Magnesium sulfate is used as a treatment for asthma.

Mg is known to be important for proper lung functioning.

Mg is being increasingly looked at as a treatment for asthma.

A study from Brown University showed "remarkable" improvement in children with asthma who were treated with intravenous magnesium.

Low polymorph nuclear magnesium content has been observed in patients with bronchial asthma. The study authors believe that polymorph nuclear magnesium content may have an important role in causing asthma.

A study reported on in the Lancet, notes that people who have diets lower in Mg have more asthmatic symptoms. People with diets higher in magnesium have less asthmatic symptoms.

Mg prevents pre-asthmatic lung changes in animal studies.

Asthma is a common finding in connective tissue disorders, as are keratinous, mistral valve prolapsed, rachitic skeletal defects and many other conditions associated with magnesium deficiency. Asthma occurs frequently along with allergies, seizures and many other disorders that can all be linked to a Mg deficiency

Minerals and Chemicals found in the Dead Sea.

Sulfur is found in the amino acids cytosine, and methionine; as well as in cells, hemoglobin (of the blood), collagen (of the muscles), keratin (required for skin), insulin, heparin, biotin, co-enzyme A, (required for healthy hair, skin, nails, among many other biological structures). Sulfur is necessary for synthesizing collagen. It is required for the adequate digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and a number of vitamins e.g. thiamin, biotin and pantothenic acid; It is also essential to enable cells to breathe

Sulfur is necessary for the secretion of bile from the liver and for converting toxins into non-toxins.

Chlorine is necessary to maintain the correct balance of alkaline and acid in the body, together with being vital for cell metabolism.

Iodine is necessary for the production of the hormone thyroxin, and is also vital for both energy and cell metabolism.

Potassium is necessary to maintain the water balance in order for cell metabolism to take place, assisting the cells to absorb nourishment and expel waste products. An imbalance in potassium often leads to water retention. Potassium also plays a vital role in regulating muscle contractions and the nervous system.

Sodium like potassium plays s a vital role in assisting the cells to absorb nourishment and expel waste.

Calcium is necessary in strenghtening cell membranes and cleansing the pores. In addition it is vital for production and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones, together with regulating the heart muscles and nerves.

Magnesium is necessary in assisting the body to utilize other essential nutrients and in cell metabolism.

Bromine helps with the natural repair of the body together with cell metabolism and can be sued as a natural antibiotic.

Saunas often use Dead Sea salts to evaporate the bromides thus creating and environment similar to the Dead Sea. Having a hot bath with Dead Sea salts and allowing the steam to collect in the bathroom will have a similar effect. Other than the benefits listed below for bath salts, steaming and using these salts in the bath can be beneficial for respiratory conditions e.g. asthma.

What Is Asthma?

Asthma (Az-muh) is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation (IN-fla-MAY-shun) makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.

Asthma cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live active lives.

When your asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it is called an asthma episode or attack. During an asthma attack, muscles around the airways tighten up, making the airways narrower so less air flows through. Inflammation increases, and the airways become more swollen and even narrower. Cells in the airways may also make more mucus than usual. This extra mucus also narrows the airways. These changes make it harder to breathe.

Asthma attacks are not all the same—some are worse than others. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that not enough oxygen gets to vital organs. This condition is a medical emergency. People can die from severe asthma attacks.

So, if you have asthma, you should see your doctor regularly. You will need to learn what things cause your asthma symptoms and how to avoid them. Your doctor will also prescribe medicines to keep your asthma under control.

Taking care of your asthma is an important part of your life. Controlling it means working closely with your doctor to learn what to do, staying away from things that bother your airways, taking medicines as directed by your doctor, and monitoring your asthma so that you can respond quickly to signs of an attack. By controlling your asthma every day, you can prevent serious symptoms and take part in all activities.

If your asthma is not well controlled, you are likely to have symptoms that can make you miss school or work and keep you from doing things you enjoy. Asthma is one of the leading causes of children missing school.

What Causes Asthma?

It is not clear exactly what makes the airways of people with asthma inflamed in the first place. Your inflamed airways may be due to a combination of things. We know that if other people in your family have asthma, you are more likely to develop it. New research suggests that being exposed to things like tobacco smoke, infections, and some allergens early in your life may increase your chances of developing asthma.

