Asthma and Dairy

Hi C. - I have 2 boys, now 5 and a 1/2 and 8, that both have asthma. My first got RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) at 4 weeks old. He was put on albuterol treatments every 4 hours through a nebulizer. At about 15 months he was hospitalized for 3 days and put on chromolyn (inhaled steroid). I, like you, was very against steroids because they had really messed up my husbands health. But that was many years ago and the drugs are MUCH better now. The inhaled (key word here) steroids only deal with the lungs. They don't affect the rest of the body. The only one that is a bit scary and has some gnarly side affects is prednisolone (for kids) or prednisone (for adults). Once chromolyn stopped working he was put on pulmicort(inhaled steroid through the neb). That worked for a long time. Albuterol is a bronchial dilator not a steroid and is necessary for asthmatics. It deals with the problem now. But pulmicort or any other inhaled (and that is the key word here) steroid helps prevent the asthma from getting to the scary stage. It is necessary for serious asthmatics as well. If your 13 month old is ever prescribed the other steroid (prednisolone) it couldn't be helped... Asthma isn't something that you mess with. It helps reduce inflammation in the lungs almost immediately. Both of my boys are still on an inhaled steroid (flovent) daily as well as albuterol as needed. The amazing thing, is that as long as they are on the inhaled steroid, they have VERY RARELY had to use anything else, but we have prednisolone in our medicine cabinet just in case. I have heard that dairy could possibly be linked to exacerbating asthma, but both my boys eat it and are fine. We've been to many specialists about asthma and allergies and the course you are one is exactly what we experienced and our kids are healthy, happy and active. Please feel free to contact me if you have other questions... ____@____.com.

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I would cut out all gluten and dairy and add some cod liver oil (Carlsons liquid, a little added to juice). Also, stop vaccinating him if you have done so up to this point. There is a great book by a Dr. Kenneth Bock called something like "Healing the 4 A's- asthma, autism, ADHD and allergies". It is a great book that deals with asthma and not having to put them on drugs for life. Also, accupuncturists say to always wear long sleeves to keep the lungs healthy. Sounds far fetched I know, but it really works! Good luck. I would opt out of meds too if I were you, other than just the occasional inhaler.

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more:
2 of our children, one with severe symptoms, became COMPLETELY WELL, never needing any more drugs after we replaced the old ductwork in the house. we were going to have it cleaned, but they were old enough we just replaced them. It was our Christmas $ and more, worth every single penny!!! Now for us it was a no brainer because we had just recently moved...and the kids were a little older, but it's worth your consideration to at least have them cleaned.
Hoping for the best!
L.

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Hi C.!
My Children do not have asthma, but I have heard many stories of moms who have simply removed the toxins from their homes and started using healthier and safer cleaning and laundry products. If it would help, I would be more than happy to get you in touch with moms that have been able to end the inhalers and doctors visits! you can contact me at ____@____.com
Best! C.

1 mom found this helpful

C.,
I didn't read all the responses, but I had a DR. who believed if you ate by your blood type you would not have so many illnesses, including asthma. Soon after, I found a book that backed his findings...it's titled, "Eat right for your type". Hope this helps and good luck.
L.

1 mom found this helpful

While I understand your concern for your baby's health, please understand that your child already has asthma. Cutting dairy out now will not reverse it.
Having grown up with asthma, I have to tell you that it is a very scary thing to listen to for a Mom and a very horrible thing to live with as a child. ANYTHING that will relax the windpipe, cut down the swelling and help remove the phlem is a releif.
Please do not allow your child to suffer needlessly when the Dr. gave you some tools to help. Not all medications work for all people (babies) so keeping a diary of foods, laundry detergents, body soaps, animal contact, weather, local pollin counts etc. as well as his response to the medications will help you and your pediatrician find what works best for your child.

Hi C. -

My son is now 8 and we went through the same thing when he was a baby. A little background for you - his father and half sister are asthmatics, my son is asian, hawaiian and hispanic. When my son was about 6 months old, he would wheeze. I asked the pediatrician if he was lactose intolerant but the pediatricin insisted that it was asthma - as it apparently "ran in the family". When my son would get "sick" - the wheezing got pretty bad and like you, we were given albuterol - which he was supposed to take 3 or 4 times a day. After seeing how dependent his sister had become on the steroid, I really didn't want that for my son. We met with a homeopathic dr and he recommended pulling the dairy and he gave us something we had to grind and get him to eat (I think it was called astragulus). My son HATED the supplement. It wasn't easy to get him to eat it, but we stuck with it. I can tell you know and for many years now - my son is not wheezing and there are no signs of asthma. I've also recommended pulling dairy to a number of friends and it has lessoned their issues. One of the things the dr told me which made sense was that as a culture (asian, hawaiian and mexican) - dairy was not part of our diet. I'm not sure of your sons racial makeup, but if dairy was not a part of your cultures diet....I thought that was interesting. Long story short - pulling the dairy did work for us. I agree with you, western dr's are very quick to prescribe medicines. They make $ if we're ill. Eastern / homeopathic medicines are preventative. We saw Dr. Sadanaga in Burbank. He was great! Good luck!

Hi C.,

You are doing the right thing. My husband and I fight over medicating our children because I truly do not believe in doing it. I went the route of finding the culprit and eliminating it first before giving medication. Both my older kids were diagnosed with reactive airway which I was told by md is a percursor to asthma if not treated. Well, both were not medicated and both are just fine. I eliminated the harsh cleaning chemicals from our home and monitor their diet for possible allergic reaction. You could also try holistic treatment or natural herbs. Follow your instincts. I wish you success in whatever treatment regiment you follow.

