Natural Holistic Health Solutions for Allergies: Asthma Signs and Symptoms

Could you please tell me what could be the cause of vertical ridges on fingernails? At times I also develop horizontal ridges on my fingernails? Is this due to some type of allergy or some deficiency? Is this a serious symptom? Thank you.

Dear Carol, thank you for asking this interesting question. I found two good websites complete with pictures to hopefully answer your questions. Please go here to see the pictures and to read about the possible causes> Mayo-Clinic/Nails. There is also some good information at> Normanallan-Fingernail. As you can see, there are many different types of vertical and horizontal fingernail ridges, so without viewing them, it would be difficult to diagnose the problem. I hope this gives you more insight into your problems.

My son is 41/2 years old. We live in the Middle East with occasional sand storms. Each time there is a sand storm, he begins wheezing and coughing. He finds this very upsetting and distressing and so do I. Is there any natural remedy I can give him either during the problem or as a prevention? Leaving the Middle East is not really an option, and of course he may well suffer from hay fever if we did.

Dear Deborah, Sand storms pose a real problem and threat to people with allergies, especially children. Many sources advise that children stay indoors during a sandstorm unless absolutely necessary, and if they must go outdoors, to wear a mask to protect themselves. Hopefully, you have a good home air purifying system which will help to remove most of the particulate matter from the air, and have a unit present in your child's bedroom at night to ease his breathing. I would suggest that you have your child tested for airborne allergies at his pediatrician's office. After testing, you could treat your child with homeopathic nosodes which will match the allergens for which he tested positive. Homeopathic nosodes are made of the same allergens which cause the allergies. For instance, if your child is allergic to fungus, then the homeopathic nosode would be a fungal nosode. I am including a link to a web page which talks about the various types of airborne contaminants which can be carried by the sand storms. I sincerely hope that this article will assist you in realizing the severity of this problem > Aeroallergens in Sandstorm Dust. In addition to inhalant allergies, it is important to have your child tested for food allergies and to keep these foods out of his diet. By exposing your child to any kind of allergens, you are overtaxing his immune system, so a strict adherence to a special and healthy diet may be needed in his case. Usual food allergens include corn, milk and dairy products, including cheese, wheat, soy, and sugar. Good luck in exploring his allergies.

My daughter, who is five, has asthma with sinus problems, and now recently she is having fever that is none stop. We gave her the medication she usually gets but its not helping. I'm out of solutions. The fever is on and of. At night she become thirsty, and she drinks a lot of water, and she will become very hot. Please advise.

Hi Nunu, it would be advisable to take her in and see if she has an infection.

Dear Nunu, Any type of fever in a small child is a potentially dangerous problem. It usually indicates an infection. Infections are not something to self treat. Please take your daughter into the doctor's office as soon as possible if you have not already done so.

Hello Dr. Leia, I Have a grandson who is nine years old and is suffering terribly with asthma, and I have instructed my daughter to take him to the emergency. He has a whooping cough, fluid in his lungs, shortness of breath and my daughter has taken him to his regular doctors and allergy specialist and nothing has ended his coughing. The school thinks he has pneumonia and would prefer he stay home. I believe in natural remedies and am hoping that you could help us with some insight and information on what he should eat. I am in the skincare industry, and I can help him with the natural skincare products.

Hi, my son is ten and he started out with chest congestion and coughing in mid April and there has been no end of it and it is already May. He is still coughing, now a dry cough, and he has nasal congestion. He feels worse in the morning. The Dr told him it is an allergy and to take an over the counter drug which will help for the short term. My son says he feels fine, but I am concerned it may turn into asthma. What can I do to help him?

