[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  06/25/2010: Jacqui from Plainville, Massachusetts: "MSM cured my Asthma. I have been using ACV for quite some time now without any measurable improvement in my Asthma, but I will continue to use it for all its other health benefits. I wanted desperately to find something to help my Asthma. I have had Asthma since I was 6 (I'm now 35) and it became much worse 11 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I have been using Advair and Ventolin for years, but I don't want to be dependent on them. I ran out of my Advair about a week and a half ago and my Asthma became out of control. I was waking up a couple of times a night needing my rescue inhaler and I struggled throughout the day. I took 2 1,000 mg capsules of MSM yesterday (I broke the powder into applesauce) and I was able to sleep through the night and wake up without ANY issues! I took a second dose this morning and again just now. I haven't had so much as a wheeze all day! I feel like a new woman! I will let you know how I feel after continued use. I LOVE this site!"

05/07/2008: Yana from New York, New York replies: "I would like to hear from Scott (ksuface@yahoo.com) from Kent, OH if MSM continues to work for him as I have a very similar case."

05/08/2008: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "Hi, I'm not the one you wanted to hear from, but I have been singing the praises of MSM for l0-15 years now. After reading about a break through in joint pain in The Journal of Longevity and that it had been being used on race & walking horses for years before two doctors started giving it to their patients with joint pain. These two doctors have written a book about MSM and what it does. It's available in paper back @ probably can be founnd in any book store. Looking at the value of these animals and realizing it wasn't likely to harm me, I went to the farmer's Cp-OP and sure enough I found it there. Buying the one I figured most safely packaged, and stating that it 99.9% methysulfonealmethane, I took a 2 lb. container home with me for personal consumption even though it only gave dosage for horses. The article that got me started on it, also stated that the doctor who first started giving it to his patients had been taking a racehorse dose for years and at the age of 75, still had a head full of thick, dark hair, still teaching surgery and going strong. Figuring if he had been doing this for a long time to satisfy himself that larger does weren't likely to be harmful, I too started taking the race horse dosage of l full scoop a day. I really couldn't tell any difference, until one night it was raining and suddenly it dawned that my right hip that whichrnwas my worst problem (after a car wreck) wasn't hurting at all. Up until I started taking the MSM, it almost caused me to fallrnwhen it rained because the pain felt like someone had hit me right on the greater trochanter with a sledge hammer. I also found that it helped with my allergies. Everyone that I got started taking it loved it because they got the same results, without rnany reactions or unwanted side effects.

The only person I know of having a problem is someone who wrote into EC saying they had a bad reaction.

That first 2 lbs. cost me $56. Since they couldn't get the same one I had bought before, I got the toll free number off the container and called it asking if they were just wholesale, of if they sold to the general public also? The fellow rnasked me what I needed and I told him MSM. He started laughing and asked if this was for me or my horse. I laughed as I replied, "For me, of course". Well I kept ordering for myself and others I had got started rnon it. About a year later it started arriving in the same container, with the same rnMSM, but with a label giving only the dosage for the human being. One fellow that started taking it, injured his rt. knee when he fell off a ladder at work, was out of work over l year because somehow the bone didn't get set right. Instead of going back to work when it came out of the cast, he went to surgery where they rebroke the bone and reset it. He loved the way it worked so well that when I told him I was fixing to reorder and asked if he wanted to be included, hernsaid, "Yes. Order two for me and three more. I'm going to give them for Xmas gifts".

Hope this information is helpful. In closing I will tell you that where I am now, I am buying 2 l/2 lb containers @ the Co-op for little more than half of what I paid for it before for the 2 lb container."

