Bronchial Asthma

Homeopathy and Bronchial Asthma

Definition:

An acute, spasmodic condition, characterized by paroxysms of wheezy, difficult breathing and tightness in the chest. Usually becomes chronic.
Causes:Often said to be of allergic, dietetic, climatic, emotional or familial origin. No consistent cause is known. Usually better from a change of environment.
Symptoms:Difficulty of expiration, tightness of the chest, anxiety, fatigue, laboured, audible expiratory phase, with a high pitched wheeze. Perspiration. Grey, yellow or white, cast-like sputum.

Treatment:

Aconitum napellus: A plethoric individual; with anxiety and dyspnea after exposure to wind, cold or chill.

Antimonium tartaricum: Presence of fine, sibilant, mucous races throughout the chest. Full of phlegm, with inability to expectorate. Severe dyspnea. The patient must be seated up.

Arsenicum album: Short, anxious breaths, worse on lying down. Pale face, burning heat in the chest, cold sweats; prostration worse after midnight (or at noon). Patient prefers warm drinks and warm food.

Cuprum arsenicosum: Severe shortness of breath, a sense of constriction and weight in the chest, often with pain under the (left) shoulder blade. The patient is usually icy cold and covered with sweat.

Grindelia: Stops breathing when falling asleep, wakes up suffocating with a start, gasps for breath. Cannot breathe easily when lying down.

Ipecacuanha: Tightness in the chest and a loud rattling cough; sweating, anxious; cold, restlessness and nausea.

Kalium carbonicum: Severe wheezing and shortness of breath; worse at night in the early evening and in the morning. Usually a 3 a.m. aggravation. Worse with dust and central heating. Usually associated with anxiety and weakness.

Lachesis: Sleeps into an aggravation of the asthmatic attack.

Medorrhinum: A dry cough and shortness of breath; worse when lying down and better on kneeling with face down, or lying on the stomach. Useful in chronic, intractable, recurrent cases. Not to be repeated for a period of at least six months after the initial administration.
Natrium sulphuricum: For asthma during damp weather. Moist asthma with rattling in the chest. Looseness of bowels during and after each attack (sycotic taint).

Nux vomica: Spasms of the bronchi; irritability and a tongue with a yellow coating. Nausea, flatulence and constipation. Asthma is worse in the early mornings.
Phosphorus: One of the best and most reliable remedies, when there is noisy, wheezy breathing, oppression and cough in a tall, thin, narrow-chested person. The patient is nearly always anxious and needs much reassurance and attention.

Sulphur: For chronic cases, with a recurrent cough and the expectoration of foul, thick mucus. Failure to respond to earlier remedies.