Q: I am having a strange pain in my left wrist. I don't know what arthritis feels like, but I imagine it is similar to this. I am having a localized pain on the inside joint (the one facing the other arm when I hold my arms out with palms down) between the wrist bone and the lower thumb joint. It is a little swollen - not much - but tender to the touch. It hurts mainly when using it to lift something, but has recently started "catching" where it feels like it gets stuck on something inside there, and I have to sort of move it or wait for it to get unstuck. I don't know if that makes sense. I have 6 month old twins, so I wonder if it is a result of a lot of lifting. Also, I am nursing, so I don't want to take anything that will affect that.
Thank you so much for your thoughts.
A: The first thought that comes to mind is certainly overuse. Many women experience various repetitive injuries after having babies, such as bursitis, mild carpal tunnel and other hand, wrist, arm, back and hip conditions. It's quite a wear carrying around a baby all the time, or holding a baby to nurse, and that's doubled with twins, of course! The hormones of nursing may also contribute to tissue issues.
With the inflammation, I'm inclined to believe that this is responsible for the "catching" sensation. I think that you should first tackle the inflammation and see if this problem eases as a result. If it doesn't, you might consider an X-ray just in case you're having a more serious problem with the bone itself.
My first inclination is to recommend some herbs like white willow bark, but because of the presence of aspirin in these plants, I'd be concerned about combining them with nursing. The next option is feverfew. This herb is wonderful for all kinds of aches and pains. You can take it as a tea or tincture. As a tea, steep 1 t. of the herb in 1 c. hot water and steep it for five minutes. You can sweeten it with honey and try to get in three cups a day. The easiest way to do this is just to make a big batch every day and drink it a few times a day from that big batch. Or you can take a dropperful of tincture in juice or tea up to three times a day. Feverfew doesn't work for everybody so try it for a week or two to see if it works for you. You may combine the tea or tincture with licorice root and/or echinacea for added benefit.
Ginger is also great for reducing inflammation and relieving pain, and it's very safe. You can just take ginger capsules (500-100 mg/day) or you can make a tea from the fresh herb (1 T. grated ginger to 1 c. hot water).
An enzyme called bromelain, which comes from pineapple, is also awesome for inflammation. You can even apply fresh pineapple as a topical treatment! Or you can take bromelain capsules. Studies conducted on patients using bromelain as a result of trauma or swelling from surgery showed that 75% had good to excellent improvement, which was even better than drugs.
Finally, I'd recommend increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. EFA's are extremely important for preventing inflammation responses. You can accomplish this by eating fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel, sprinkling ground flaxseed on your morning cereal or adding it to baked goods, and/or take an oil supplement including borage, evening primrose and/or black currant. This oil has shown excellent results with arthritis sufferers.
For all of these remedies, watch yourself and your baby closely for signs of irritation or sensitivity. For many herbs, little is known about the effect on breastfeeding. I haven't included recommendations for some herbs, such as pau d'arco, which do have powerful effects for relief of inflammation and pain, but also may have strong side effects and may influence your babies through milk. Feverfew, echinacea, licorice root and ginger are all generally safe herbs for breastfeeding, but it's always good to be cautious and aware of any unwanted side effects.
As for topical application, arnica gel or cream is an excellent local treatment for pain. Essential oils of thyme and/or peppermint can be combined with a carrier oil and applied for pain relief. But the most important thing is also, probably, the most difficult thing: rest! Rest it as much as you can; switch hands often when holding your babies for nursing and just try your best to keep weight off of it. Do some gentle exercises at night to stretch the tendons and increase blood flow to the area. I really believe that reducing the inflammation will go a long way toward healing the pain and that catching sensation.
Let me know if you have any other questions or if anything needs to be clarified.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
herbal profile: comfrey
Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, is in the Boraginaceae family along with bluebells and forget-me-nots. This plant originated in Europe and temperate climates in Asia; it has been cultivated as a healer for almost 2500 years. Comfrey is also known as knitbone, blackwort, bruisewort, gum plant, healing herb, salsify and slippery root. The parts used are the root and rhizome and the leaf. Comfrey's properties are vulnerary, demulcent, anti-inflammatory, astringent and expectorant. Traditionally, comfrey has been used to ease inflammation from sprains and broken bones and also to treat wounds. It continues to be used this way today by modern herbalists.
