Expert: Marc Rubin, RPh AE-C - 11/2/2009

Question
My mother has been suffering from asthma for the past 4 years. We have seen many doctors, tried ayervedic medicines, breathing exercises as well, but they only provide temporary relief. Is there any way to decrease her suffering?

She is 42 years old, has cough/cold most of the time, is allergic to dust and works far away from home for which she travels by bus for 5 hours everyday.

Answer
Hi Tanishq,

I appreciate culturally your treatment approach using ayervedic medicines, but there is a time in which you must face that these remedies will not be effective in more serious cases. My concern for her extends to the availability of western medicine.

The basis of treatment for persistent asthma is the use of inhalation steroids. That is the starting point to address the presence of inflammation in the lungs. Therapy is a stepwise approach guided by the level of disability or impairment.

Another issue is that it is equally important to avoid the environment which worsens her condition. But how do you avoid dust when you travel 5 hours each way to and from work? Does she also cook over an open fire at home? Does her work expose her to chemicals which may have brought this on?

She really needs to be under the care of a lung specialist, either allergist or pulmonologist. I hope you live near a medical center which can provide these services.

Two things she needs to know: 1) this is not a condition which will go away, and treatment can just be stopped. Medications will be adjusted depending on improvement, but she needs to really learn about this disease, and 2)as a continuation of #1, she cannot just stop taking her medication when she feels better, or she will fall backward with worsening breathing.

Here is a link for patient education by the European Lung Association:

http://www.european-lung-foundation.org/

I hope this will begin to help her.

Sincerely,

Marc