What Causes Asthma Symptoms and Attacks?

There are things in the environment that bring on your asthma symptoms and lead to asthma attacks. Some of the more common things include exercise, allergens, irritants, and viral infections. Some people have asthma only when they exercise or have a viral infection.

The list below gives some examples of things that can bring on asthma symptoms.

Allergens

• Animal dander (from the skin, hair, or feathers of animals)
• Dust mites (contained in house dust)
• Cockroaches
• Pollen from trees and grass
• Mold (indoor and outdoor)

Irritants

• Cigarette smoke
• Air pollution
• Cold air or changes in weather
• Strong odors from painting or cooking
• Scented products
• Strong emotional expression (including crying or laughing hard) and stress

Others

• Medicines such as aspirin and beta-blockers
• Sulfites in food (dried fruit) or beverages (wine)
• A condition called gastroesophageal (GAS-tro-e-sof-o-JEE-al) reflux disease that causes heartburn and can worsen asthma symptoms, especially at night
• Irritants or allergens that you may be exposed to at your work, such as special chemicals or dusts
• Infections

This is not a complete list of all the things that can bring on asthma symptoms. People can have trouble with one or more of these. It is important for you to learn which ones are problems for you. Your doctor can help you identify which things affect your asthma and ways to avoid them.

Who Is At Risk for Asthma?

In the United States, about 20 million people have been diagnosed with asthma; nearly 9 million of them are children.

Asthma is closely linked to allergies. Most, but not all, people with asthma have allergies. Children with a family history of allergy and asthma are more likely to have asthma.

Although asthma affects people of all ages, it most often starts in childhood. More boys have asthma than girls, but in adulthood, more women have asthma than men.

Although asthma affects people of all races, African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to be hospitalized for asthma attacks and to die from asthma.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Asthma?

Common asthma symptoms include:

• Coughing. Coughing from asthma is often worse at night or early in the morning, making it hard to sleep.
• Wheezing. Wheezing is a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe.
• Chest tightness. This can feel like something is squeezing or sitting on your chest.
• Shortness of breath. Some people say they can't catch their breath, or they feel breathless or out of breath. You may feel like you can't get enough air in or out of your lungs.
• Faster breathing or noisy breathing.

Not all people have these symptoms, and symptoms may vary from one asthma attack to another. Symptoms can differ in how severe they are: Sometimes symptoms can be mildly annoying, other times they can be serious enough to make you stop what you are doing, and sometimes symptoms can be so serious that they are life threatening.

Symptoms also differ in how often they occur. Some people with asthma have symptoms only once every few months, others have symptoms every week, and still other people have symptoms every day. With proper treatment, however, most people with asthma can expect to have few or no symptoms.

How Is Asthma Diagnosed?

• Periods of coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, or chest tightness that come on suddenly, occur often, or seem to happen during certain times of the year or season
• Colds that seem to "go to the chest" or take more than 10 days to get over
• Medicines you may have used to help your breathing
• Your family history of asthma and allergies
• Things that seem to cause your symptoms or make them worse

Your doctor will listen to your breathing and look for signs of asthma or allergies.

Your doctor will probably use a device called a spirometer (speh-ROM-et-er) to check how your lungs are working. This test is called spirometry (speh-ROM-eh-tree). The test measures how much air you can blow out of your lungs after taking a deep breath, and how fast you can do it . The results will be lower than normal if your airways are inflamed and narrowed, or if the muscles around your airways have tightened up.

As part of the test, your doctor may give you a medicine that helps open narrowed airways to see if the medicine changes or improves your test results.

Spirometry is also used to check your asthma over time to see how you are doing.

Spirometry usually cannot be used in children younger than 5 years. If your child is younger than 5 years, the doctor may decide to try medicine for a while to see if the child's symptoms get better.

If your spirometry results are normal but you have asthma symptoms, your doctor will probably want you to have other tests to see what else could be causing your symptoms.

These include:

• Allergy testing to find out if and what allergens affect you.
• A test in which you use a peak flow meter every day for 1-2 weeks to check your breathing. A peak flow meter is a hand-held device that helps you monitor how well you are breathing.
• A test to see how your airways react to exercise.
• A test to see if you have sinus disease.

