Will Aloe Help You Breathe Better?: Asthma Fixes With Aloe

About one in four people is affected by the symptoms of asthma, regardless of their age. Not only that, the disorder appears to be on its way up, both in terms of how many people have it, and in just how badly they have it. There are many people who believe that the increase of asthma throughout the United States is somehow correlated with an overall increase in the number of artificial chemicals and toxins that we are exposed to today, in our food, water, and air. There are some people who swear by the benefits of aloe’s many health benefits, and asthma is one of them.

About Asthma

When an individual is suffering from asthma, some of the difficulties that they have to deal with include coughing and wheezing, as well as trouble breathing and and overall shortness of breath. When the body undergoes an asthma attack, it is an allergic reaction. An allergic reaction occurs when the body’s immune system responds to an otherwise harmless contagion as though it were a serious threat. An asthma attack can be a scary, even terrifying, experience. A victim feels as though they simply can’t breathe. Many people report that it feels almost as though they are being suffocated, which can lead to a sense of panic.

There are many different things that can trigger an asthma attack or otherwise cause asthma related issues. Some of the most common triggers include certain types of grass, dust mites, pollen, and tree sap. An attack can even be triggered by strong emotional reactions, especially stress of some form or another. In addition to this, certain types of medicine have been known to trigger attacks. Aspirin is one of the most common of these, although this certainly isn’t true for everybody.

Not everybody who suffers from asthma experiences it in the same way. Some people might experience an asthma attack with virtually no warning at all. Others can feel it starting, and have enough time to use a prescription of some kind before the symptoms start to flare up out of control.

Asthma Treatment

Asthma medications can typically be divided into two different groups. The most commonly used type of medication is the anti-inflammatory drug. These typically consist of steroids, which are well known to cause swell to die down. They also reduce the production of mucus. Combined, these two properties of steroids allow air to pass more easily in and out of the lungs, alleviating the symptoms of an asthma attack in most cases.

The second treatment that is commonly used is known as a bronchodilator. These combat the effects of asthma by causing bands of muscle surrounding the bronchial tubes to relax. This relaxation opens up the tubes, allowing air to pass in and out of the lungs in a more simple manner. Like steroids, they also reduce the presence of mucus in the airways, further increasing the ease of breathing.

Aloe and Asthma

There have been many studies published concerning the positive health effects of aloe vera on the body. As far back as 1951, it has been shown to help improve the symptoms of asthma. Aloe is well known for its anti-inflammatory abilities. Inflammation is one of the leading causes of pain, which is why aloe is also well known for its ability to sooth many different types of pain. Inflammation is also the primary cause of the symptoms of asthma, since it causes the interior of the airways to swell up, making it more difficult for air to pass through them.

The active chemicals found inside of aloe are, among other things, natural steroids. In addition to this, aloe has been shown to have positive effects on the immune system. Many of the symptoms of asthma can be interpreted as an overreaction of the immune system. An individual who suffers from asthma is reacting to a foreign allergen as though it were attacking the body, where somebody with a less active immune system would have almost no reaction, if any, the the same allergen. Aloe vera is a well known immune modulator. It brings down the activity of the immune system to a state where it is relaxed. It doesn’t shut down the immune system, which will still have the ability to fight off infections and diseases. It simply moderates it so that it doesn’t escalate out of control when there is no threat to the body as a whole.

Despite all of this, it is still important to realize that aloe is not an immediate fix. An individual suffering from an asthma attack will not be able to make it stop using aloe juice. It is highly advised that anybody using aloe as a treatment for asthma should not stop using modern treatments. Several studies have recently demonstrated that the most effective solution is to use both modern medicine and aloe. Either option on its own is effective, but not as effective as when both methods are used simultaneously.

There are a few different ways that an asthma sufferer can benefit from aloe. They have the option of drinking whole leaf processed aloe vera juice, which contains many helpful substances in it that are known to be helpful to the human body. Another choice is to take supplemental pills made using aloe, although this option will not necessarily provide all of the same benefits to those who choose to use it.