How I reversed my son's ASTHMA.

It took me a while to get up the courage to write this post.  I didn't quite want to say my son is CURED of asthma even though we haven't had to use any inhalers or steroids for over a year now.  Saying any chronic illness is "CURED" is pretty bold and I felt like "REVERSED" was a much better word.  Could my son still have the tendency for asthma?  Will he have a flare-up in the future?  Maybe.  But right here, right now he's doing amazing.  And I wanted to share his story...



The Merry-Go-Round {also known as healthcare}:

It took 6 months of doctor's visits before my son was officially diagnosed with asthma.  At 2 years old, after any amount of physical exertion he would become tired & flushed, complain of a tummy ache, start to cough, then throw up.  It happened like clockwork.

Our family doctor wanted to focus on the tummy ache and recommended a pediatric gastroenterologist who recommended a endoscopy to rule out any serious digestive ailment.  After the endoscopy, we were sent away with a clean bill of health and a "shrug of the shoulders" diagnosis.  The only clue we had was that the anesthesiologist who assisted in the endoscopy told us that he noticed our son didn't have very good "lungs", not to mention some pretty massive tonsils.  He recommended we "check that out" as well.  We went away from these string of experiences with a big fat question mark.

"Thanks a heap doc!  How much do I owe ya?"

Our only solution was to restrict physical activity.  Poor kid.  Let's just say we had a lot of indoor fun time.  Not very healthy, but as young parents we thought we were doing best.

We noticed the wheezing and coughing and subsequent vomiting would happen also when he got a cold.  One time the wheezing & coughing got so bad that we were introduced by our doctor to the NEBULIZER also known as the SPECIAL MACHINE in our family.

Over the course of 6 years I have literally spent hours up in the night administering NEBULIZER meds to my son.

After the 3rd or 4th cold &  round of prescriptions, I kid you not, my doctor said, "Well, let's just officially say your son has asthma.  But don't worry.  Every kid has asthma these days.  He'll fit right in."

From my nursing background I was able to use my stethoscope to assess his wheezes and coughs.  This helped so much because I could assess his breathing before administering meds.   I believe EVERY parent should own a stethoscope and learn how to use one.  You will be able to tell the difference between a cough and wheezing and effectively reduce unnecessary medication.

Sickness teaches & Nutrition heals:

When MY OWN quest for health began and I started to turn away from western medicine and look to nutrition for health, my eyes were opened to a whole new way of living and healing.

Ever so gradually, I made changes to our family's diet.

A diet of full of...regular meat, eggs, cow's milk & cheese, white flour, white sugar, vegetable oils, soda, fast food, fishy crackers & fruit snacks turned into...

a diet full of...no hormone meat, organic eggs, raw goat's milk but still pasteurized cow's cheese, whole grains, part refined sugars & part honey, healthier vegetable oils, soda only 1 x week, fast food 1 x week, & fruit leather turned into...

a diet full of...organic meat, organic eggs, raw goat's milk & raw goat cheese with only occasional pasteurized cow's cheese, whole grains prepared properly, only honey & sucanat, organic butter, lard, coconut, olive oil, no soda, homemade broths, rarely ever fast food, & fresh seasonal fruits & vegetables, fermented cod liver oil. Read more about our current diet HERE

I was so obsessed with my own healing that it took time for me to notice that my son wasn't having anymore attacks.  At first I thought it was because he wasn't getting as sick.  There really weren't a lot of colds or flus in our house anymore, and if there were, they were very short 1-2 days at most.

At my son's 8 year old checkup, our pediatrician recommended a flu vaccine.   Although I did vaccinate my children as babies, I now do not vaccinate at all and I told the pediatrician we would pass.  He promptly told me that if my son got this year's flu that we would literally be in the hospital.  His history of asthma, he said, was too risky to skip the flu shot.  I again declined and he told me I just sealed my fate.

Thanks a heap doc, how much do I owe ya'?

{I would like to say that I am not totally against doctors.  I have a very good medical background and also believe there are some amazing docs out there.  This one just wasn't one of 'em}

Well, the doctor was right about one thing.  My little Ethan did get the flu.  And it was no fun for about 4 days.  But guess what else?  He did not get one wheeze or cough or even a hiccup.  He had a fever and felt yucky, but that lovely nebulizer stayed stored in the medicine cabinet where it still sits today.

We've gone a year now without any asthma meds (except for that time that Ethan became flushed at a soccer game and I freaked out and made him take a puff of albuterol even though he said he was fine and not wheezing at all)

The biggest change that I believe REVERSED my son's asthma:

I noticed a significant reduction in my son's asthma when we made the switch to raw goat's milk.  Actually, that was one of the major reasons we decided to raise and milk goats.  Since goat's milk has smaller protein & fat globules, it digests easier in about 30 min. compared with cow's milk, which digests in about 3 hours.   He had a lot less phlegm from drinking goat's milk and I believe it helped with his asthma.  Phlegm = inflammatory response.  (You may think this milk sensitivity was just a tendency in my son, but in fact, MANY asthmatic children have undiagnosed milk sensitivities allergies & improve greatly on raw milk see Sources)

For a couple months when our goats were dry and we had to purchase milk, we bought raw cow's milk and he did fine on that too.  When we decided to buy some store bought organic, (but pasteurized & homogenized) cow's milk, I noticed right away him coughing and even I felt like I personally had a stuffy nose and phlegm in my throat.  (Homogenization makes the globules even bigger and harder to digest) You can read more about how I feel about milk here.

What I think made the asthma go away all together was our huge reduction in processed foods.  I don't purchase any processed food anymore, although being kids, they get some probably a couple times a month from some soccer game or birthday party or grandma's sleepover.  I let them make their own decision whether or not to partake because I don't believe in depriving them.

I am confident that as we continue with our Traditional Whole Food's lifestyle, continue to drink raw milk and avoid processed foods as much as possible, that my son will completely be cured from asthma.

My son went from needing an inhaler & steroid everyday, to only needing it when he was sick or during physical activity, to never needing it.  So take it from me, nutrition can reverse and heal!  I hope this inspires other moms out there who spend their nights up with that nebulizer that it CAN get better.  Just try to educate yourself and be brave enough to make changes to your family's diet because a little change can go a long way!

You can drink raw cow's, goat's(only the breed Nigeran Dwarfs taste just like cow's milk), or even sheep's milk!(Yes, I've tried it and it's amazing--and I'm super picky!)  If you're worried about raw milk, (which I was too when I first made the switch), know that there are millions of raw milk drinkers out there that do perfectly fine and haven't once got sick from the milk!  We personally keep our milk very clean and healthy as do MANY raw milk farmers!  If you're interested in searching for a raw milk source near you, then go to the Real Milk Finder.

I wish you the best and remember, changing your family's diet happens one step at a time but small changes can bring about great miracles!

Sources:
http://www.realmilk.com/health/asthma-or-brucellosis/