Comfrey is an extremely mucilaginous plant, even more so than marshmallow. This mucilage can be wrapped around a broken bone or applied as a poultice. When treating wounds, it's important to combine comfrey with an antiseptic herb such as Echinacea purpurea, goldenseal or calendula. Comfrey's high protein content may make open wounds a breeding ground for bacteria even as it speeds their healing. Cuts and abrasions should also be as clean as possible before applying comfrey, due to comfrey's admirably fast rate of healing.
Comfrey acts as a vulnerary by reducing inflammation at fracture sites, easing the passage for bones to knit together. Traditionally, comfrey has also been used internally for ulcers, diarrhea and respiratory illnesses such as pleurisy and bronchitis. It has also been used in place of marshmallow to act similarly on intestinal problems. Native peoples have used comfrey to treat abscesses, enlarged glands, hernias and amenorrhea.
The issue of applying comfrey to broken skin is a confusing one. Many sources state strongly that comfrey should never be applied to broken skin, while other sources explain that it is upon broken skin that comfrey displays its most admirable qualities. For personal use, I often apply comfrey to broken skin. It's become my go-to resource for this purpose. I always pair comfrey with an antiseptic herb, as mentioned above, and I suspect that the reason many conventional resources discourage its use in this way is because, as I mentioned, its protein content and power as a speedy healer could encourage infection if the proper precautions are not taken. I believe that if one is cautious about properly cleaning wounds and applying antiseptics in conjunction with comfrey, it's a worthwhile practice to use comfrey with wounds of all types. I've had several excellent successes with this plant. It is important to treat this powerful herb with respect and to avoid using it with abandon. It requires a careful hand and a suspicious nature regarding infection. But I would recommend this herb without hesitation to those willing to approach it with reverence.
Researchers believe that it is the presence of allantoin that lends comfrey its usefulness in the healing of wounds and fractures. This chemical, also found in breastmilk, encourages cell growth, which aids healing inside and out. Allantoin increases the production of white blood cells and encourages cell proliferation, while possessing anti-irritant and moisturizing properties.
As mentioned above, comfrey has traditionally been used as an internal treatment. This practice has recently fallen out of favor with the discovery that comfrey-pepsin capsules, which are marketed as a digestive aid, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Ingestion of these capsules has been linked to cases of hepatic veno-occlusive disease. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids may also be carcinogenic, especially to the liver. Though no liver toxicity has been detected in groups of humans who regularly consume comfrey, animal studies [PDF file] have indicated that pyrrolizidine alkaloids cause hepatomas and other liver pathologies. For these reasons, comfrey has been banned or restricted in some countries such as Canada, Australia and Brazil. The FDA has strongly discouraged the use of comfrey in the US, though it has not yet attempted to restrict it.
In analyzing the data from the above-mentioned animal studies, two issues become immediately clear. The first is that the rats were fed a quantity of comfrey that would translate unrealistically to human intake. In some studies, comfrey leaves composed 30% of the rats' diet for a period of 480-600 days, while comfrey roots were fed to the rats for 245-280 days. In other studies, the milled, extracted and purified version of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid, symphytine, was also injected into the rats for almost two months. These dosages are not indicative of the standard usage for a healthy adult human. It's unsurprising, considering the very small caloric value of any sort of green leafy plant, that a 30% comfrey diet resulted in reduced weight gain for the rats.
Another issue is the use of the fresh plant compared to ready-to-use, or even extracted, preparations. Many of the animal studies involving comfrey utilized an extracted compound of pyrrolizidine alkaloid. While these studies did demonstrate the hepatotoxic quality of these alkaloids, it would be irresponsible to consider these studies the final word on the toxic or carcinogenic quality of the whole plant. Edible and medicinal plants contain thousands of different compounds and chemicals, many of which have yet to be identified, labeled or studied. It has been demonstrated in studies such as the Beta Carotene Chemoprevention Trial (CARET) and the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Trial (ATBC) that applying an extracted chemical rather than encouraging the ingestion of the whole plant results in very different effects. The CARET study, which examined the effects of extracted beta carotene rather than the ingestion of plants that contained carotenoids, was halted before completion due to the apparent result that beta carotene encouraged cancer in smokers rather than preventing it. It's been definitively proven, however, that consuming plants that contain carotenoids such as beta carotene helps to prevent cancer in a wide variety of subjects.
