MD

There's nothing more frightening than witnessing a child's asthma attack, listening to her wheeze and cough and fight for every breath--and sharing her panic. Fortunately, pharmaceutical advances have resulted in a whole new class of drugs that prevents or relieves asthma flare-ups. But do you want your child on drugs, with their potential short- and long-term side effects? Besides, asthma drugs treat the symptoms without treating the underlying condition. Are there alternatives that can lessen an asthmatic child's drug dependency? Yes, say authors Steven J. Bock, Kenneth Bock, and Nancy P. Bruning. "It is our belief that asthma rates continue to soar because of our increasingly toxic environment," they write. "Our children are assaulted from every direction with indoor and outdoor air pollution, poor food, and stress." The cumulative toxicity makes children more susceptible to diseases. In this book the authors present a natural asthma program to complement your child's conventional care and help to reduce asthma attacks and drug dependency. This includes reducing asthma triggers (including advice for "saying goodbye to Fluffy"); eating a cleaner, more nourishing diet (emphasizing plant foods); taking supplements, herbs, and homeopathic remedies; and learning to cope with emotional stress. The book ends with three case studies of children who used the program in various ways and dramatically improved their health. --Joan Price