First aid Treatment for an acute asthmatic attack

Note My Disclaimer. This is not a substitute for conventional medical treatment and should only to be tried when you don't have your medications with you and/or no one is in your presence to take you to a hospital and/or where emergency access is unavailable. You may however first wish to experiment with the technique where such facilities are present and/or available.

In the past, I have apparently been diagnosed as having asthma and have been on both bronchio-dilators and anti-inflammatory medications (steroids- both as pills and puffers.) For the past 10-15 years I have not been using either forms of medication. I do find that certain house dusts and foods like peanuts can result in excessive mucous production and an uncontrolled cough which I guess could be diagnosed as an asthmatic attack.

Although I do have a flow meter I must confess I have not used it regularly to measure my pulmonary functions (air flow). On the few occasions when I have used the flow meter it registers less than 400 which is consistent with airway obstruction.

When such an attack arises I have found the following manoeuvre will usually arrest the "asthma attack " in less than a few minutes, both the cough and especially the excess mucous production Here it the technique:

Very slowly breathe in and out several times. That's all.

Note: Its important that both your inspiration and expiration movements are done very slowly and to their maximum with a brief pause at the end of each manoeuvre. Here it is again .Very slowly breathe in and out several times...

It is important that both inspiration and expiration are done very slowly and to their maximum with a brief pause at the end of each. With such maximum breathing efforts and/or movements one should feel and see significant movement of the chest wall.