Lani Lopez - Bronchitis

Bronchitis is so debilitating people can really feel quite down in the dumps and irritable due to the lack of oxygen especially with fatigue and the extra effort it takes to breathe. People with bronchitis really need to learn to slow down and gently look after themselves with a bit of tender loving care, as with most illnesses. Bronchitis describes irritation and inflammation of the bronchi, the airways and passages within the lungs.

Usually infection of some form including a cold virus, flu, bacteria, or fungus exacerbates Bronchitis. Exposure to cold and dampness with lowered resistance is a contributing factor.

Along with your doctors recommendations, lifestyle is extremely important in your program for recovery from bronchitis. Elements of lifestyle are frequently the cause and the aggravating factors that stand in the way of healing. When you understand these factors in your own lifestyle, you have the power to recover by making the necessary changes. Excuse me but I’m getting straight to the point to get you back on track.

Diet:

• First two days: Only liquids given. Lemonade without sugar, grapefruit juice, orange juice, unsweetened pineapple juice; other freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices may be allowed. When there is a fever this diet should be followed until normal temp returns.
• Strained vegetable broth.
• Soybean milk with sugar free oats is fine if this is too hard and you get hungry.

After 2 days and if your fever is down:

• Good quality proteins are essential for recovery. Avoid processed proteins such as lunch meats, salami, processed cheese. Eat meats that take a little longer to digest, avoiding eggs and shellfish. Oily fish is fine as is lamb, prime mince, steak, pork as long as all the fat is cut off.
• Unrefined carbohydrates are better than sweet-sugary and refined carbohydrates. Also choose whole foods when possible.
• Consume 6-8 servings of vegetables daily, especially those that are naturally highly colored (bright green, red, orange, yellow, purple). Make sure you have at least three highly colored vegetables with each of your noon and evening meals. Vegetables can be steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, baked, boiled, grilled, blanched or eaten raw. Combine a variety of preparation techniques when cooking vegetables.
• Ginger, turmeric, rosemary and thyme and garlic — reduces inflammation, as well as easing bloating, digestion, congestion and increases circulation. Take 1-1.5g daily taken over several months with food.
• 3 litres of water taken daily to loosen mucus in lungs and bowels.

Externally:

• Hot fomentations to the chest and back, with a short cold rub between each fomentation. A cold rub is just a massage without heat. A short rub to the back and to the chest between each castor oil pack fomentation.
• Castor Oil Packs — have been known to help with deep lung inflammation. Along with dietary and herbal recommendations. You will need; Castor oil (obtained from the chemist), a soft clean cotton cloth, plastic wrap, a plastic container to store the oil-laden cloth, and a hot water bottle.
  Directions: Soak the cloth in castor oil. Place the folded cloth over the stomach area over your affected lung area. Cover the cloth completely with plastic wrap both to avoid staining your clothes and to keep in the warmth. Place a towel over the plastic and put a hot water bottle it. Leave it on overnight. Repeat this five nights in a row and rest for two nights. Do this for three weeks.

• Skin rubbing with towel before taking baths or shower. Use dry rough towel or dry scrubbing mitt.
• Massage, baths and showers — Lymphatic massage, reflexology, sports massage and deep tissue massage facilitate circulation and help bronchitis lung healing. Self massage- before you shower, gently scrub your body all over with a dry flannel and then have a warm shower. At the end of your shower have a blast of cold water stimulate your body circulation. Quickly dry and get warm.
• Epsom salts (Magnesium) or Rock sea salt added to your bath for the last 15 minutes can relax fatigued muscles and open pores for sweaty elimination. Pour in 2 handfuls of each or either and take a bath.

Herbs and healing remedies:

• OLE-Up (Lanilopez.com) Take 6-12 capsules daily with food. To support liver clearance, inflammation, immunity and your natural stress that inhibits immunity. Has added Acai berry for antioxidant nutrition.
• Malcolm Harkers Emphysemol. For deep lung infection. Pour half a bottle into a jar and add apple cider vinegar and sip at intervals and sip as directed on the bottle. When finished pour the other half of the emphysemol from the jar into the bottle and fill it up with apple cider vinegar. See health store.
• Golden seal and Myrrh. Take a rounded teaspoon of golden seal and one fourth tsp. of myrrh, steep in one pint of boiling water. Do this several times a day. Gargle and rinse mouth out with salt water. It will clean impurities out from gums and mouth as well as aiding healing to mucosal tissue and lungs. Take this solution internally six times daily. Have hot foot baths with a handful epsom salts when you take the above treatment at the same time. See health store naturopath (Harvest Health) for herbal mixture or buy capsules.
• Lugols iodine, Apple Cider Vinegar, strong manuka honey - 6 drops of Lugols iodine gargle and mix with 1 capful of Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 tsp of manuka honey. Gargle 3 x daily. Drink once daily. 
• Acidophilus Bifidus formulas (taken as directed) and Slippery elm for antibiotic use and gut dysbiosis. Slippery elm powder turns into a gel with mixed with a liquid. It gently coats the digestive lining which makes congestion and troubling mucus pass through the intestines helping to prevent gut bacteria build up and stimulates the lungs to cough up mucus.
• Homeopathic Traumeel: Take for 6 months if you get bronchitis regularly or have it chronically. See health store.
• The following supplements are necessary for recovery: Vitamins C, D, B-complex, Magnesium, Trace minerals (zinc, selenium, iodine). You may purchase these supplements in a multi formula.
• Calc Fluor tissue salt to increase lung elasticity and eject hard balls of mucus. Take acute dose as directed.
• Blood purifying formulas: Echinacea and red clover: see health store. This will help your body deal with infection and reduce the risk of relapse.
• Alpine tea: Check bowel clearance - use Alpine tea if you are constipated, we want two to three eliminations daily. See health store or supermarket.

Other treatments:

• Glenn White Buteyko breathing technique Ponsonby: Use buteyko breathing and learn it to save your life.
• Chinese acupuncture with upper back cupping and Lymphatic drainage massage, learn from the net or your naturopath.