Respiratory Problems

Wheeze Whackers and Decongestants
for Breathing Woes

You've probably heard that taking vitamin C can prevent colds, that steam can loosen nasal congestion and that gargling with saltwater will soothe a sore throat. But did you know that acupuncture can ease wheezing triggered by asthma? Or that a special herb used in Europe can cut short a bout with the flu?

From nagging coughs to annoying cases of the flu, alternative medicine has a wealth of natural options to offer, including ways to stop a scary asthma attack short.

ASTHMA: AN ARSENAL OF NATURAL WEAPONS

Imagine trying to suck an orange through a straw. Sure, you'd get bits and pieces of fruit and some trickles of juice now and then, but for the most part, it would be an exercise in frustration, especially if you were hungry. Well, that's not far from what someone with asthma goes through every time she has an attack.

During an asthma attack, the smaller bronchi and bronchioles--tubes through which oxygen passes into the lungs--constrict and then swell. At the same time, these passages produce excess mucus, which congests the airways even further, making each gasp more difficult. Difficulty breathing along with wheezing or coughing and a "tight" chest are symptoms of asthma.

In some people, asthma is triggered by the body's reaction to exposure to cold, respiratory infections or allergens such as pollen, dust, mold and animal hair and dander that inflame the lungs. In many, the tendency toward asthma is inherited.

Asthma should never be ignored. Bronchodilating drugs are a vital part of most treatments. These are medications that instantly relax constricted breathing passages, and for some people, they're essential. Inhaled steroids, which reduce inflammation, are now an important foundation of treatment. While you should never stop taking your asthma medication unless you have your doctor's approval, there's plenty that you can do to lessen your dependence on asthma medication and help yourself breathe easier, says Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., former head of field investigations for the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

See yourself breathe. Regularly picturing clear bronchial openings in your lungs can help relax you and help your body to breathe a bit easier, says Judith Green, Ph.D., professor of psychology and biofeedback in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado, and author of The Dynamics of Health and Wellness.

Bronchi, which branch off into the lungs, resemble the limbs of an upside-down tree and branch off into even smaller tubes called bronchioles. Dr. Green suggests visualizing all the little bronchial tubes in your lungs as being open, relaxed and elastic and breathing perfectly. At the same time, picture your antibodies (substances in the body that fight infection) looking the other way, since allergic asthma is often an overreaction to antigens (substances that trigger the production of antibodies). Do this for a few minutes several times a day whenever you have time, she suggests.

Get your feedback. Learning to relax with biofeedback can help ease the severity of an asthma attack, says Angele McGrady, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and physiology at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and past president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback based in Wheatridge, Colorado. A technique for monitoring muscle tension, biofeedback can help you learn to relax when you feel the familiar chest tightness that precedes a bout of asthma, she notes. "You still need asthma medicine, but biofeedback helps you deal with the panic you might feel when you have trouble breathing."

Fight back with fatty acids. Essential fatty acids, natural substances present in certain dietary fats, can help cut down on inflammation, says Andrea Sullivan, Ph.D., a naturopathic and homeopathic physician in Washington, D.C., and author of Naturopathic Medicine for African Americans. "Flaxseed oil and cod liver oil contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are helpful for any condition associated with the release of prostaglandins (body chemicals that cause inflammation)."

Dr. Sullivan suggests taking one or two tablespoons of flaxseed oil twice a day or 1,000 milligrams of cod liver oil once a day. Refrigerate flaxseed oil and keep cod liver oil in a cool, dark place. She also notes that salmon and halibut contain ample quantities of omega-3 fatty acids and recommends eating a half-pound of the fish two to four times a week.

Consider vitamin C. "There's good evidence that vitamin C deficiency combined with air pollution can increase the incidence of asthma, especially in children," says Gary Hatch, Ph.D., health effects researcher for the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. "Vitamin C protects against exposure to nitrogen oxides, pollutants that are present in car exhaust, smoke and both indoor and outdoor air."

In two studies of men and women, those with asthma had 50 percent less vitamin C in their blood than those who didn't have asthma. Apparently, people with asthma have overactive inflammation cells that produce substances that oxidize vitamin C. The key is to get vitamin C in the form of foods, which supply a mix of antioxidants, says Dr. Hatch. Eating plenty of vitamin C­rich foods such as spinach, broccoli, turnip greens, tomatoes and citrus fruits will supply a balance of nutrients, which is hard to duplicate by taking individual supplements.