Other tests, such as a chest x ray or an electrocardiogram, may be needed to find out if a foreign object or other lung diseases or heart disease could be causing your symptoms. A correct diagnosis is important because asthma is treated differently from other diseases with similar symptoms.

Depending on the results of your physical exam, medical history, and lung function tests, your doctor can determine how severe your asthma is. This is important because the severity of your asthma will determine how your asthma should be treated. One way for doctors to classify asthma severity is by considering how often you have symptoms when you are not taking any medicine or when your asthma is not well controlled.

Based on symptoms, the four levels of asthma severity are:

• Mild intermittent (comes and goes)—you have episodes of asthma symptoms twice a week or less, and you are bothered by symptoms at night twice a month or less; between episodes, however, you have no symptoms and your lung function is normal.
• Mild persistent asthma—you have asthma symptoms more than twice a week, but no more than once in a single day. You are bothered by symptoms at night more than twice a month. You may have asthma attacks that affect your activity.
• Moderate persistent asthma—you have asthma symptoms every day, and you are bothered by nighttime symptoms more than once a week. Asthma attacks may affect your activity.
• Severe persistent asthma—you have symptoms throughout the day on most days, and you are bothered by nighttime symptoms often. In severe asthma, your physical activity is likely to be limited.

Anyone with asthma can have a severe attack—even people who have intermittent or mild persistent asthma.

How Is Asthma Treated?

Your doctor can work with you to decide about your treatment goals and what you need to do to control your asthma to achieve these goals. Asthma treatment includes:

• Working closely with your doctor to decide what your treatment goals are and learning how to meet those goals.
• Avoiding things that bring on your asthma symptoms or make your symptoms worse. Doing so can reduce the amount of medicine you need to control your asthma.
• Using asthma medicines. Allergy medicine and shots may also help control asthma in some people.
• Monitoring your asthma so that you can recognize when your symptoms are getting worse and respond quickly to prevent or stop an asthma attack.

With proper treatment, you should ideally have these results:

• Your asthma should be controlled.
• You should be free of asthma symptoms.
• You should have fewer attacks.
• You should need to use quick-relief medicines less often.
• You should be able to do normal activities without having symptoms.

Your doctor will work with you to develop an asthma self-management plan for controlling your asthma on a daily basis and an emergency action plan for stopping asthma attacks. These plans will tell you what medicines you should take and other things you should do to keep your asthma under control.

Medicines for Asthma

There are two main types of medicines for asthma:

• Quick-relief medicines—taken at the first signs of asthma symptoms for immediate relief of these symptoms. You will feel the effects of these medicines within minutes.
• Long-term control medicines—taken every day, usually over long periods of time, to prevent symptoms and asthma episodes or attacks. You will feel the full effects of these medicines after taking them for a few weeks. People with persistent asthma need long-term control medicines.

Quick-relief medicines

Everyone with asthma needs a quick-relief or "rescue" medicine to stop asthma symptoms before they get worse. Short-acting inhaled beta-agonists are the preferred quick-relief medicine. These medicines are bronchodilators. They act quickly to relax tightened muscles around your airways so that the airways can open up and allow more air to flow through.

You should take your quick-relief medicine when you first begin to feel asthma symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath. You should carry your quick-relief inhaler with you at all times in case of an asthma attack.

Your doctor may recommend that you take your quick-relief medicines at other times as well—for example, before exercise.

Long-term control medicines

The most effective, long-term control medicine for asthma is an inhaled corticosteroid (kor-ti-ko-STE-roid) because this medicine reduces the airway swelling that makes asthma attacks more likely.

Inhaled corticosteroids (or steroids for short) are the preferred medicine for controlling mild, moderate, and severe persistent asthma. They are generally safe when taken as directed by your doctor.

The alternative natural approach:

In some cases, steroid tablets or liquid are used for short periods of time to bring asthma under control. The tablet or liquid form may also be used to control severe asthma.

Other long-term control medicines include:

• Inhaled long-acting beta-agonists. These medicines are bronchodilators, or muscle relaxers, not antiinflammatory drugs. They are used to help control moderate and severe asthma and to prevent nighttime symptoms. Long-acting beta-agonists are usually taken together with inhaled corticosteroid medicines.
• Leukotriene modifiers (montelukast, zafirlukast, and zileuton), which are used either alone to treat mild persistent asthma or together with inhaled corticosteroids to treat moderate or severe asthma.
• Cromolyn and nedocromil, which are used to treat mild persistent asthma.
• Theophylline, which is used either alone to treat mild persistent asthma or together with inhaled corticosteroids to treat moderate persistent asthma. People who take theophylline should have their blood levels checked to be sure the dose is appropriate.

