factfile

Non-drug Approaches to Managing your Asthma

This factfile covers: Many people with asthma have expressed an interest in trying treatments and
• Breathing and therapies that do not use prescribed medicines.
relaxation techniques
• Yoga These treatments and therapies are usually referred to as complementary
• Hypnosis medicines. As they have not been studied as extensively as conventional medicines,
• Acupuncture less is known about their effectiveness and any possible harmful effects.
• Homeopathy
• Food avoidance and Asthma UK recommends that anyone who is considering trying a complementary
food supplements medicine should discuss it with their doctor first. Complementary medicines
• Herbal medicines should be used alongside any prescribed treatment, unless your doctor advises
• Royal Jelly you otherwise.
• Where can I get more
information? It could worsen your asthma symptoms if you reduce or stop taking your regular
asthma medicine.

Breathing and relaxation techniques

Buteyko
• The Buteyko technique (named after the Russian professor who developed it) is a
system of breathing exercises and behavioural changes intended to improve
health by altering the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in exhaled air.

• Those who practice the technique believe that people with asthma ‘over-breathe’
and, by doing so, lose too much carbon dioxide from their system.

• Very little research has been published in medical journals about the Buteyko
technique. This makes detailed comment difficult.

Research into the Buteyko techinique

• Two studies published in the Medical Journal of Australia in 1995 and 1998 found
both positive and negative effects of the technique.

• Asthma UK funded research into the clinical effectiveness of the Buteyko

breathing method as a complementary addition to conventional asthma
treatments in 2002. It showed that for some people with asthma the Butekyo
breathing technique helped to reduce their symptoms and use of reliever inhaler,
but it did not improve their underlying condition.

• Buteyko breathing may help people adapt to their asthma and feel more in control
of their treatment and may be worth trying for those who are both sympathetic to
the ethos and willing to commit the time required.

• More research is needed to identify if certain people with asthma benefit more
than others.

factfile | Non-drug Approaches to Managing your Asthma – last updated July 2009 1
Non-drug Yoga
Approaches
• Yoga is an ancient Hindu discipline that uses a variety of postures and breathing
to Managing techniques to help to increase fitness and aid relaxation.
your Asthma
• One form of yoga, Pranayama exercises, has been studied with regard to asthma.
In two studies, these exercises were found to be beneficial, with participants
showing fewer asthma attacks and a higher tolerance to certain triggers.

• Simple relaxation techniques, which do not incorporate the philosophical aspects

of yoga, have also been shown to have some benefit.

• It is uncertain whether yoga and breathing exercises help asthma by reducing

stress (which can be a trigger) or by other physical effects. More research is
needed to establish this.

Hypnosis – also know as hypnotherapy

• Hypnosis involves creating a state of decreased general awareness that enables

a person to concentrate exclusively on one thing or idea.

• Hypnosis has been shown to be beneficial in some cases, but not everybody is
susceptible to hypnosis.

• Hypnosis and yoga may both reduce stress, but it is not clear if they have
other benefits.

Acupuncture

• Acupuncture is a method of treatment that involves the insertion of needles at

specific parts of the body, based on Chinese theories of balancing the body’s
natural energies.

• Some studies have shown that acupuncture can be helpful for people with
asthma in the short term. However, no long-term benefits have yet been shown
and more research is needed before it can be recommended.

• It has been suggested that acupuncture may be effective for people whose
asthma is triggered by allergy but less effective for those whose asthma is
exercise-induced.

Acupuncture can have harmful effects. There are documented cases of people
Warning! becoming very ill after acupuncture treatment. These cases are usually the result of
infected needles or puncture injuries. Be sure that you attend an experienced
acupuncturist who follows the necessary safety procedures.

factfile | Non-drug Approaches to Managing your Asthma – last updated July 2009 2
Non-drug Homeopathy
Approaches to • Homeopathic treatments can vary, but the most common involves preparing a
Managing your medicine that includes a very small amount of the substance to which a person is
Asthma allergic, eg pollen or house-dust mites.

• Homeopathy may be helpful in asthma if the allergic trigger can be identified, but
this is not always easy as most people have more than one trigger.

• Research into a form of homeopathy called homeopathic immunotherapy has

shown some encouraging results in people with asthma and rhinitis.

• Although some research has shown homeopathy to be helpful in asthma, more

research is needed to study larger groups of people.