05/08/2008: Bret from Phoenix, Arizona replies: "Have you noticed many of these home remedies are used for different diseases. What would you say if I told you they all contain the exact same active ingredient. (oxygen) and that most of the disease talked about, hate oxygen. Even snoring is an act of fighting oxygen deprivation. Polyphenols of A.C.V., Tumeric, Cinnamin, all contain many donor sites containing oxygen, (after they donate hydrogen to free radicals) Hydrogen Peroxide, is a long standing oxygen therapy first used in cancer. MSM- Acts as oxygen pump. Chronicalled and documented by Dr. David Gregg, biochemist. Did you know the cheapest way to get MSM is to buy DMSO. One tenth of the cost of MSM. DMSO breaks down to MSM and oxygen depleted sulfate molecule. These two donate oxygen back and forth acting like an oxygen pump. If autoimmune is a virus, this would mean it hates oxygen too."

05/09/2008: Zambo from Cessnock, New South Wales ,Australia replies: "What is MSM and does it have an alternative or common name?"

EC: More information: http://www.earthclinic.com/Supplements/MSM.html

05/09/2008: Joyce from Joyce Duke, Tn replies: "It is called MSM because its chemical name is methylsulfonylmethane. This is a first cousin of sulphur & is related to DMSO also. MSM is a natural substance found in the body, but apparently is another of those things that have declined in our super fertilized agriculture which has a habit of depleting our foods of many of those nutrients that used to be found in adequate amounts in our foods.You can google MSM or the chemical name & learn more about it. I have loved the results ever since I realized how effective it was. I got a number of people interested & they started taking it and found just as great as I told them it was. A lot of those had some post traumatic arthritis. My nephew was unable to get his hands above his head (fractured wrists years ago from motocycle accidents). He started taking it l0 or 15 years ago and still is. He's probably giving some to his horses & dog also. A coworker told me that her husband's back gave him less trouble after starting it. He had fractured his back in a car wreck several years before & was very painful after that. When The ladder I was did a backward flip 2 years, ER xrays said nothing broke, MRI done 2 days later said I had a slight impaction fracture of the distal femur, tibial plateau fracture, and totally unattached AC ligament in the left knee. With a hinged knee brace, a pair of crutches and the race horse dose of MSM daily, I breezed through recovery with only 2 Orudis kt (NSAID) pills for pain. Knee is painless unless I do something like I did approx. a year later. In preventing myself from falling with a big box of books in my arms, I had to do what I wasn't supposed to - I had to pivot on the left knee and without an ACL, you can't swivel or pivot on the injured knee. I think it was my hamstring muscle I got on that one - unfortunately MSM didn't help that much on that one. Other than not being able to pivot or swivel on that knee, the only other restriction I have is to continue to wear the knee brace when waling on uneven ground, so when I go hiking through the woods, I wear it and very thankful that I have it."

[YEA]  12/24/2008: Eric from Jensen Beach, Florida: "I came across a recent post on earthclinic. I've had a chronic cough for years. finally went to pulmonologist, who diagnosed adult onset asthma, and wanted to put me on Advair. Googled advair and it scared me. Google herbal remedies and came up with "Mullein". Bought a bottle. 30-35 drops in a little water a couple times a day. THE VERY FIRST NIGHT, i took it around 7 pm for the first time, and unbelieveably I was cough-free that night for the first time in i dont know how long. Been on it 3 weeks and its still working (as long as I take it :) ). One site said it may not work for everyone (like everything, I suppose) but it worked for me. Common herb, googleit and try it. Good luck.

Eric"

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  11/22/2010: Ryanrsolano from Mckinney, Tx, Usa replies: "I was diagnosed with seasonal asthma, and have had the same brutal cough for about 5 years. It would last for about 3 months untreated. Advair worked but I hated the side effects. Read about mullein on line 4 days ago and my cough is 85% better. The first night I took the drops my cough almost went away and I slept great for the first time in weeks. This miracle plant worked for me. I have been taking the drops 4 times a day and drinking the tea twice a day. In fact... Gonna go make a cup now :)"

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  05/14/2012: Vania from Clarksville, Tn, Usa: "I am nearly 43 years old, and I'm a lifelong asthmatic. Instead of "growing out of it", I've had to endure increased asthma problems during adulthood. My situation has worsened again because I got the flu about 5 years ago, and I have severe acid reflux. I get bronchitis very regularly, and when I haven't been diagnosed with it, I still don't breathe freely.