Hi Ronna, there can be many things that cause allergies: dust, pet dander, pollen, mold, foods, etc. It may be wise to get him checked to see what it is that he is allergic to so that you can limit his exposure to the trigger and not have to medicate him all the time. Clean his room thoroughly, get all the dust. You would need to see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor as a family physician does not handle this type of thing. See if you can get a referral. You may want to use a spray on Allergen Reducer on the carpet, and mattress in his room. Then vacuum both afterward. Wash all bedding in non allergenic detergent available at most all stores. Take all stuffed animals and put them in the freezer to kill any dust mites that may live in them. Limit how many are in the bedroom to just what is most loved. Make sure his pillow is new and hyper allergenic. Also you may want to get a cover for the pillow, box spring, and mattress to keep them from filling up with dust mites or bothering him if they already are a problem. Keep bedding washed on a regular basis and don't forget to clean the curtains or blinds. Wash clothing when he comes in from playing who knows what type of pollen will come in with his clothes. Also a shower will help keep it form being transferred to his bedding. Keep his dirty laundry out of his room. Keep all damp towels etc. out of his room as well. You do not want a damp towel or bathing suit to lay around and become a site for mold. His carpet can get damp and foster mold if something is left on it. It doesn't take very long to become a problem. You may also like to prop him up a bit at night for a few nights. This seems to quiet things down a little for some kids. Traditional Medicinals has a throat coat tea that is very nice in the evening with a bit of honey. It will soothe the throat and quiet the coughing a bit. As for foods, milk, wheat, and soy are some of the top offenders for kids. The milk often will cause phlegm and this can just make things worse so even if he is not allergic you may want to limit it a bit so that it doesn't make things worse when he is coughing for days on end. Keep a log of what he eats and watch to see if he has any food problems. For airborne pollen etc. keep the windows closed and consider getting a HEPA air filter for his bedroom. I hope I have been of some help.

I have a 2 year old that may have "underlying asthma". She is currently being treated with daily Pulmicort, and Xopenex when the coughing or wheezing gets bad. She usually ends up with a sinus infection and or bronchial issues. Now, our pediatrician has added Singulair to her daily routine. I would really love some alternative solutions.

Dear Jenna, childhood asthma can be potentially dangerous and your child needs to be carefully monitored and followed by her pediatrician. Please read the excellent answer by Dee above involving an extensive way to rid your child's sleeping area of dust mites and other allergens. Asthma can involve multiple allergies, including food and airborne allergens. So you might also want to have your child tested for food allergies of which the most common include: dairy, wheat, peanuts, corn, and soy. Also, there might be an emotional or psychological component to your child's asthma along with the physical triggers. You might want to visit your local Naturopathic doctor and seek out further advice for individual naturopathic medicines or homeopathic remedies which might help your child. I will caution you to continue to work with your pediatrician and not attempt to take your child off the drugs without her pediatrician's advice. The Naturopathic doctor(ND) could provide adjunct therapy for your child, not in place of therapy. Also the ND could assist in strengthening the immune system of your child and provide the nutritional support which she needs. Good luck and please share with us your experiences.

My daughter is five years old and was having at least one cold every month since September. A couple of them turned into sinus infections. She also suffers from eczema since birth. Her Doctor recently decided that she has allergies and put her on Zyrtec which cleared up the symptoms instantly, but she became violent, and moody. I am an RN and recognized that this was probably a reaction to the medication and took her off and two days latter she was back to her normal self. My question for you is will this natural anti-histamine cause the same type of reactions, is it safe in children and what type of dosing would you use?

Dear Susan, thank you for your important question. I checked the ingredients of this natural antihistamine listed above, since I am not familiar with this particular product. Aller Sine appears to contain a long list of homeopathic remedies combined together to produce a product which purportedly is used to help the symptoms of adult allergy sufferers. Homeopathic medicines are extremely dilute substances which seem to work well with most children. However, because the list of ingredients in this product is so extensive, and the potency so low, I would not use it on children under 12 years of age. The lower potency in homeopathic medicines means that the solution is not as dilute, thus it contains a larger amount of substance in the remedy.Children respond extremely well to homeopathic medicines, so much so, that individual homeopathic remedies would be the best choice, but this remedy should be prescribed specifically for the child by a practitioner well versed in homeopathy. Just because a product is "natural", does not mean that it is not without side effects. If you have a Homeopathic practitioner in your area or a Naturopathic physician nearby, I would highly recommend that your child get treated with an individualized natural program designed just for her. Also, if you do decide to self-treat your child with natural medicines, I would look for products made specifically for children under 12 years of age. I hope this information helps you better understand natural products. Good luck.