I am one of those who are highly allergic to all kinds of dust and frequently end up with a Sore Throat followed by Bronchitis. A visit to the Doc , followed by Antibiotics and Nebulization … a ritual that was inevitable.
I was able to successfully get over a recent episode with Ayurvedic Medication and no Antibiotics. I am extremely happy that I can now manage my problem without Antibiotics. Thanks to Dr Nithin, Ayurveda.
However, I still did not get an answer as to why only some people are affected by dust and pollution. Millions of people around us are unaffected and continue to live/work in highly polluted environments. How are they managing ?
Here is a beautiful article that explains how and why a person ends up with Cough/Cold/Asthma. Understanding ‘Cockroach Theory’ will help in understanding how the Immune System works in our body .
https://www.practo.com/healthfeed/ayurveda-treatment-for-allergies-asthma-29041/post
This article is written by Dr Nithin ,Ayurveda .
I had to read this article a few times before I fully understood the how and why and what has to be done to prevent an occurrence of Sore Throat and Asthma.
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Here is a summary of what I learnt from that article –
Cockroach Theory : A panic reaction to a situation , whereas the solution is to respond in a calm and composed manner. An example : Customers in a restaurant get panicky and react clumsily on seeing a cockroach whereas the waiter , on whom the cockroach finally lands , stays still , is able to catch hold of the cockroach and throws it out.
The above theory will help us understand how the Immune cells in some bodies overreact instead of responding , when rogue viruses/bacteria enter our body. This overreaction results in excessive production of mucus which clogs the respiratory system. The body then tries to expel this mucus by coughing resulting in a Sore throat. The reason for this kind of reaction by the body is ‘Aggravated Pitta’ .
‘Pitta’ has to be reduced by the following methods (from the article):
- Recipes like sesame seeds boiled in milk or pumpkin pulp roasted in homemade ghee or almond porridge, halwa etc can be taken.
- Liberal use of turmeric either in milk or dal to be encouraged as Turmeric reduces inflammation and also breaks rigid bonds of thick mucus which can be expelled easily.
- All asthmatic and allergic rhinitis patients should take herbal tea of ginger, black pepper, Tulsi leaves, clove, and coriander seeds.
- They should eat less of wheat and rice and should consume more of millet like Jwari or Bajri .
- Once in a week all asthmatic should take Kulthi (Horse gram) dal.
- Patients of allergic rashes can try having mixed powder of black pepper- 1 or 2 pills + ginger 1/4th teaspoon and candy sugar one teaspoon, once or twice a day.
- All of them should strictly avoid all kinds of fast or junk food, pickle, sauces, milkshakes .
- They should not consume curd, non vegetarian food, heavy , fried food at night time.
- All asthma, allergic rhinitis and urticaria patients should religiously do pranayam, as deep breathing will reduce hyper activity and will relax smooth muscles of the air ways, thereby reducing spasms in the air ways and reduction in the episodes of Asthma. Plus deep breathing also helps in reducing inflammation in blood vessels thereby reducing allergic rashes.
My Plan of Action :
I have started consuming Herbal Tea (ingredients mentioned above) . Will write a post on how I prepare this Herbal Tea.
I just bought Horse gram and looking for recipes on the Internet.
I have to further reduce intake of rice. I rarely consume wheat.
I include Turmeric in the Herbal Tea.
I avoid junk food and don’t consume curd/non-veg at night.
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