Approximately 3 months ago, one of my mother's friends recommended remedies, from a popular home shopping network, for Acid Reflux. The main remedies are: CoQ10 and N-Acetyl Cysteine. I started taking 4 CoQ10 (100 mg capsules) and 4 NAC (500 mg capsules) in the morning. I usually take the NAC once or twice again during the day. They did not stop my Acid Reflux, but they did greatly reduce my asthma symptoms. For real.

I ran out of the very expensive CoQ10 once, so I bought a less expensive brand at my local mega-market (yes, that one), which worked just as well.

During the 3 months that I've been taking these two remedies, I've only used my nebulizer once (before, I used it 4 times/day), and my inhalers approximately 4 times. I haven't used inhalers in about 3 weeks. That is progress.

I'm not touting these supplements as a cure, because I have to keep taking them to get the benefits. That's fine with me. Every day, I'm shocked and delighted to be breathing freely!"

01/19/2011: Tom from Regina, Sk replies: "Jean:

It sounds like quite an expensive journey for you these past months, not even counting the bad hospital scare.

I see many things not tried yet in your list of remedies, and 2 of them are both quick to act if they work, and quite cheap:

• One is only $4 or so available in any well-stocked pharmacy or even supermarket. It is the desensitizing toothpaste, under various brands, which contains as the active ingredient potassium nitrate. But, Do NOT use the well-known brand name toothpaste that has strontium as its desensitizing ingredient! There are posts here on it, but no feedback yet from anyone, AND you have to use the Site Seachbox top right of page to find it, using "potassium nitrate" as the search term, because the post is still under "Breathing Cures" here:

www.earthclinic.com/CURES/breathing_cures.html

The toothpaste will, if it works, help right away or over a few days it seems. Of course, for some it may help a little or not at all, but at least it might allow a reduction in the asthma meds, which aren't cheap. Just use any search engine (not this site one) to look for detailed info including some people who claim it works.

• A second remedy to try will cost more, maybe $30-$40, and will take time to get because it's ordered online. It is called "Oralmat" drops and has been out since around 2000. It is not Rx. Again, it will either work, or help, or not work! It is also used for allergy relief, where it rebalances the immune system just as it does for asthma.

A very few posts on it can be found on this site, including one from a woman in Oz who tried it years ago but it did not help her."

09/22/2010: Amanda from Hot Springs, Ar, 71913 replies: "I have heard that drinking half your weight in ounces of water per day and using sea salt is good for asthma, and the plugs were mentioned specifically. If I remember correctly, it is one teaspoon of salt per gallon of water you drink."

09/22/2010: Tom from Regina, Sk replies: "Karen:
It sounds like the coconut oil is doing you good, since it contains the one specific fatty acid needed by the lung epithelia to make surfactant. It also sounds like you are being continuously reinfected or exposed to something nasty. Do your workplace, or home, or another place you frequent have any known mold problems?

Do you have old, worn carpet/rugs? Or a bed mattress that maybe you kept over from an old abode with problems?

You could try a 72-hour fast if you're well enough, to act as an elimination diet done all at once, where you try to find the offending food! If the lungs clear, then the problem is in the diet somewhere. Or you could just have a hypersensitivity (not quite an allergy) to something, even a toxin. If visiting friends for a few days at least, do the symptoms go away?