We recommend the alternative Natural approach:

Magnesium sulfate is used as a treatment for asthma.

• Mg is known to be important for proper lung functioning.
• Mg is being increasingly looked at as a treatment for asthma.
• A study from Brown University showed "remarkable" improvement in children with asthma who were treated with intravenous magnesium.
• Low polymorph nuclear magnesium content has been observed in patients with bronchial asthma. The study authors believe that polymorph nuclear magnesium content may have an important role in causing asthma.
• A study reported on in the Lancet, notes that people who have diets lower in Mg have more asthmatic symptoms. People with diets higher in magnesium have less asthmatic symptoms.
• Mg prevents pre-asthmatic lung changes in animal studies.
• Asthma is a common finding in connective tissue disorders, as are keratinous, mistral valve prolapsed, rachitic skeletal defects and many other conditions associated with magnesium deficiency. Asthma occurs frequently along with allergies, seizures and many other disorders that can all be linked to a Mg deficiency.

Bromine helps with the natural repair of the body together with cell metabolism and can be sued as a natural antibiotic.

Saunas often use Dead Sea salts to evaporate the bromides thus creating and environment similar to the Dead Sea. Having a hot bath with Dead Sea salts and allowing the steam to collect in the bathroom will have a similar effect. Other than the benefits listed below for bath salts, steaming and using these salts in the bath can be beneficial for respiratory conditions e.g. asthma.

If you stop taking long-term control medicines, your asthma will likely worsen again.

Many people with asthma need both a short-acting bronchodilator to use when symptoms worsen and long-term daily asthma control medicines to treat the ongoing inflammation.

Over time, your doctor may need to make changes in your asthma medicine. You may need to increase your dose, lower your dose, or try a combination of medicines. Be sure to work with your doctor to find the best treatment for your asthma. The goal is to use the least amount of medicine necessary to control your asthma.

Most asthma medicines are inhaled. They go directly into your lungs where they are needed. There are many kinds of inhalers, and many require different techniques. It is important to know how to use your inhaler correctly.

Use a Peak Flow Meter

As part of your daily asthma self-management plan, your doctor may recommend that you use a hand-held device called a peak flow meter at home to monitor how well your lungs are working.

You use the peak flow meter by taking a deep breath in and then blowing the air out hard into the peak flow meter. The peak flow meter then gives you a peak flow number that tells you how fast you moved the air out.

You will need to find out your "personal best" peak flow number. You do this by recording your peak flow number every day for a few weeks until your asthma is under control. The highest number you get during that time is your personal best peak flow. Then you can compare future peak flow measurements to your personal best peak flow, and that will show if your asthma is staying under control.

Your doctor will tell you how and when to use your peak flow meter and how to use your medicines based on the results. You may be advised to use your peak flow meter each morning to keep track of how well you are breathing.

Your peak flow meter can help warn you of a possible asthma attack even before you notice symptoms. If your peak flow meter shows that your breathing is getting worse, you should follow your emergency asthma action plan. Take your quick-relief or other medicines as your doctor directed. Then you can use the peak flow meter to see how your airways are responding to the medicine.

Ask your doctor about how you can take care of your asthma. You should know:

• What things tend to make your asthma worse and how to avoid them
• Early signs to watch for that mean your asthma is starting to get worse (like a drop in your peak flow number or an increase in symptoms)
• How and when to use your peak flow meter
• What medicines to take, how much to take, when to take them, and how to take them correctly
• When to call or see your doctor
• When you should get emergency treatment

Treating Asthma in Children

Children with asthma, like adults with asthma, should see a doctor for treatment of their asthma. Treatment may include allergy testing, finding ways to limit contact with things that bring on asthma attacks, and taking medicine.

Young children will need help from their parents and other caregivers to keep their asthma under control. Older children can learn to care for themselves and follow their asthma self-management plan with less supervision.

