create an attack. If you can not get her out of the house then you need to put a dust mask on her during that time.

Answer 2

I'm asthmatic and have moderate to severe allergies and have had a fair amount of relief by being careful to avoid my allergen triggers, and regularly take allergy medications.

Have your mother see a doctor and inquire about having an allergy scratch test. This will help you and she understand what she is allergic to and will go a long way in helping prevent allergy-based asthma attacks.

There are "allergy shots" that she can take for specific allergies. The way this works is that she'd be injected (on a regular basis -- weekly) with a little bit of something she's allergic to. Over time, the body builds tollerances and allergy effects are minimized. There are some herbal options that don't require injections, but if you don't know specifically what she's allergic to, picking the right herbal supplements will be next to impossible.

You mom may also want to try an allergy medication like Claritin or Zyrtec. Claritin is available over the counter and has a few different formulas, but Zyrtec requires a doctor's prescription. There's a slew of medications for allergy and asthma that are cortizone based (Prednisone and Beclovent) but you'll need to speak to a doctor about these as well.

One other thing to keep in mind is air quality inside your house. If you have an air conditioner or furnace, it's imperative that you use a good filter with it to make sure that any dust mites, pet dander, or other particles get trapped. Take a look at 3M Filtrete filters... http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/filtrete/411_ultra.html they're well worth it!

If your mom is allergic to mold, the 3M filter could defintely help out!

Finally, I've listed a couple of herbal options to concider below... but remember to let your doctor know if you're trying an herbal remedy because of potential side effects with prescription and over the counter medicines.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Asthma is an allergy and is triggered by something. The best non medication treatment for asthma is learning your triggers and avoiding them. Common triggers are smoke, dust, mold, mildew, plants, dust mites, pets and grass/weeds.

If you can not figure our your triggers, you may need to see an allergist and have allergy screening done. This may point out your triggers.

The National Asthma Prevention Program and the Expert Panel of Diagnosis and Management of Asthma both agree if you have to use a prescription inhaler such as albuterol more then two time per week, your asthma is NOT in control and you will need a prescription controller medication.

Controller medications are steroids (Asthmacort Asthmanex, Flovent, Pulmocort), Leukotriene modifier (Singulair, Aculade, Zyflo) or mast cell stabilizers (Cromolyn sodium, Intal, Tilade).

You may want to talk to your doctor about several strong controller medications and maybe Xolair shots.

If you want a proven, all-natural way to cure your asthma, without having to pay for useless medications with harmful side-effects, then this is the most important page you'll ever read.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I am a healthcare provider and have treated many cases of asthma and allergies. First of all, did your mom ever considering doing a blood test to check all kind of allergies (from food to environment)? If she did, the results can tell her what to avoid because asthma flare ups usually cause by allergen triggers. Now, if she can't avoid the things that she is allergic to, then getting immunotherapy (allergy shots, made up of low level of the things she's allergic to) to build her immune system. All this can be done at her primary care or allergist office.
About long term side effect of medications, they are generally safe. The steroid inhalers or powder are very low in steroid (microgram) that it is safe for her to use daily. Now, if she is not using these to control her symptoms, then she'll have to use the albuterol (rescue) inhalers more often, which is not good. Also, taking so many of the steroid pills because her asthma is not in control, can have long-term side effect. The steroid pills are in milligram.
Eventhough, asthma is a reversible condition, I tell all my patients about the risk of having your asthma not control can lead to irreversible of this disorder. Your lung will become remodeled (scarring) and she might have to take medication or be on oxygen for the rest of her life. The unthinkable next stage is death.
I advise you and your mom to take some asthma classes to find out more about treatment and prevention. Also you can go online to sites such as.....americanlungassociation, or go on google and search for asthma.
For studies and trials of safety and long term side effect, try...
Annal of allergy and pulmology.
British medical journal
American medical journal
For now, your mom should be at least on a daily regimen of steroid inhaler, a steroid nasal spray, an allergy pill, and a albuterol (rescue) inhaler.

Take care,

Answer 6

The meds the doctor gives out are the only thing that has ever helped me, along with the obvious precautions you already seem to have taken. Some supplements and medications can actually aggravate asthma, so be careful to never try anything new when no one else is going to be around. I was in serious trouble last winter with a decongestant my doctor reccomended.

Answer 7

you are right to worry about all the meds she is on too... my doctors have had me on so many different kinds of meds and probably most of them not really needed... now i have renal kidney insuffiency....i am only 53.. i have asthma and allergies too.. but i stay in my home most of the time.. i keep it very clean...i take anti-itch pills daily and i have medicine for my asthma... but you sound like you are doing what you can for her.. have you thought about getting a second opinion and find out if she really does need all these meds she is on.. i wish i had done that.. i went to mostly country doctors back then and they gave out pills instead of trying to find out what was really wrong..i hope this helps you but at the same time i do not want to worry you any more than you already are....just do the best you can..

Answer 8

Well i have allergies and my mom told me that there is a shot you can get to make allergies stop forever. But i dont think there is a cure to asthma and i believe your mom is fine.

Answer 9

What I would do is do strength training exercises. A stronger body is healthier so when asthma attacks occure, they are not as intense.

My son has asthma and weightlifting has greatly reduced his asthma attacks.

Go to ALLEXPERTS, then Health, then Women's Health for further help on this one.

Answer 10

Have you checked for mold? I used to work for a pulmonary physician and we had one in particular patient that was in a similar position, it was a cretin type of mold that caused her attack and it took quite a while for us to solve the problem. You can also try several types of medications, you may have tried them already but prednasone is wonderful if you can get passed the side affects. There is also a new injections therapy that is available I’m not positive on the name because I work for a different type of doctor now and don’t come in contact with that type of thing much anymore but it has a very good success rate. Or air purifiers, you may have to go with one of the more expensive ones on this to get the effect that you want. If you go to a store called brookstone or goggle them you can find several options and if you don’t like it you can return it.