Lastly for a checklist for now, and only if you do have an allergy or hypersensitivity, many people
In the past 10-12 years have tried the products "yamoa powder" and/or "oralmat" to rebalance their immune systems to eliminate things from allergies to asthma! See under Asthma this site:
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/asthma.html"

09/24/2010: Connie from Slc, Ut replies: "Hello Karen, Hi Y'all; Karen, I see that you have made remarkable progress with your recovery from asthma and that you have great self discipline. It may be just that more time is the component in your procedure. It looks good that you are supplying the electrolytes, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and magnesium. I am assuming that you also provide potassium in your diet with many vegetables and some fruits. (helps shortness of breath, air hunger). All the supplements that you have listed have helped many with asthma and excess mucous conditions. My husband, (asthma 14 years), has also been taking kelp and iodine(approx. 5mgs iodine) for 1 month, and has this week noticed a reduction in morning mucous, reduction of allergy to pets, less eye irritation, decreased need for afternoon coffee, and a reduced need for his dilator. Here are suggestions that may be favorable to you: good digestible protein, good B-complex, extra B-12 (sublingual methyl type), and, a nice pat of butter. (good source of cholesterol and saturated fat for production of anti-inflammatory hormones). Garlic, ginger, and horseradish are powerful for promoting easy breathing. Thank You, Connie"

04/17/2009: Rob from NYC, New York replies: "Ron, sorry to hear about your troubles..especially the ER visits!! I have had asthma since 27 and am now almost 50. As much as we like to rant against the drug companies (somewhat deserving) nothing has worked better then albuterol for an attack. It has saved my life. However, I have found lifestyle changes and a combination of various natural remedies to help. Of the greatest benefit for me was avoiding the triggers. A clean household, NO rugs or heavy fabrics, avoid forced air heating, good air circulation at night. I had a cat for twenty years and when she passed, I went from about 3 or 4 inhalers a year to just one.. A simple anti-inflammatory diet, high in vegetables, nuts, olive oil, minimal animal protein, can help. Of the herbs?
Turmeric, Ginger, Freeze Dried Stinging Nettle for the allergy season. Distilled omega oils have helped...I have exercise induced and yours may be different. I also do yoga which doesn't trigger an attack like running would. Like you, I have yet to find a "cure" but it is out there..so don't give up."

04/17/2009: Lynn G from Columbia, Maryland, USA replies: "To Rob from NYC and Ron from Radford, VA. From my extensive reading on the subject of asthma and my own experience (have had asthma since age 30 and am now 62), this is what worked to reduce my asthma symptoms substantially:

(1) Cut out all grains from my diet, except a few servings of brown rice per week, meaning all gluten is gone from my diet. Also removed all processed food (packaged and frozen food) from my diet. Now eat only pasture-raised, humanely raised/butchered meat, poultry, eggs, raw milk and other raw dairy products from local farms, organic vegetables, berries, and nuts. (2) Take a number of high-quality nutritional supplements, including my latest additions, slow-release magnesium caplets and organic TURMERIC capsules. Considering adding fermented apple cider vinegar, too. (3) Make sure to drink enough water (for me) during the day.

The underlying cause of asthma is INFLAMMATION of the bronchial tree, which is due to a chronic malfunctioning of the immune system, really an over-reaction of the immune system to substances in the diet and in the air to which one is sensitive. Eliminate the inflammation-causing foods (and other environmental allergenic substances), and take the appropriate (for you) supplements, and you should find that your asthma symptoms will abate significantly or completely. BTW, I still have my four cats, and no longer have daily symptoms in spite of their presence. I do have some wheezing episodes occasionally, but just drink more water and take extra TURMERIC to eliminate wheezing.

Also, my significally changed diet has had other improvements: hypertension and arthritis much improved (almost eliminated) and GERD (acid reflux) is completely gone (also take pancreatic enzymes supplement because I have only 1/2 of my pancreas remaining after surgery 3 years ago due to a small tumor). I have avoided also developing Type 2 diabetes with my new diet-for-life. (I had insulin resistance syndrome AKA metabolic syndrome.) I no longer take any prescription (or OTC) drugs, including drugs for asthma. (At one time, I was taking 6 prescription drugs as well as a lot of ibuprofen [OTC] for pain.)

If you adopt a new dietary regimen, this may take several months before you see results. Good luck at finding out which dietary approaches and supplementation work for reducing your inflammation."

