Natural way to treat asthma involves stimulating the functioning of relaxed excretory organs, adopting proper diet patterns to remove morbid matter and renovate the body. Practicing yoga asanas, yogic kriyas and Pranayama is also necessary to allow proper assimilation of food and to strengthen the lungs, digestive system and circulatory organs.
The patient should be given an enema to clean the colon and prevent auto-intoxication.
Mud-packs applied to the abdomen will ease the fermentation caused by undigested food and will promote intestinal peristalsis. Wet packs should be applied to the chest to lessen the congestion of the lungs and strengthen them. The patient should be made to perspire through steam bath, hot foot bath, hot hip bath and sun bath. This will stimulate the skin and relieve congested lungs.
The patient should fast for a few days on lemon juice with honey and thereafter resort to a fruit juice diet to nurture the system and remove the toxins. Gradually, solid foods can be included in the diet. Ideally diet should contain a limited quantity of carbohydrates, fats and proteins which are acid-forming foods, and a liberal quantity of alkaline foods consisting of fresh fruits, green vegetables and germinated gram. Foods which tend to produce phelgm such as rice, sugar, lentils and curds as also fried and other difficult- to- digest foods should be avoided. Breakfast may consist of prunes, orange or berries or a few black raisins with honey. Lunch and dinner should consist of a salad of raw vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce, tomato, carrot and beets, one or two lightly cooked green vegetables and wheat bread.
Asthmatics should always eat less than their capacity. They should eat slowly, chewing their food properly. They should drink eight to ten glasses of water a day, but should avoid taking water or any liquid with meals. Spices, chillies and pickles, too much tea and coffee should also be avoided. Asthma, particularly when the attack is severe, tends to destroy the appetite. In such cases, the patient should be kept on fast till the attack is over. Honey is considered highly advantageous in the treatment of asthma. Honey usually brings respite whether the air flowing over it is inhaled or whether it is eaten or taken either in milk or water. Another successful remedy for asthma is garlic. Turmeric is also regarded as an effective remedy for bronchial asthma. The patient should be given a teaspoonful of turmeric powder with a glass of milk two or three times on a daily basis.
During the attack, mustard oil mixed with little camphor should be massaged over the back of the chest. This will loosen up phelgm and ease breathing. The patient should also inhale steam from the boiling water with caraway seeds, known as ajwain in the vernacular. It will dilate the bronchial passage. The patient should also follow the other laws of nature. Regular fasting once a week, an occasional enema, breathing exercises, fresh air, dry climate, light exercises and a correct posture go a long way in treating the disease. The patient should perform yogic kriyas such as jalneti, vamandhouti and yogic asanas such as ekpaduttanasana, yogamudra, sarvangasana, padmasana, bhujangasana, dhanurasana, vakrasana, ardha matsyendrasana, salabhasan, paschimottanasana and shavasana. Pranayamas like kapalbhati, anuloma-viloma, ujjayi, suryabhedana and bhramari are also highly beneficial.