Asthma medicines for children are like those adults use, but doses are smaller. Children with asthma may need both a quick-relief (or "rescue") inhaler for attacks and daily medicine to control their asthma. Children with moderate or severe asthma should learn to use a peak flow meter to help keep their asthma under control. Using a peak flow meter can be very helpful because children often have a hard time describing their symptoms.

Parents should be alert for possible signs of asthma in children, such as coughing at night, frequent colds, wheezing, or other signs of breathing problems. If you suspect that your child has asthma or that your child's asthma is not well controlled, take your child to a doctor for an exam and testing.

Your doctor will choose medicines for your child based on the child's symptoms and test results. If your child has asthma, you will need to go to the doctor for regular followup visits and to make sure that your child uses the medicines properly.

Treating Asthma in Older Adults

Older adults may need to adjust their asthma treatment because of other diseases or conditions that they have. Some medicines (like beta blockers used for treating high blood pressure and glaucoma; aspirin; and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can interfere with asthma medicines or even cause asthma attacks. Be sure to tell your doctor about all medicines that you take, including over-the-counter ones.

Using steroids may affect bone density in adults, so ask your doctor about taking calcium and vitamin D supplements and other ways to help keep your bones strong.

Treating Asthma in Pregnancy

If you are pregnant, it is very important to both you and your baby to control your asthma. Uncontrolled asthma can lower the oxygen level in your blood, which means that your baby gets less oxygen too.

Most asthma medicines are generally safe to take during pregnancy. Doctors recommend that it is safer to take asthma medicines during pregnancy than to take the chance that you will have an attack.

If you are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, talk to your doctor about your asthma and how to have a healthy pregnancy.

Treating Exercise-Induced Asthma

If you use your asthma medicines as directed, you should be able to take part in any physical activity or sport you choose. Many Olympic athletes have asthma

Can Asthma Be Prevented?

We don't yet know how to prevent asthma, but there are some things that can lower your chances of having an asthma attack.

To prevent asthma symptoms:

• Learn about your asthma and how to control it.
• Use medicines as directed by your doctor to prevent or stop attacks.
• Avoid things that make your asthma worse as much as possible.
• Get regular checkups from your doctor.
• Follow your asthma self-management plan.

• Babies exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to get asthma. If a woman is exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy, her baby may also be more likely to get asthma.
• Obesity may be linked to asthma, as well as other health problems.

Living With Asthma

If you have asthma, it is important to learn how to take care of yourself. Work with your doctor on a daily asthma self-management plan that you are both happy with.

• Tell your doctor about all other medications you are taking, in case one of them affects your asthma.
• Follow your asthma self-management plan and have regular checkups.
• Learn to use your medication correctly. Ask your doctor to teach you how to use your inhaler. This is very important. If you do not use your inhalers correctly, less medication will get into your airways.
• If you are having problems taking your asthma medicine, let your doctor know right away. You need to know what things bring on your asthma symptoms. Then do what you can to avoid or limit contact with these things.
• If animal dander is a problem for you, keep your pet out of the house or at least out of your bedroom, or find it a new home.
• Do not smoke or allow smoking in your home.
• If pollen is a problem for you, stay indoors with the air conditioner on, if possible, when the pollen count is high.
• To control dust mites, wash your sheets, blankets, pillows, and stuffed toys once a week in hot water. You can get special dust proof covers for your mattress and pillows.
• If cold air bothers you, wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in the winter.
• If you have symptoms when you exercise or do routine physical activities like climbing stairs, work with your doctor to find ways to be active without having asthma symptoms. Physical activity is important.
• If you are allergic to sulfites, avoid foods (like dried fruit) or beverages (like wine) that contain them. Be alert for warning signs of an asthma attack.
• Watch for symptoms (for example, coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing) and use your quick-relief medicine as directed by your doctor.
• Use your peak flow meter as directed to monitor your asthma.

If your asthma is not under control, there will be signs that you should not ignore. The following are some signs that your asthma is getting worse:

• You have asthma symptoms more often than usual.
• Your asthma symptoms are worse than they used to be.
• Your asthma symptoms are bothering you a lot at night and making you lose sleep
• You are missing school or work because of your asthma.
• Your peak flow number is low or varies a lot from day to day.
• Your asthma medicines do not seem to be working very well anymore.
• You have to use your short-acting quick-relief, or "rescue," inhaler more often. (Using quick-relief medicine every day or using more than one inhaler a month is too much.)
• You have to go to the emergency room or doctor because of an asthma attack. You end up in the hospital because of your asthma.