04/17/2009: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "To Rob from NYC and Ron from VA regarding asthma:

Hello Guys,

Asthma attacks are bummers but are you aware that asthma patients have been found to be low on selenium? So I think you both might well try selenium 200 mcg twice a day for the first week or two and then drop to once a day and see if it helps.

Although I have never seen anything in print regarding a magnesium deficiency, I think spasms of the bronchioles might have something to do with it also and as one of the alternative doctors said, he uses magnesium for any kind of spasm. On this one I would try 400 or 500 mgm. of magnesium twice a day also. Hope this helps and if it does be sure & share with the rest of us. Since this lowly little mineral does so much in our bodies, I would keep it up indefinitely unless you have a problem with it. Epsom salts is one form of magnesium (magnesium sulfate) and the old folks remedy for blood pressure control was the amount you can hold on a dime twice a day. If you prefer a tablet those Beelith tablets available without a prescription can be found at drugstores, but you'll have to ask the pharmacists for them because I have never seen them out on the counter. They are magnesium oxide with vitamin B6. Take 1 tablet twice a day."

04/18/2009: Selena from Chula, GA replies: "Have you tried fasting and/or an elimination diet to identify your triggers? I believe in fasting as the best way to purify the body and release toxins. I usually do a raw food fast by working my way up to it day by day. Days 1-3 50% raw, Day 3-5 75% raw, Day 6 and after 100% raw. Remember to drink lots of good quality fluids and broths throughout the fast. If you tend to be hypoglycemic you can take spirulina supplements during the fast. Fast for as long as you want but aim for at least 3 days of 100% raw.) Use a high quality air purifier (I don't recommend an ionizer) in your bedroom at night and remove all dust catchers in your living environment (comforters, stuffed animals, curtains that can't be washed frequently. I put my pillows in the dryer at least once a month). Sometimes the culprits can be in your work environment. Asthma attacks are usually the result of an allergic reaction. An allergist in Atlanta GA said that he could induce an asthma attack in a nonasthmatic person by injecting food grade artificial colors into them. He advised avoidance of all artifical colors (especially the ones specifically identified i.e. yellow #5). Good luck"

04/18/2009: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "Hello Ron, Are you taking a selenium supplement? Asthma patients have been found to be low on selenium.

You might want to try 1 tsp. of raw honey (unprocessed except for straining) once or twice a day. Just make sure that the honey is produced within a 50 mile radius of where you live. When you think about it, all the minute amounts of the local pollens in the honey should do the same thing your allergy shots did and a whole lot cheaper and more pleasant to take. I always advise anyone with asthma to avoid anything they can see or smell in the air which covers paint fumes, cigarette smoke, wood smoke, perfumes, colognes,after shaves, hair spray, etc."

[YEA]  09/29/2007: Victoria Shepard from Santa Barbara, CA: "Nose breathing reduced my asthma-like symptoms considerably. About 8 years ago I was diagnosed with allergy related asthma. I ignored the symptoms for about 6 years as they were mild. They worsened, and I had to use an inhaler every day to control the coughing. This year, I noticed that when I laughed, sang, yelled or became stressed, talked too much (I am a teacher), I would cough. I knew my doctor would just give me more asthma drugs, so I began to research alternative treatments on the internet. I came up with the Buyteko program which requires an hour a day of breathing exercises and changing to nose breathing from mouth breathing. As I do not have an hour a day to practice specialized breathing exercises, I utilized what I could: In June of this year (2007), I became a nose breather. It was tricky at first. I had to learn to shorten my sentences and inhale only through my nose. I naturally exhale through my mouth slowly as I speak. This is okay. No deep breathes in or out through the mouth. No deep breathes in through the nose either. To prevent mouth breathing at night, in accordance with the Buyteko program, I tape my mouth with cheap masking tape. It took 3 months, but I have no asthma-like symptoms. I can laugh, shout, get excited or stresed and sing.

It has been over a months since I have used an inhaler. "