How to Raise a Kid with Asthma (Part 1)

Besides you as parents, their siblings and friends, kids may love toys, play and…food perhaps the most. I know I did. Another thing I know from experience is some forms of play and food are factors that can trigger an asthma attack.
Boy, was it sad being told when I had my first attack as a kid that I’d have to stay indoors most of the time or I couldn’t eat my favorite foods, so I can empathize with any kid who is going through the same thing. But at this point, as an adult, I can also empathize with any parent who has to raise a kid with asthma.
Just how do you go about doing that?
It goes without saying that at times what may be the best for our kids is not what they may want simply because they just don’t understand. Now when, it comes to laying strict rules for children to prevent asthma attacks, it sometimes may cause friction between a parent and a child.
That considered, try to do the following:
Sit with the child and have a heart to heart talk with them about their health ‘challenge’ and why extra care has to be taken to not aggravate its symptoms.
You may have to be creative in explaining to them why they have such a disease as asthma in the first place, however with the tips I will provide you, (God, I wish someone told my parents of this in my childhood…), you and your child may perhaps altogether curb the asthma problems.
First, change the child’s diet. This might require a little bit of creativity here parents, because my suggestion for a diet for natural asthma treatment involves giving up all processed foods and animal products such as meat, milk, eggs and the like from your diet-plain and simple. These are mucus forming foods and we all know what one physical characteristic of asthma symptoms are: Mucus.
This is a fact that has been in effect in several programs aimed at correcting respiratory health such as the "Breath Retaining Program for Asthmatics" developed by the Russian, Dr. Buteyko. Within weeks of adhering to his advice, many a chronic asthmatic has been able to give up the use of ventolin inhalers.
Replace these items with mucus binding or non-mucus forming foods. These are quite simply fruits and vegetables. Make sure they are organic if possible or at least not in the list of the “dirty dozen” i.e. the ones most contaminated with pesticides such as Apples, Mexican Melons, Grapes etc…
Trust me on this; I’m speaking from experience, you will do very well to avoid the fruits in that list when it comes to asthma. Nonetheless you’d still be much better off steering clear of those food substances labeled as mucus-forming earlier on.
In addition, from my own experience, DO NOT CONSUME LIQUIDS WITH YOUR MEALS AT ANY TIME. This inhibits digestion by diluting the necessary juices in your stomach designated for that purpose. As a result, it hinders the much needed expansion of the diaphragm and consequently a constriction of the lungs- the bellows of life giving air- which results in the wheezing sounds any asthma patient is familiar with.
Now, for kids, it surprisingly may not be too hard, however if need be, you may firmly, but lovingly have to put your foot down and say they can’t have the substances mentioned. You can explain why, kids listen. In addition, when kids see you eat the same things, they more than likely will follow suit. This in turn of course will help the whole family.
Besides kids love fruits, now vegetables, that’s another thing admittedly-but there are fun ways you can incorporate vegetables into your kid’s diet.
For example, you could juice a stalk of celery and add it to some fresh apple juice made by a juicer (if you are so inclined); you could blend it into a smoothie of bananas, dates and young coconuts… (Now this tastes good!), or you could simply bake some sweet potatoes or yams and have them with mashed and lightly salted avocadoes (just be sure its uniodized sea-salt)…that would work. Trust me, I have a sweet tooth and I know what tastes good.
You can also try salads with home made dressings made of simply blending avocadoes, a dash of un-iodized sea-salt and fresh tomatoes. These are all ways that I ‘sneak’ veggies into my personal diet.
Obviously, I’ve written a lot about diet here in regards to asthma treatment and your kids. That’s because it’s arguably the most important factor. I will go over the rest in part 2 of this article and it is with hope that this will lay the foundation for a successful asthma treatment regimen for you kid naturally.
Here’s to free breathing and happier kids