If your asthma seems to be getting worse, see your doctor. You may need to change your medicines or do other things to get your asthma under control.

Helping Your Child Live With Asthma

Children with asthma need the help of parents, other caregivers, teachers, and health care professionals to keep their asthma under control.

You can help your child with asthma keep it under control. For example, you can:

• Take your child to the doctor for regular checkups and treatment.
• Make sure your child has an asthma self-management plan and that you know how to follow it.
• Help your child learn about asthma and how to control it.
• Help your child learn what things cause his or her asthma symptoms and how to avoid them, if possible.
• Protect your child from tobacco smoke by not smoking and not allowing people to smoke in your home.
• Find ways to reduce your child's exposure to allergens that bring on asthma attacks, like pollen, dust mites, cockroaches, or animal dander.
• Make sure your child knows how to take asthma medicines correctly (if your child is old enough to use an inhaler without your help).
• Make sure that your child uses a peak flow meter to help monitor and control asthma.
• Encourage your child to take part in physical activity. Work together to keep his or her asthma under control. Your child can be active.
• Talk to your child's other caregivers, teachers, or coaches about his or her asthma; give them copies of your child's asthma self-management plan

Key Points

• Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways, the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.
• In asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed, or swollen. The inflammation makes them very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When they react, they get narrower and less air flows through to your lungs. This causes symptoms like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.
• Asthma cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live normal, active lives.
• When your asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it is called an asthma episode or attack. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that not enough oxygen can get to your vital organs. People can die from severe asthma attacks.
• Taking care of your asthma is an important part of your life. Controlling it means working closely with your doctor to learn how to manage your condition, staying away from things that bother your airways and bring on asthma symptoms, taking medicines as directed by your doctor, and monitoring your asthma so you can respond quickly to signs of an attack. Ask your doctor for a written daily asthma selfmanagement plan and an emergency action plan for asthma attacks, and make sure you understand and know how to use them.
• Researchers still do not know what causes asthma, although they do know that if other people in your family have asthma, you are more likely to develop it. Being exposed early in your life to things like tobacco smoke, infections, and some allergens may also increase your chances of developing asthma.
• Some of the more common things that bring on asthma symptoms include exercise, allergens, irritants, and viral infections.
• Common asthma symptoms include coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and faster or noisy breathing.
• Doctors find out whether you have asthma by looking at your family history of asthma and allergies, exploring the things that seem to cause your symptoms or make them worse, and giving you a test, called spirometry, that measures how much air you can blow out of your lungs after taking a deep breath and how quickly you can do it. They may also perform tests to find out if you have allergies, to see how your airways react to exercise, to find out whether you have gastroesophageal reflux disease or sinus disease, and to rule out heart disease and other lung diseases.
• Asthma is treated with two kinds of medicines: quick-relief medicines to stop asthma symptoms and long-term control medicines to prevent symptoms.
• Short-acting inhaled beta-agonists are the preferred quick-relief medicine. The most effective, long-term control medicine is an inhaled corticosteroid, which reduces inflammation in your lungs. Most long-term control medicines must be taken daily, even when you do not have symptoms.
• Other long-term control medicines include inhaled long-acting beta-agonists, leukotriene modifiers, cromolyn, and theophylline.
• Most asthma medicines are inhaled. As a result, they go straight to your lungs where they are needed. It is important to learn how to use your inhalers correctly.
• Many people with asthma need to monitor their condition with a peak flow meter. This is a hand-held device that measures how well your lungs are working. A peak flow meter can help you detect early changes in your condition, especially if you change your medicines, and warn you of a possible attack even before you feel symptoms.
• Parents of children with asthma need to help them manage their asthma, including making sure the child uses his or her medicines properly and watching for any signs of an attack.
• Older people with asthma may need to adjust their treatment because of other diseases or conditions that they have. Some medicines that many older people take can interfere with asthma medicines or even cause asthma attacks.
• It is especially important for pregnant women with asthma to control their asthma. Uncontrolled asthma can limit the supply of oxygen to the fetus. Doctors recommend that it is safer to take asthma medicines during pregnancy than to take the chance that you will have an attack.
• Regular physical activity is just as important for people with asthma as for the rest of the population. If exercise brings on your asthma symptoms, talk to your doctor about the best ways to control your asthma when you are active.