Hi C.,
I actually don't have kids yet, just got married, but I've been doing some research on toxins in houshold cleaners that cause asthma in children. I'm sure you'll find the following interesting:

"In 1998, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that asthma increased 75% from 1980-1994 and in 2007, the EPA reported that an average of one out of every 13 school-age children suffers from asthma.* In fact, “asthma has become the most common serious disease of childhood, and there are at least several well-designed epidemiologic studies that have documented a strong link between use of domestic and industrial cleaning products and risk of asthma,” says Dr. John Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation, Department of Environmental Health at Harvard University. "When reviewing the rapid increases of asthma rates in America, it is critical to recognize the link between pollution and human health, including chemical and biological pollutants in indoor environments.”

"Moms already know household cleaners can be hazardous if swallowed or spilled directly on your skin, but most don't make the connection that when these products are used as directed on floors, sinks and tubs, their families are exposed 24 hours a day." - Jane Houlihan, VP for Research at Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.

There are safe, powerful and smart alternatives. The best I have found on the market are from Shaklee.

Hope this was helpful!
~S.

Hi C.,

Get your baby to a well-trained homeopath. In the Bay area, I could heartily recommend Karen Allen, CCH. You can google her on the Web. I know her personally and know she has great success.

Best,
S.

Is it really asthma or is it allergies, sometimes they look alike. Dust can be a factor, does he have stuffed animals in his room? If so, they carry dust which is a great thing kids are allergic to. Milk and eggs also........Good luck.

Christi,
My heart goes out to you. I remember the first few months after my little boy was diagnosed with asthma (which later became quite serious, so we relocated our family to a better area of the country for him). It was so hard to know how best to care for him.
I believe your diet changes are a great start, but wonder if your ped. ran tests to see what your little guy's asthma is triggered by. That was so helpful for us, because I was trying so hard to do "everything," when we found out that his biggest trigger was cold air. It was so helpful to be told it wasn't dust mites, etc.
Another piece of the care that has made a real difference (there are 3 of us in the home with asthma), is a change we recently made. A few months ago, a friend told me about an online store that makes only safe consumables for the home. I was at a point where anything but more med's sounded better, so I chose to switch stores so I could protect my kids from an environment in the home that was only exacerbating (sp?) the asthma and allergies.
The difference has been incredible. We only use med's once in a while when the kids get a cold or something. This is quite amazing, as my son was formerly on 11 different med's to try to control living day to day with asthma.
Anyway, I'm sorry this is so long, but I heard the sorrow in your writing, and couldn't imagine not sharing how we have found much relief.
Please feel free to email me at ____@____.com if there are any questions you just want to talk through. You're not alone... there are so many struggling with these issues, and most of us want to help as much as possible.
God bless,
T. in CA

Be careful to jump to conclusions about why your son may have asthma. Ask the doctor the cause of it .... not all asthma is allergy or exercise induced. I have had asthma since birth - my tubes were just too small - medication was all that helped and allowed me to have a normal childhood. Before you get upset about the medication, find out the cause and then address the situation. Sometimes medication is best, especially if it allows your son to grow up playing sports and being active.

C.,
I would definitely ask for an allergy test-with a blood draw. You might also want to consult with a Dr. who studies both Western and Eastern Medicine. Asthma is quite serious but you should be concerned with the medications as well. Another thing to consider is holding off on any other vaccines until you can get his asthma under control. They can exacerbate the problem. I am looking in to going to Dr. Thomas Lin in Irvine. His number is ###-###-####-he studied Western Medicine but also works with Eastern Medicine. If Irvine isn't close to you maybe he could recommend a Dr. that is. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Hey C.,
I would continue with the meds., and possibly get a second opinion. I would also however take her to Dr. Karaba in the East West Medical Center in Fullerton to have testing done for allergies. He is an amazing Dr. and I'm sure you would have success with him. Good luck to you all,
V.

I have asthma I developed it as an adult. Asthma is not caused by food allergies.But some of the dairy may be aggervating the asthma. Because it makes the mucus thicken up. The cheese shouldn't bother. Try giving him skim milk it may not cause the mucus, coughing or wheezing like whole milk. I also find that real cold drinks can start me to coughing & wheezing. If the dr. say he needs medicine then I would give it to him. But I would also look into what is in his room buy an air purifer & a good 1 with a couple of filters.Also pillows & etc. Research asthma. My allergies & some times a smell such as perfume will set me off. It's no fun when you are wheezing it's like having weight on your chest so you can only get part of the air you need,& it can be very crary. don't use steriods if you can advoid it.

Hi C.,

I just wanted to let you know that sometimes wheat can cause an asmatic reaction. My grandfather was allergic to wheat and it caused his asthma. If the cutting out the dairy doesn't help, try cutting out wheat/wheat products. Good Luck!

Dear C.,

My son, who is now four, has a very similar history as your child. My son was started on pulmacort and albuteral around 11 months. He also takes singulair at night. We continue with these medications as prescribed by his allergist. As the other mothers have mentioned here, asthma is serious, but it can be controlled by proper medication and medical monitoring.

The connection between allergies and asthma is well-documented in the medical literature. I suspected my son had a dairy allergy (due to family history and signs I was noticing), and he was tested at 15 months with the result that he was, indeed, allergic to dairy. We started him on Rice Milk, which he continues to drink today, although he
has since outgrown the dairy allergy (he just prefers the rice milk). He still has other food allergies that we monitor closely.

Once we discovered what his allergies were and eliminated them from his diet, it made a big difference.

I share your concern about giving your little one these medications, but it is necessary when it is something like asthma.

Keep up with the research and locate excellent resources. One such resource is the Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics at www.aanma.org. Founded in 1985, it is a non-profit educational and advocacy group that provides useful advice and summarizes the current research and literature in the area of allergies and ashtma. It is tremendously helpful.

Good luck to you and your little one!

J.