If you do opt for supplements, keep in mind that a vitamin C deficiency can't be cured overnight. It takes weeks for levels of vitamin C to build up again, notes Dr. Hatch.

Leaf your woes behind. Magnesium, a mineral that's abundant in green, leafy vegetables like broccoli and spinach, could help reduce the severity of wheezing, says Scott Weiss, M.D., physician and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School's Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Magnesium relaxes muscles, including the muscles that surround the bronchial tubes in the lungs." In a study at the University of Nottingham City Hospital in Nottingham, United Kingdom, and at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Weiss and other physicians looked at the health and diets of 2,633 people ages 18 to 70 and found that those who consumed the Daily Value of 400 milligrams of magnesium a day had better lung function and less reactive airways.

Dr. Weiss recommends eating magnesium-rich foods rather than taking magnesium supplements. "The more fresh green vegetables you eat, the more magnesium and the more vitamin C you'll get," he notes.

Walk away the wheeze. Some women have asthma that is induced by exercise. But over the long haul, regular exercise can gradually increase your lung capacity, helping you to breathe more efficiently and to lessen the severity of the condition, says Wade Lillegard, M.D., a sports medicine physician in Duluth, Minnesota.

Prep your lungs. To prepare your lungs for longer, more strenuous workouts, says Dr. Lillegard, do 5 to 10 minutes' worth of shorter, intense exercise, like cycling, about 15 to 30 minutes before a longer exercise session, like a tennis game. That way, your airways won't start to constrict when you exert yourself more continuously.

Note: If your physician has prescribed cromolyn sodium, a drug commonly used as a preventive measure against exercise-induced asthma, consult your physician before incorporating this lung-prepping technique into your asthma-control program. At the very least, she has probably advised you to keep your inhaler handy at all times, especially when exercising.

Exercise indoors. If you get allergic asthma and it's allergy season, you might have to work out indoors. Indoor aerobic exercises, such as riding a stationary bike, are a good way to improve asthma by opening up your airways, says Garrison Ayars, M.D., allergist and clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. He recommends doing some form of indoor exercise three to five times a week.

Rub it out. Massage is a soothing way to promote relaxation and stress reduction, says Mary Malinski, R.N., licensed massage therapist and staff clinical nurse at Allergy, Asthma and Dermatology Associates in Portland, Oregon. "Stress is often a factor in asthma attacks, and when people are massaged, they have a chance to experience the positive effect of relaxation, improving both their stress levels and their overall quality of life."

In a pilot study of 19 people with chronic asthma, 17 women and 2 men received 15-minute upper-body massages once a week for 12 weeks. At the conclusion of the study, 89 percent of the men and women reported improvements in their energy levels, mental health, physical activities and their ability to handle emotional problems. They also reported decreased levels of chest tightness, wheezing, physical pain and fatigue. (If you'd like to try self-massage, a head-to-toe routine appears on page 227.)

Work the kinks out with Hellerwork. A few sessions with a Hellerwork practitioner can be a boon to your breathing, says Sandra Sullivan, a certified Hellerworker and director of practitioner relations at Hellerwork International in Mount Shasta, California. "During the first few sessions, the Hellerwork practitioner hones in on how you breathe and teaches you to relax your body at the neck, shoulders and abdomen in order to help you be able to take deeper, fuller breaths."

A Hellerworker also shows you how to use your body in ways that don't restrict breathing, she notes. You'll learn how to breathe normally, rather than holding your breath, when you're under stress. And you'll learn to avoid tensing your muscles unconsciously. (If you want to try Hellerwork on your own, see page 166.)

COLDS: THE ROUTE TO FAST RELIEF

Getting a chill can stress your immunity and give a cold virus free reign. But you don't just get colds when it's cold outside. Anyone who's ever had a miserable summer cold can attest to that. Colds deserve their name, though, because they can stop you cold. When you get struck by a common cold, aches, a stuffy or runny nose, coughing, sneezing and a sore throat, you can end up feeling out of sorts for seven days or more.

More than 100 different viruses cause colds. Cold medicines treat symptoms only, and many leave you drowsy or fog your thinking. Here are some nondrug approaches to ease the misery of a cold.

Sink it with zinc. Taking a zinc supplement as soon as you sniff that first sniffle is an effective way to sideline a cold, says Sherif Mossad, M.D., clinical doctor in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Cleveland Clinic. "The key is to start taking it within 24 hours of the first cold symptoms."