In the case of human disease in which comfrey is implicated, a major issue seems to be with the ingestion of the aforementioned comfrey-pepsin tablets, which are administered for digestive problems. The abstract of one study mentions a New Zealand newspaper article about a young man who died from liver collapse after regular consumption of comfrey. No other information is given about this “case study.” Another case involved an older woman who consumed 10 cups of comfrey tea and handfuls of comfrey pills a day for over a year. One case involved a man who experienced light-headedness, confusion, dilated pupils, rapid heartbeat and difficulty urinating after consuming comfrey that was most likely contaminated with atropine, an alkaloid extracted from plants such as deadly nightshade. One 77-year-old woman experienced liver and pulmonary disease after consuming a combination of comfrey and scullcap for six months. Other cases mentioned in this study only indicated that the individual in question had consumed “large amounts” of comfrey without information regarding the quantity, the duration, the preparation or what part of the plant was being used. It is questionable, again, whether these case studies exemplify a standardized experience.
There are reasons to be concerned about comfrey's pyrrolizidine alkaloid content. The effects of these alkaloids may be cumulative, despite evidence that they are excreted in animals within 24 hours. For this reason, it may be difficult to track liver disease or some other dysfunction to the use of comfrey. In cases that have been definitively linked to the use of comfrey, the patient in question was usually consuming massive quantities of the plant. Without the questionable benefit of such an obviously extreme intake, it can be difficult to understand the exact result of consistent, or even occasional, low-dose intake of comfrey.
The use of comfrey in packaged herbal remedies is questionable. There is no standardization for the sale of comfrey. There is often no information provided regarding whether the root or the leaf is used in the product, despite the fact that their properties and effects can be very different. Pyrrolizidine alkaloid content can vary widely from one product to the next. Comfrey's contents may depend on when and where the plant is harvested and how it is prepared and applied. Individuals should perhaps steer clear of prepared comfrey products and instead grow their own comfrey or harvest it from a reputable, consistent site. It would also be advised that those with liver disease avoid ingesting the plant. Children and the elderly should perhaps avoid ingesting comfrey until more is known about its effect on developing or weakened constitutions. The use of comfrey should perhaps be confined to use of the plant in a minimally-processed form, as a mild tea or topical application, rather than extracts, tinctures or capsules.
As in all things, moderation is the key. Plants are powerful and they should not be used indiscriminately. There is no doubt that comfrey provides impressive benefits as a topical application for wounds, fractures and inflammation. A caution might be warranted to confine the use of comfrey for external healing with only limited, short-term application for internal use.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Q&A: skin care
Q: Can I get the low-down on face care from you? My face is a total wreck. So is my diet, so I'm thinking the two might be connected. Do you have any suggestions for a quick fix while I also get my diet straightened out? And as always, diet tips are welcome.
A: First of all, I'd ask if you are on birth control pills. Progesterone can contribute to acne; it's progesterone that causes premenstrual flare-ups. If you do have such a medication, you might consider asking your health care provider to switch you to a low-dose pill, or simply use another form of birth control.
Diet is definitely linked to acne, though the most common cause is hormones - hormones from puberty and the menstrual cycle increase oil output. Allergies and stress also contribute, as do certain drugs, like steroids and lithium.
As for diet:
Consuming hydrogenated fat, too much saturated fat and too many animal products, especially dairy, may contribute to overproduction of oil and bacteria. Many people (including me) have seen dramatic improvements in skin condition by removing dairy, but you can simply try to replace some dairy products with healthier versions - i.e., less sour cream and milk, more yogurt. Some health care providers recommend eliminating dairy for one month to see if symptoms improve. Acne can be a response to dairy intolerance or allergy.
A potassium deficiency can cause acne. Potassium is found in greens, sweet potatoes, bananas, winter squash, avocado, pinto beans and lentils.
Vitamin A is a very important nutrient for the skin. Good sources include all red, yellow and orange vegetables and fruits, some meats and fish, dark green vegetables such as broccoli and greens, as well as various fortified products.