Sinus Infection Overview

Sinus infection, or sinusitis, is an inflammation of the sinuses and nasal passages. A sinus infection can cause a headache or pressure in the eyes, nose, cheek area, or on one side of the head. A person with a sinus infection may also have a cough, a fever, bad breath, and nasal congestion with thick nasal secretions. Sinusitis is categorized as acute (sudden onset) or chronic (long term, the most common type).

Anatomy of the sinuses (also called paranasal sinuses): The human skull contains four major pairs of hollow air–filled–cavities called sinuses. These are connected to the space between the nostrils and the nasal passage. Sinuses help insulate the skull, reduce its weight, and allow the voice to resonate within it. The four major pairs of sinuses are the:

• Frontal sinuses (in the forehead)
• Maxillary sinuses (behind the cheek bones)
• Ethmoid sinuses (between the eyes)
• Sphenoid sinuses (behind the eyes)

The sinuses contain defenses against foreign bacteria (germs). If a disruption occurs that affects the normal host defenses inside the sinuses, those defenses may allow bacteria, which are normally present in the nasal passages, to enter any of the sinuses. Once there, the bacteria may stick to the lining cells and cause a sinus infection.

Acute sinusitis usually lasts less than eight weeks or occurs no more than three times per year with each episode lasting no longer than 10 days. Medications are usually effective against acute sinusitis. Successful treatment counteracts damage done to the mucous lining of the sinuses and surrounding bone of the skull.

Chronic sinusitis lasts longer than eight weeks or occurs more than four times per year with symptoms usually lasting more than 20 days.

The sinuses are covered with a mucus layer and cells that contain little hairs on their surfaces called cilia. These help trap and propel bacteria and pollutants outward. The ostiomeatal complex (OMC) connects the nasal passage to the paranasal sinuses.

Sinus Infection Causes

Acute sinusitis usually follows a viral infection in the upper respiratory tract, but allergens (allergy–causing substances), or pollutants may also trigger acute sinusitis. A viral infection causes damage to the cells of the sinus lining, which leads to inflammation. The lining thickens with fluid that obstructs the nasal passage. This passage connects to the sinuses. The obstruction disrupts the process that removes bacteria normally present in the nasal passages, and the bacteria begin to multiply and invade the lining of the sinus. This causes the symptoms of sinus infection. Allergens and pollutants produce a similar effect.

Bacteria that normally cause acute sinusitis are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. These microorganisms, along with Staphylococcus aureus and anaerobes (bacteria that live without oxygen), are involved in chronic sinusitis.

Fungi are also becoming an increasing cause of chronic sinusitis, especially in people with diseases that weaken the immune system, such as AIDS, leukemia, and diabetes.

Sinus Infection Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of sinus infections depend upon which sinuses are affected and whether the sinus infection is acute or chronic.

Acute sinusitis:

• Ethmoid sinusitis (behind the eyes)
• Nasal congestion with discharge or postnasal drip (mucus drips down the throat behind the nose)
• Pain or pressure around the inner corner of the eye or down one side of the nose
• Headache in the temple or surrounding the eye
• Pain or pressure symptoms worse when coughing, straining, or lying on the back and better when the
• head is upright
• Fever common
• Maxillary sinusitis (behind the cheek bones)
• Pain across the cheekbone, under or around the eye, or around the upper teeth
• Pain or pressure on one side or both
• Tender, red, or swollen cheekbone
• Pain and pressure symptoms worse with the head upright and bending forward and better when reclining
• Nasal discharge or postnasal drip
• Fever common
• Frontal sinusitis (behind forehead, one or both sides)
• Severe headaches in the forehead
• Fever common
• Pain worse when reclining and better with the head upright
• Nasal discharge or postnasal drip
• Sphenoid sinusitis (behind the eyes)
• Deep headache with pain behind and on top of the head, across the forehead, and behind the eye
• Fever common
• Pain worse when lying on the back or bending forward
• Double vision or vision disturbances if pressure extends into the brain
• Nasal discharge or postnasal drip

Chronic sinusitis:

• Ethmoid sinusitis
• Chronic nasal discharge, obstruction, and low–grade discomfort across the bridge of the nose
• Pain worse in the late morning or when wearing glasses
• Chronic sore throat and bad breath
• Usually recurs in other sinuses
• Maxillary sinusitis
• Discomfort or pressure below the eye
• Chronic toothache
• Pain possibly worse with colds, flu, or allergies
• Increased discomfort throughout the day with increased cough at night
• Frontal sinusitis
• Persistent, low–grade headache in the forehead
• History of trauma or damage to the sinus area
• Sphenoid sinusitis
• Low–grade general headache common

Self–Care at Home

Home care can help open the sinuses and alleviate their dryness.