To study the effectiveness of zinc, Dr. Mossad prescribed zinc gluconate lozenges for 50 of a group of 100 employees of the Cleveland Clinic who had early cold symptoms. The other 50 took a mock look-alike drug. The employees who received the zinc gluconate lozenges, who were mostly women, took 13.3 milligrams every two hours during waking hours for as long as they had the symptoms. Among those who took zinc, most symptoms lasted about 4½ days, compared with about 7½ days for the other 50 people not taking zinc. And, in fact, many people find sucking on zinc lozenges to be an effective way to fight off colds. You can buy zinc lozenges at health food stores and drugstores. Follow the package directions.

Zinc may help to prevent the attachment of common cold germs inside of the nose, says Dr. Mossad. He recommends that you take a daily dose of up to 150 milligrams of zinc gluconate when you start to feel a cold coming on. Talk to your doctor before taking supplements higher than 15 milligrams for more than a few days.

Stock up on C. Another effective standby in the battle against the common cold is vitamin C, says Dr. Sullivan. "Take extra vitamin C when you're under stress or in the winter, both of which leave you more susceptible to a cold. I recommend taking 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C three times a day when you have a cold, to help shorten the duration." Large amounts of vitamin C may cause diarrhea in some people, so cut back if you start experiencing problems.

Pick up some echinacea. The herb echinacea is a natural cold-killer, says Dr. Sullivan. "It stimulates the immune system, specifically the white blood cells, to fight infection." Most of the time, echinacea is taken in liquid form--no more than 20 drops three times a day when you start feeling the symptoms of a cold. Or take two standardized capsules three times a day, says Dr. Sullivan.

Whip up a batch of pesto. Because it's a potent antibiotic and antiviral herb, crushed or mashed garlic can help prevent colds and reduce symptoms, says Dr. Fugh-Berman. As an alternative to garlic-laden food, she suggests enteric-coated garlic capsules, available at most health food stores. Typically, garlic is taken in 300-milligram dosages, three times a day, for as long as cold symptoms last. Or you can take half a clove of the real thing three times a day.

Hurry to homeopathy. Homeopathy offers a variety of cold remedies, depending on your particular symptoms, says Linda Johnston, M.D., diplomate in homeopathic therapeutics, founder of the Academy of Classical Homeopathy in Van Nuys, California, and author of Everyday Miracles: Homeopathy in Action. For example, if your left ear aches, the left side of your throat hurts and you feel worse at night, you might benefit from taking 200c (which means it's been diluted 200 times) of lachesis, a homeopathic remedy that, among other effects, fights infections, she says. For other cold symptoms, select a homeopathic remedy based on the descriptions noted on the packages.

Needle that cold. Acupuncture can cut short a cold's stay, notes Joseph S. Acquah, licensed acupuncturist and doctor of oriental medicine in Los Angeles. "Stimulating with acupuncture of the lung, colon and liver meridians enhances the body's innate healing ability to clear phlegm from the nose and lungs, detoxify the liver and eliminate excess waste through the colon. All of these things are part of the common cold," he says.

CONGESTION: BREATHE EASY RIGHT NOW

Whether due to a cold or allergies, the stuffy, clogged-up discomfort of congested nasal passages is still a major pain in the . . . head.

Over-the-counter nasal sprays and decongestants can help, but sprays can't be used for longer than three days, and decongestants, for more than seven. Overuse can result in a rebound effect--that is, your nose gets stuffed up all over again. And some people find that over-the-counter drugs tend to make them jumpy.

Before nasal congestion drains all of your patience, try these safe, nondrug remedies.

Spice up your menu. Eating any kind of spicy food can temporarily help loosen congestion by thinning out your mucus and making your nose run, says Dr. Fugh-Berman. Eating cayenne (ground red pepper), green chilies or jalapeño peppers can increase secretions in your nose and throat, she notes. Or add some hot-pepper sauce (like Tabasco) to soup, salad or pasta sauce. If you can't stomach spicy foods, try taking two cayenne capsules four times a day, she suggests.

Unclog the cause. Spending about five minutes in a hot shower also allows steam to loosen mucus-clogged sinuses, says Irene von Estorff, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at New York Hospital­Cornell University Medical Center in New York City. This can also be done leaning over a pot of steaming water with a towel over your head.