Omega-3 fatty acids are good for unblocking pores and maintaining overall skin (and otherwise) health. Fatty fish and eggs are good sources, and I'd definitely recommend buying some whole flaxseed. It's pretty cheap. You can grind a quantity to use for three or four days; store it in the refrigerator and put it in smoothies, on top of cereal, in baked goods, etc. A tablespoon a day is a good amount.
A vitamin B complex that contains niacinamide (not niacin) is very good for stress, skin tone and blood flow; B3 (niacin) deficiency has definitely been connected with acne. Food sources of B3 include fatty fish, mushrooms, asparagus, greens, tomatoes, some grains and melons.
Eat some nuts and seeds every day for healthy fats and tissue repair. Just one Brazil nut a day will get you all the selenium you require, which is good for the tissues and as an antioxidant, it's also a cancer preventative.
Garlic is also good for healing. You can actually use garlic as a topical treatment because of its sulfur content. Slice a clove in half and rub it on any blemishes a few times a day.
Speaking of sulfur, it's called "the beauty mineral" because it's essential to healthy skin, hair and nails. You can get sulfur in greens, cabbage, horseradish, all alliums (garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, etc.), cranberries and eggs.
Fruit is the best thing you can eat for good skin. A high-fiber diet - lots of whole grains and vegetables - is also important. The skin is an organ, and its health reflects what's going on inside. Drinking enough water is the most important thing you can do for overall health, especially that of the skin.
As for herbs:
A tincture of chaste tree berry is good during the premenstrual period to ease all symptoms, including breakouts, by helping to balance the hormones.
Lavender essential oil can be applied directly to blemishes; it's antiseptic and an antibiotic that can cut down on the bacteria. Tea tree oil can be used the same way.
As for lifestyle:
You can rinse your face with 1 part apple cider vinegar and 10 parts water; this helps to balance the skin's PH.
Try to keep oil away from your skin. Harsh, exfoliating products increase oil production. Hot water with perhaps an all-natural castille soap should be enough. Makeup traps oil against the skin. Wash your pillowcase often if you're having a lot of breakouts.
Sweating is actually good for the skin because it releases toxins and oil. Aerobic exercise like brisk walking or riding a bike have the side benefit of increasing circulation to the skin.
You don't have to do everything I list here. These are just recommendations. Pick a few changes that seem manageable and see if they help you.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
A: First of all, I'd ask if you are on birth control pills. Progesterone can contribute to acne; it's progesterone that causes premenstrual flare-ups. If you do have such a medication, you might consider asking your health care provider to switch you to a low-dose pill, or simply use another form of birth control.
Diet is definitely linked to acne, though the most common cause is hormones - hormones from puberty and the menstrual cycle increase oil output. Allergies and stress also contribute, as do certain drugs, like steroids and lithium.
As for diet:
Consuming hydrogenated fat, too much saturated fat and too many animal products, especially dairy, may contribute to overproduction of oil and bacteria. Many people (including me) have seen dramatic improvements in skin condition by removing dairy, but you can simply try to replace some dairy products with healthier versions - i.e., less sour cream and milk, more yogurt. Some health care providers recommend eliminating dairy for one month to see if symptoms improve. Acne can be a response to dairy intolerance or allergy.
A potassium deficiency can cause acne. Potassium is found in greens, sweet potatoes, bananas, winter squash, avocado, pinto beans and lentils.
Vitamin A is a very important nutrient for the skin. Good sources include all red, yellow and orange vegetables and fruits, some meats and fish, dark green vegetables such as broccoli and greens, as well as various fortified products.
Omega-3 fatty acids are good for unblocking pores and maintaining overall skin (and otherwise) health. Fatty fish and eggs are good sources, and I'd definitely recommend buying some whole flaxseed. It's pretty cheap. You can grind a quantity to use for three or four days; store it in the refrigerator and put it in smoothies, on top of cereal, in baked goods, etc. A tablespoon a day is a good amount.
A vitamin B complex that contains niacinamide (not niacin) is very good for stress, skin tone and blood flow; B3 (niacin) deficiency has definitely been connected with acne. Food sources of B3 include fatty fish, mushrooms, asparagus, greens, tomatoes, some grains and melons.
Eat some nuts and seeds every day for healthy fats and tissue repair. Just one Brazil nut a day will get you all the selenium you require, which is good for the tissues and as an antioxidant, it's also a cancer preventative.
