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Asthma treatment: Do complementary and alternative approaches work?
Many people try complementary and alternative asthma treatments ranging from herbs to yoga. Discover which home remedies for asthma are most likely to work.
By Mayo Clinic staffComplementary and alternative asthma treatments range from breathing exercises to herbal remedies. There's limited information about whether most of these treatments really work, but many people try them and claim they help. Here's what the evidence says.
Three promising alternative asthma treatments
More research is still needed to determine just how effective they are, but breathing exercises, yoga and physical exercise are a few of the most promising complementary and alternative asthma treatments.
Breathing exercises
Breathing exercises may improve your quality of life, help reduce asthma symptoms and reduce the amount of medication needed to control your asthma. Two breathing exercises that have been studied include:
- The Buteyko breathing technique. Developed in the 1950s, this method was used to treat asthma in the former Soviet Union. In recent years, it has gained popularity elsewhere. This technique teaches you to habitually breathe less. This prevents breathing too much (hyperventilation). The Buteyko technique also includes advice about relaxation and stress reduction, medication use, nutrition and general health.
- The Papworth method. This sequence of relaxation and breathing techniques involves deep belly breathing (called diaphragmatic breathing), nose breathing and matching your breathing to suit whatever activity you're doing. Some evidence suggests this technique significantly reduces asthma symptoms.
While breathing exercises for asthma are gaining recognition and popularity in the United States, few experts are trained to provide instruction. If you decide to try breathing exercises, you may have to rely on instructional videos or books.
Yoga
This gentle form of exercise has been practiced for thousands of years. There are several types of yoga, but all kinds entail doing a series of stretching poses. In addition to providing the benefits of exercise, yoga also incorporates breathing techniques — called pranayama — which may help reduce asthma symptoms. While more studies are needed to determine how helpful yoga is in treating asthma, doing yoga on a regular basis might help relieve stress — and improve your overall fitness and well-being.
Exercise
You can — and should — keep physically active if you have asthma. Staying active helps control your symptoms and helps you stay healthy. Regular exercise strengthens your lungs so that they don't have to work so hard at breathing. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity on most days. If you've been inactive, start slowly and gradually increase your activity over time. And, you don't have to do your daily exercise all at once. Doing something that gets your blood pumping and gets you breathing harder for a few short periods — such as 10 or 15 minutes at a time — works too.
Keep in mind that exercising in cold weather may trigger symptoms. If you do exercise in cold temperatures, wear a face mask to warm the air you breathe. And don't exercise in temperatures below zero. Activities such as golf, walking and swimming are less likely to trigger attacks, but be sure to discuss any exercise program with your doctor.
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