Rub on an aromatic oil. The essential oils of camphor (from camphor trees), menthol (derived from peppermint) and the herb eucalyptus are natural decongestants, says Dr. Fugh-Berman. When applied to the skin, these essential oils cause a cooling sensation, which seems to enhance their decongestant properties. Put some on your neck, under your nose, on your temples or anywhere that you can smell it. Essential oils should never be applied straight. They should always be mixed with a neutral oil such as grapeseed or corn oil.

Many commercial rubs contain those three essential oils, notes Dr. Fugh-Berman. You can also make your own rub by adding a couple drops of eucalyptus, camphor or menthol to a handful of corn oil and rubbing it on your chest and neck, she says.

COUGHS: SOOTHING RELIEF

Coughs seem to have a knack for perversity. They'll happen during your best friend's wedding, in the middle of a boring speech and at 3:00 a.m. with sleep nowhere in sight.

No matter how hard you fight back a cough, that hacking, choking sound has to come out eventually. That's because coughing is a natural reflex--many times it's your body's way of trying to get rid of mucus in your lungs.

If you've been coughing for more than two weeks and it doesn't seem to go away or you're coughing up discolored phlegm (anything other than clear or white), see your doctor. Otherwise, try nature's cures for silencing your cough.

Try nature's cough drops. Cough drops containing eucalyptus or horehound take the edge off your hack, says Dr. Fugh-Berman. Found in drugstores and health food stores, these lozenges help thin excretions of bronchial mucus that can make you cough.

Mind your vitamins. Drink plenty of juices made from vitamin-packed veggies like carrots and beets and greens like kale or collards, suggests Dr. Sullivan. These vegetable juices, available at health food stores or prepared in a juicer, help you fight germs that cause coughs, thanks to generous amounts of immune-boosting nutrients like vitamins A and C, she says. A deficiency of vitamin A damages the natural protective mucous membrane barrier of the respiratory tract, leaving your throat and lungs vulnerable to bacteria and viruses. Vitamin C boosts immunity by enabling white blood cells to fight infection.

"Drink one glass of vegetable juice a couple of times a day," notes Dr. Sullivan. "If you make the juice yourself in a blender, add a little water because the vegetables need to be diluted."

EMPHYSEMA: BETTER BREATHING WITH YOGA

Emphysema slowly robs you of your ability to breathe effectively. Your lungs are less and less able to transfer the oxygen from each breath into your bloodstream. Typically, you'll start to notice that vigorous activities leave you out of breath, and eventually, ordinary efforts like climbing stairs or walking a few blocks leave you gasping for air. This disease--often the outcome of smoking--damages the air sacs of the lungs. Some sacs lose their elasticity and others are destroyed, making breathing increasingly difficult.

With emphysema, the damage is irreversible. Since it's often the outcome of smoking, one "must" is to stop smoking, if you haven't already. To further ease your breathing, take the following steps.

Stretch to better breath. People with emphysema often hunch their shoulders and jut their heads forward, says Mary Schatz, M.D., physician and author of Back Care Basics. "In order for your chest and lungs to be able to expand, you need to position your body so that your head isn't sticking out in front of your chest."

When you do yoga, you improve your breathing by correcting your posture. Yoga also relaxes tight neck, shoulder and chest muscles--the muscles that help you breathe, says Dr. Schatz. "The stretching and strengthening of yoga helps balance the muscles and allows the bones of your neck and shoulders to loosen into a better position to help with breathing."

Work out your lungs. When you regularly get short of breath, you'll probably tend to decrease your activities. Yet cutting back on activity causes you to become breathless from even less effort, so you decrease your activity level further. It's a vicious cycle, says François Haas, Ph.D., director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory at New York University Medical Center in New York City and co-author of The Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema Handbook.

Exercise actually helps. If you have emphysema, the best workout is walking at least three times a week. "I've had patients who were unable to walk one block, but after two months of exercise, they could walk a mile or more. And they were much less out of breath." They were considerably more fit, lots more confident and no longer frightened when they occasionally did run out of breath, he adds.

When you walk, try to walk indoors during extreme temperatures, because hot and cold weather make walking much more of an effort. A mall is ideal, says Dr. Haas. Before you exercise, though, talk to a rehabilitation professional who specializes in working with people living with chronic lung disease. Call your state chapter of the American Lung Association for a recommendation.