Food avoidance and food supplements

• As for everyone, a well-balanced diet is beneficial for people with asthma

• There is no convincing evidence that children or adults who already have

asthma, but no clear food allergy, will benefit from specialised diets that
exclude specific foods.

• There are a few studies that suggest eating more of certain types of food can
improve symptoms, but it is doubtful whether food supplements can make a
difference.

• Research into increasing vitamins (especially vitamin C), magnesium and fish
oils (omega-3 fatty acids) have all shown benefits in some studies, but in others
they have shown no benefit.

Herbal medicines

• In herbal medicine, plants or parts of plants are used to treat illness.

• Although it is the most ancient form of medicine in the world, there are few
studies published in medical journals in the West showing benefits of using
herbal medicines for asthma.

• Herbal medicines that have been suggested as potentially beneficial include

coleus forskholii, ginkgo biloba, tylophora asthmatica and saiboku-to.

• Although these herbs have been suggested as worth further investigation, their
effects are not fully understood and cannot be recommended without caution.

• You should seek your doctor’s advice before trying a herbal medicine.

Some herbal medicines have been shown to have side effects ranging from nausea
Warning!
to serious poisoning. There is some concern that St John’s Wort may reduce the
effectiveness of theophylline (a long-acting reliever treatment used by some people
with asthma).

factfile | Non-drug Approaches to Managing your Asthma – last updated July 2009 3
Non-drug Royal Jelly
Approaches to Royal Jelly and propolis (sometimes referred to as bee glue) are products from bees.
Managing your There is evidence that taking Royal Jelly has caused very serious side effects in
Asthma some people with asthma and other allergies. These have included asthma attacks,
breathing difficulties, anaphylactic shock (a severe allergic reaction) and even
death. Although serious side effects from propolis have not been documented in
the same way as for Royal Jelly, caution is advised because they are both from bees.

Warning! Asthma UK recommends that people with asthma and allergies should not take
Royal Jelly or propolis.

Where can I get more information?

British Complementary Medicine Society of Homeopaths

Association (BCMA) 11 Brookfield
Provides information about the Buteyko Duncan Close
technique and other areas of Moulton Park
complementary therapy. Northampton NN3 6WL
www.homeopathy-soh.org;
BCMA 0845 450 6611
PO Box 5122
National Institute of Medical Herbalists
Bournemouth BH8 0WG
54 Mary Arches Street
www.bcma.co.uk; 0845 345 5977
Exeter EX4 3BA
The Foundation for Integrated Medicine www.nimh.org.uk; 01392 426022
Does not have details about the
Buteyko Breathing Association
Buteyko technique, but it may be
A non-profit organisation committed to
contacted about other areas of
improving the health of people with
complementary therapy.
asthma and those with other breathing
Foundation for Integrated Medicine related problems.
International House
15 Stanley Place
59 Compton Road
Chipping Ongar
London N1 2YT
Essex
www.mdheal.org; 020 7688 1881
CM5 9SU
British Acupuncture Council www.buteykobreathing.org;
63 Jeddo Road 01277 366906
London W12 9HQ
www.acupuncture.org.uk
020 8735 0400

factfile | Non-drug Approaches to Managing your Asthma – last updated July 2009 4
 Asthma UK Adviceline
Ask an asthma
Asthma UK website
nurse specialist
Read the latest independent
0800 121 62 44 advice and news on asthma
asthma.org.uk/adviceline asthma.org.uk

Asthma UK publications
Request booklets, factfiles
and other materials with
independent, specialist
information on every
aspect of asthma
0800 121 62 55
info@asthma.org.uk
Asthma UK membership
Become a member of
Asthma UK and receive
Asthma Magazine four times
a year
0800 121 62 55
membership@asthma.org.uk

Asthma UK, Summit House, 70 Wilson Street, London EC2A 2DB

T 020 7786 4900 F 020 7256 6075

Asthma UK Cymru, Eastgate House, 35-43 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0AB
E wales@asthma.org.uk

Asthma UK Northern Ireland, The Mount, 2 Woodstock Link, Belfast BT6 8DD
E ni@asthma.org.uk F 02890 737289

Asthma UK Scotland, 4 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JE

T 0131 226 2544 E enquiries@asthma.org.uk
HP0300709

©2009 Asthma UK
Registered charity number in England 802364 and in Scotland SCO39322