Garlic is also good for healing. You can actually use garlic as a topical treatment because of its sulfur content. Slice a clove in half and rub it on any blemishes a few times a day.
Speaking of sulfur, it's called "the beauty mineral" because it's essential to healthy skin, hair and nails. You can get sulfur in greens, cabbage, horseradish, all alliums (garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, etc.), cranberries and eggs.
Fruit is the best thing you can eat for good skin. A high-fiber diet - lots of whole grains and vegetables - is also important. The skin is an organ, and its health reflects what's going on inside. Drinking enough water is the most important thing you can do for overall health, especially that of the skin.
As for herbs:
A tincture of chaste tree berry is good during the premenstrual period to ease all symptoms, including breakouts, by helping to balance the hormones.
Lavender essential oil can be applied directly to blemishes; it's antiseptic and an antibiotic that can cut down on the bacteria. Tea tree oil can be used the same way.
As for lifestyle:
You can rinse your face with 1 part apple cider vinegar and 10 parts water; this helps to balance the skin's PH.
Try to keep oil away from your skin. Harsh, exfoliating products increase oil production. Hot water with perhaps an all-natural castille soap should be enough. Makeup traps oil against the skin. Wash your pillowcase often if you're having a lot of breakouts.
Sweating is actually good for the skin because it releases toxins and oil. Aerobic exercise like brisk walking or riding a bike have the side benefit of increasing circulation to the skin.
You don't have to do everything I list here. These are just recommendations. Pick a few changes that seem manageable and see if they help you.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Q&A: asthma
Q: Do you have ideas for easy breathing or bronchial fitness, for my husband's asthma? We bought a Yogi Tea that seems to help, but I was wondering if you know of any alternatives.
A: I have not been very educated in this area myself, even though I have asthma. So this was a good exercise for me! Here are some ideas.
Omega-3s are important for prevention because they are an anti-inflammatory. If your husband eats fatty fish and eggs, those are good sources, but he can also add flaxseed to his diet. The cheapest way to do this is just to buy whole flaxseed and grind it yourself. Then you can add it to baked goods and sprinkle it on breakfast foods. This would be a really good thing to do as far as asthma is concerned, and also just overall health. One tablespoon a day should be sufficient.
Vitamin C is also important, to protect the lung tissue and prevent infection; it also increases air flow and helps to fight inflammation. You can get this from fruits and green vegetables.
In the middle of an attack, some people have had good success using zinc lozenges, which may shorten an asthma attack or prevent it from becoming severe.
Some asthmatics are deficient in Coenzyme Q10, which is important for countering histamine. You can get Co-Q10 in fish, meat, eggs, cruciferous vegetables, greens, peanuts and whole grains.
If his asthma is at all related to allergies, he might try using locally-produced honey and bee pollen as preventatives. Many people have had good success with treating allergies and asthma this way.
As for herbs:
Lobelia extract is helpful during an attack, as a relaxant and expectorant. It should not be taken on an ongoing basis; that is, not as a preventative, only as a treatment.
If you can find some loose-leaf mullein at an herb shop, you can infuse your own oil. Mullein oil is very powerful for asthma attacks. Taken fruit juice or tea, it often provides almost instant relief during an attack.
You can also buy loose-leaf pau d'arco. As a preventative daily tea it shows good success in studies.
You could just make your own preventative tea instead of buying one that is pre-mixed. Your own tea will be cheaper and more effective; you can never know how long those packaged teas have been sitting around, and herbs lose their effectiveness after a while. A good tea would combine licorice root (an expectorant), slippery elm bark (an expectorant that also soothes the lung tissues), echinacea (an immune stimulant), and ginger root (a stimulant and soothing tonic for muscles). You could add mullein and pau d'arco as well. This tea should not be taken every day continuously. Perhaps he could drink it for one week, then take one week off, and so on, or you could just omit the echinacea and licorice root.
Also, homeopathic belladonna relaxes the bronchioles of the lungs, so it can be a good treatment for an attack.
As for diet:
Gas-inducing foods, like cabbage and beans, can put added stress on the diaphragm. Large meals do the same thing. Fruits and vegetables, brown rice, oatmeal and other whole grains, whole nuts and seeds, a good amount of protein, and as little sugar as he can manage are some good standards. Garlic, onions and other alliums contain quercetin, which inhibit enzymes that cause inflammatory reactions. A high salt intake in people who are very active has been shown to contribute to asthma attacks.