Walk to the music. An enjoyable distraction, like walking with a friend or walking to music, will help you be less aware of feeling breathless and get you farther than you probably would otherwise, says Dr. Haas. That's the message behind a study that Dr. Haas conducted on 36 people who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The participants walked on a treadmill while listening to music. Then they listened to gray noise (a machine-produced sound similar to static on a radio) and then silence. When they listened to music, they regularly exerted their greatest efforts and felt the least breathless.

Pucker up and breathe. One thing that you can do to help you breathe more effectively is pucker up when you breathe out, says Dr. Haas. Pursed-lip breathing helps move stale air out of your lungs.

First, breathe in through your nose. Then purse your lips as if you were going to kiss someone and exhale, says Dr. Haas. "Pursing your lips enables you to maintain adequate pressure inside your airways, which helps to keep them open."

Strengthen your breath. To help you get the most out of each breath, Dr. Schatz recommends doing a simple exercise whenever you have a few free minutes. Purse your lips if you find it helpful--it may make breathing easier.

* Inhale through your nose or mouth.

* Exhale through your nose or mouth.

* Pause and count, "one-thousand one, one-thousand two," before taking the next breath.

Repeat the steps and continue to breathe this way for several minutes.

FLU: FIGHT BACK WITH HERBS

The flu bug is the most sadistic of germs. At its worst, you'll feel body chills that make you pile on the wool blankets while at the same time, you're coping with a fever. Add to those miseries a headache, achy joints and a general feeling that you'll never get out of bed again and it all spells misery.

So what can you do about this highly contagious respiratory infection? If you drink plenty of fluids, get plenty of rest and take acetaminophen to help with muscle and joint pains and reduce fever, you should be better in about a week. But if you'd like to rid yourself of the flu a few days earlier--and who wouldn't?--try these tactics.

Grab some echinacea. If you're just starting to feel that tired-all-over general malaise of the flu, try echinacea. This immune system­boosting herb fights colds and flu, and it could shorten the virus' stay, says Dr. Fugh-Berman. Take two capsules three or four times a day, or take 20 to 40 drops (40 drops equals about one dropperful) of tincture three or four times a day, she says.

"It's very important to take echinacea every few hours instead of just once a day because it doesn't stay in your system for very long," adds Dr. Fugh-Berman. Continue to take echinacea until you feel better, but no longer. If used long-term (for more than a few weeks) echinacea loses its effectiveness, she notes.

To prevent colds, Dr. Fugh-Berman recommends taking echinacea before a long airplane trip. Because the air in planes is drier and continually recirculated, you're exposed to more viruses, and you're more vulnerable, she explains. "A lot of people pick up viruses on airplanes. So I suggest that you take echinacea the day before and the day of your trip."

SINUS PROBLEMS: RELIEF FOR CLOGGING

If you have a cold or have allergies, your sinuses may clog up with mucus. Tiny openings in the sinuses are obstructed, so mucus can't drain. With nowhere to go, fluids build up, causing pressure and pain. Worse, bacteria can set up camp in the pools of mucus and infect your sinuses, causing fever, headaches and facial pain.

If you have a fever, which is a key indicator of infection, see your doctor. If you have pain but no fever, however, you can take the following steps to help drain your sinuses, says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

Create a sinus-soothing steam. As with ordinary nasal congestion, breathing menthol, camphor or eucalyptus oil can help clear congested sinuses and relieve pain, says Dr. Fugh-Berman.

"Heat up some water on the stove until it's boiling, then pour it in a bowl and add a couple of drops of essential oil," she notes. "Drape a towel over your head and, keeping a comfortable distance away, breathe in the steam from the bowl for about five minutes." Both the humidity of the steam and the action of the essential oil work to loosen mucus.

Sleep with a vaporizer. You can relieve stuffy sinuses as you sleep at night by putting a few drops of the essential oil of eucalyptus, camphor or menthol into a steam humidifier set up by your bed, Dr. Fugh-Berman says.

Clear your head with yoga. A legs-against-the-wall yoga pose can help clear your sinuses, says Larry Payne, Ph.D., director of the Samata Yoga Center in Los Angeles and chairman of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Lie on your back with your buttocks pushed against the base of the wall. Raise your legs and hold them against the wall for 7 to 15 minutes, says Dr. Payne. "This changes blood flow within the body and changes the flow of your body's lymphatic fluids--the fluids that flow from the space between the body cells into the bloodstream. For the first few minutes, pressure in your sinuses will increase. But after awhile the mucus in your sinuses starts loosening."

Caution: If you have high blood pressure, stroke risk or glaucoma, you should not do this exercise, notes Dr. Pa