Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
tannkgirrl

excess mucus

tannkgirrl
17 years ago

my wife has beeb undergoing investigation by an allegist and respirologist for respiratory difficulty for the last 3 years. Her condition is progressivly getting worse. multiple test for allergies have proven negative, xray,CT scan of chest, throat shows no abnormalities, PFT normal, methacholine challange negative. Bloodwork normal except for slight anemia. She has been trialled on a wide selection of nsaids, steriods, alppha/beta agonists inhaled and ingested with no change in sensitivity.

She is a 45 yo fit with no ongoing medical problems except her difficulty with airway sensitivity.

Her symptoms include respiratory distress, severe headache, excess mucus production to the point where she chokes or as she describes it a drowning feeling which she has difficulty breathing through. she battles to cough and expells copious amounts of clear phlem.

Her triggers are diverse. Cold to warm changes, warm to cold changes scents such as pine, cedar, vinegar, perfume paint, solvents, dust, marker, smoke, sawdust, musk, exhaust fumes, insect reppelant, new plastics, petrochemicals. laughing to hard with bring on excess mucus production as will even moderate exertion.

desperatly looking for any suggestions

Comments (8)

  • Heathen1
    17 years ago

    Has she tried Chinese medicine? This is a case that appears to me like it's perfect for Chinese medicine. They'd call this a case of excess dampness..... I have a friend going to a Chinese medicine school... so I hear this term a lot.
    She could try mullein tea till she does that... it's a great decongestant.

  • herbalbetty
    17 years ago

    Have her stop all dairy, including cheese, ice cream, yogurt. Also, sage (good old, regular garden sage - salvia officinalis) as a tea, twice a day. If she notices a big improvement, and she should, she can start introducing dairy back into her diet, slowly. If she finds it aggravates the mucus production, she might not be able to eat it without those effects. Make sure she is drinking lots of water to thin the mucus as well. There are other measures she can take, but try these first. Good luck!

  • hummingbirddaisy
    17 years ago

    Was wondering how your wife is doing?

    hummingbirddaisy

  • tink62
    17 years ago

    I smoke the mullien mixed with sunflower leaves (dried).Great for my asthma and upper respatory infections..
    American Indian friend made some up for me years ago...
    work's for me ~~
    Tink62

  • lilamy
    17 years ago

    another good American Indian cure that my grandmother made for me often as a child when asthma attacks and such got me:

    Mormon Tea, Desert Tea, Squaw Tea (all names for the same thing) (Ephedra spp.)
    In a boiling pot of water, place a small handful of green or brown Ephedra twigs for each cup desired. Cover and steep 20 minutes. Strain and drink. There are many species of Ephedras in the Desert Southwest, but all make a tasty, energizing tea. Southwestern Indians and European desert travelers have long brewed Mormon tea or chewed the twigs to quench thirst and boost energy. Mormon tea is considered a general tonic for stomach ailments and kidney disorders.

    Note: Those who are sensitive to caffeine should probably avoid this tea. The drug ephedrine is obtained from a Chinese species of Ephedra.

    I love the stuff and keep it on hand for colds and such.

    -Amy

  • herbalistic
    15 years ago

    Check out Dr. Raymond Christopher [Master Herbalist] recommendations for mucusless diet. He said foods like dairy, white flour and flour products, white sugar, salt, eggs, and red meat are all mucus producing. I know dairy is extremely so, so cutting out dairy should show a big improvement. I would do a total body cleanse - colon, liver, bloodstream, kidneys to get rid of built up toxins [you can start with a 3 day juice fast]and then start on a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, raw as much as possible, with whole grains nuts and seeds. Drink steam distilled water or fruit juices with no sugar added.

    The macrophages which are your body's first line of defense in your immune system, live in the thin mucosal lining of the body -- too much mucus can smother them thus depressing the immune system. So the junk needs to get cleaned out and replaced with nutrition that will feed and nourish the body to help it work right.
    Remember, it took time for the body to get messed up so it will take time to correct the problems. good luck to you

  • herbalistic
    15 years ago

    In re-reading your post - it becomes even more evident the need to do some total body cleansing. The mucus overproduction is simply the body's way of trying to cope with the overload of pollutants in her system.

    I have heard of tincture of lobelia being given to people with asthma [after a cup of peppermint tea] which resulted in them expelling copious amounts of mucus from their lungs whereupon they were never troubled with asthma again. Rather than seeing the mucus as a problem and trying to stop it, I think I would try some lobelia tincture [a tspful or 2] and work with the body in getting the junk out once and for all. [ The peppermint tea is to help keep the ribs from getting sore coz you'll feel like you're puking your guts out.]
    We need to learn to trust our bodies. We are designed to heal ourselves but too often, people freak out and start interfering with the body's attempts to heal itself rather than working with its natural wisdom. For example - fevers mean the body is at work of killing off foreign invaders - this generates heat and people freak out and think they have to stop the fever rather than work with it [giving plenty of fluids and helping promote a sweat - moist heat heals - dry heat can kill]and fighting against the natural process can prolong or bring on more problems. One has to go beyond presenting symptoms to look for the cause. One can't go wrong with cleansing the body and adopting healthier eating habits but when problems like this present themselves one needs to do a little more. Work with the body not against it. The more you pour toxic medications in the more you add to the garbage dump the body is trying to get rid of via mucus expulsions.

  • rusty_blackhaw
    15 years ago

    If one wants to avoid toxic medications, staying away from lobelia would be a good choice. This herb is associated with a variety of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and pulmonary side effects.

    "At low doses lobelia has stimulant effects, but higher doses result in (central nervous system) depression. Significant toxicity has occurred following use including vomiting, seizures, cardiovascular collapse, and coma (2). Lobelia may have additive toxicity when combined with nicotine (12). Clinical studies evaluating lobelia for smoking cessation do not support its use (15). Patients should be warned not to use this supplement."

    In the case of asthma, even if one gets up a lot of mucus with the aid of some drug, that will not cure this chronic problem.

    As to fever, lower-grade fevers are not necessarily a bad thing. High fever, in addition to making you feel miserable, can damage organs and such fevers should be lowered.

    The concept of expelling "toxins" and "pollutants" from the body has appeal in alternative medicine, but virtually all of the claimed "toxins" are not harmful to the body in the amounts that are typically seen and cannot be removed by the "cleanses" that are recommended. The "cleanses" are often unpleasant and sometimes harmful in themselves.

Sponsored
SK Interiors
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars49 Reviews
Loudoun County's Top Kitchen & Bath Designer I Best of Houzz 2014-2022
More Discussions