As for lifestyle:
I don't know if removing carpeting, at least in the bedroom, is an option for you, but it's recommended that you at least try to cover your mattress in a plastic sheet and/or wash your sheets in hot water once a week to reduce allergens.
I'd also encourage him to take up yoga. Your husband is very active already, but yoga really retrains a person how to breathe. It exercises the lungs in a gentle way.
Many people end up with asthma because of undiagnosed food allergies. He might try an elimination diet at some point in the future.
This is a lot of information and, as always, I'm not recommending that you do everything here. Just pick two or three ideas that are manageable for you. If it were me, I would go with the mullein oil, the flaxseed, the preventative tea and I'd maybe pick up some zinc lozenges. These are reasonably cheap and easy options.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
A: I have not been very educated in this area myself, even though I have asthma. So this was a good exercise for me! Here are some ideas.
Omega-3s are important for prevention because they are an anti-inflammatory. If your husband eats fatty fish and eggs, those are good sources, but he can also add flaxseed to his diet. The cheapest way to do this is just to buy whole flaxseed and grind it yourself. Then you can add it to baked goods and sprinkle it on breakfast foods. This would be a really good thing to do as far as asthma is concerned, and also just overall health. One tablespoon a day should be sufficient.
Vitamin C is also important, to protect the lung tissue and prevent infection; it also increases air flow and helps to fight inflammation. You can get this from fruits and green vegetables.
In the middle of an attack, some people have had good success using zinc lozenges, which may shorten an asthma attack or prevent it from becoming severe.
Some asthmatics are deficient in Coenzyme Q10, which is important for countering histamine. You can get Co-Q10 in fish, meat, eggs, cruciferous vegetables, greens, peanuts and whole grains.
If his asthma is at all related to allergies, he might try using locally-produced honey and bee pollen as preventatives. Many people have had good success with treating allergies and asthma this way.
As for herbs:
Lobelia extract is helpful during an attack, as a relaxant and expectorant. It should not be taken on an ongoing basis; that is, not as a preventative, only as a treatment.
If you can find some loose-leaf mullein at an herb shop, you can infuse your own oil. Mullein oil is very powerful for asthma attacks. Taken fruit juice or tea, it often provides almost instant relief during an attack.
You can also buy loose-leaf pau d'arco. As a preventative daily tea it shows good success in studies.
You could just make your own preventative tea instead of buying one that is pre-mixed. Your own tea will be cheaper and more effective; you can never know how long those packaged teas have been sitting around, and herbs lose their effectiveness after a while. A good tea would combine licorice root (an expectorant), slippery elm bark (an expectorant that also soothes the lung tissues), echinacea (an immune stimulant), and ginger root (a stimulant and soothing tonic for muscles). You could add mullein and pau d'arco as well. This tea should not be taken every day continuously. Perhaps he could drink it for one week, then take one week off, and so on, or you could just omit the echinacea and licorice root.
Also, homeopathic belladonna relaxes the bronchioles of the lungs, so it can be a good treatment for an attack.
As for diet:
Gas-inducing foods, like cabbage and beans, can put added stress on the diaphragm. Large meals do the same thing. Fruits and vegetables, brown rice, oatmeal and other whole grains, whole nuts and seeds, a good amount of protein, and as little sugar as he can manage are some good standards. Garlic, onions and other alliums contain quercetin, which inhibit enzymes that cause inflammatory reactions. A high salt intake in people who are very active has been shown to contribute to asthma attacks.
As for lifestyle:
I don't know if removing carpeting, at least in the bedroom, is an option for you, but it's recommended that you at least try to cover your mattress in a plastic sheet and/or wash your sheets in hot water once a week to reduce allergens.
I'd also encourage him to take up yoga. Your husband is very active already, but yoga really retrains a person how to breathe. It exercises the lungs in a gentle way.
Many people end up with asthma because of undiagnosed food allergies. He might try an elimination diet at some point in the future.
This is a lot of information and, as always, I'm not recommending that you do everything here. Just pick two or three ideas that are manageable for you. If it were me, I would go with the mullein oil, the flaxseed, the preventative tea and I'd maybe pick up some zinc lozenges. These are reasonably cheap and easy options.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
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