• Promote drainage
• Drink plenty of water and hydrating beverages. Hot tea is often recommended.
• Inhale steam two to four times per day by leaning over a bowl of boiling hot water (not while the water is on the stove) or using a steam vaporizer with a towel over the head and bowl to prevent the escape of the steam. Inhale the steam for about 10 minutes. Taking a hot, steamy shower may also work. Mentholated preparations, such as Vicks Vapo–Rub, can be added to the water or vaporizer to aid in opening the passageways.
• Thin the mucus: Expectorants are drugs that help to expel mucus from the lungs and respiratory passages. They help to thin mucous secretions, enhancing drainage from the sinuses. The most common is guaifenesin (contained in Robitussin, for example). Over–the–counter (OTC) liquid cough medications or prescription tablets can also combine decongestants and cough suppressants to reduce symptoms as well as to eliminate the need for the use of many medications. Read label ingredients to find the right combination of ingredients or ask the pharmacist for help.
• Relieve pain: Pain medication such as ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil are examples), aspirin, and acetaminophen (Tylenol is in this category) can reduce pain and inflammation. These medications help to open the airways by reducing swelling.

The Natural approach

Bromine helps with the natural repair of the body together with cell metabolism and can be sued as a natural antibiotic.

Saunas often use Dead Sea salts to evaporate the bromides thus creating and environment similar to the Dead Sea. Having a hot bath with Dead Sea salts and allowing the steam to collect in the bathroom will have a similar effect. Other than the benefits listed below for bath salts, steaming and using these salts in the bath can be beneficial for respiratory conditions e.g. sinus infection.

Magnesium is necessary in assisting the body to utilize other essential nutrients and in cell metabolism.

1. To improve breathing and fight infections, inhale steamed vapors of the essential oils of camphor, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, pine, or tea tree.
2. Have yourself screened for food allergies and sensitivities, and avoid eating those foods to which you test positive.
3. Determine if you have acute (lasts 2-8 weeks) or chronic sinusitis. Untreated chronic cases can result in increased degeneration of the mucus membrane.
4. Avoid all sugar, wheat and soy products, soft drinks, foods containing artificial ingredients, and commercially processed foods. Reduce your intake of caffeine products, commercial dairy products, red meat, and refined carbohydrates.
5. Drink eight ounces of pure, filtered water every two hours; add freshly-squeezed lemon juice and a dash of cayenne pepper. Enjoy freshly-made, organic vegetable juices during the day, as well as hot broths and soups.
6. Eat an organic, whole foods diet, with plenty of fresh, raw organic fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, organic, free-range meats and poultry, and wild-caught fish. Use garlic, cayenne pepper, chili peppers, horseradish, and onion liberally.
7. Useful herbs for sinusitis include Echinacea, elder flowers, eyebright, goldenrod, goldenseal, stinging nettle, wild indigo, and yarrow.
8. Helpful homeopathic remedies include Arsenicum album, Kalium bichromium, Mercurius iodatus, Nux vomica, Silicea, and Euphorbium compositum.
9. Do saltwater nasal irrigation to clear nasal passages. Hot foot baths and alternating hot and cold compresses over the sinuses help symptoms. If you smoke, seek help to stop. Avoid exposure to secondhand smoke and excessively cold or dry air.
10. Invest in a negative ion generator, a humidifier, and add air-filtering plants to your home and work. Keep your place well ventilated.
11. Useful nutrients include vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, calcium, chromium picolinate, magnesium, selenium, and zinc. Take flaxseed oil and omega-3 oils, as well as a multivitamin/multimineral complex supplement.
12. Do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five times a week. Also include stretching and strengthconditioning exercises, and an easy relaxation technique spending five minutes a few times a day sitting comfortably with your eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply through the nose, allowing the belly to rise and fall.