4th may 2010 is World Asthma day. Asthma is on the increase in the industrialised countries of the world. According to Asthma UK, 5.4m people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma, while 16 million people suffer from it in the US.

Half the children with mild asthma will improve and “grow out of” the condition, but others have to continue with a disease that can interfere with their pleasure in life, education, sporting interests, well-being and even their relationships with family and friends.

Adult or “late onset” asthma also occurs in some people.

What is asthma?

When a person with asthma comes into contact with something that irritates their airways (an asthma trigger), the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten so that the airways become narrower and the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and starts to swell.

Sometimes sticky mucus or phlegm builds up which can further narrow the airways. All these reactions cause the airways to become narrower and irritated - making it difficult to breath and leading to symptoms of asthma.

An alternative remedy

While many people need medication to treat the symptoms of asthma, the Butekyo method can be very successful for some people.

Developed by Professor Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko in the 1950s, the Buteyko method followed decades of research and treatment of asthma patients.

Buteyko Method theory

The Buteyko theory is that the basic cause of asthma is habitual, hidden over-breathing (literally, taking in too much air when breathing). The treatment is based on bringing the breathing to normal levels and thus eradicating over-breathing (hyperventilation) and reversing the need for the body’s defence mechanisms.

These defence mechanisms, according to the theory, include spasm of the airways, mucus production (in the chest, nose, throat and ears), and inflammation (swelling) of the bronchial walls - all the classic symptoms of asthma.

Changing breathing patterns

Benefits to asthma patients

The Buteyko method has benefited 100,000 patients in Russia, and it is officially recognised by the Russian Government.

Professor Buteyko’s experimentation and his documented clinical trials on patients in Russia indicate that the great majority of asthma sufferers over four years old can be significantly relieved by the method (younger children may find it more difficult to learn), and any individual on asthma drug treatment can reduce that drug intake by 90% or more in the majority of cases.

This information is extracted from an article called “The Buteyko Method for Asthma” by Dr Paul J. Ameisen which appeared in NEXUS magazine vol. 6, no. 5

What about you - have you ever tried the Buteyko method?

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