Mold allergy is becoming increasingly appreciated as an asthma precipitant. Similarly, there are now home test kits available for the detection of chemicals and pesticides. New techniques for allergy desensitization will also help patients with asthma. These methods include the administration of antigens via oral or nasal solutions, as well as enzyme-potentiated desensitization, or EPD . Such treatments can have profound benefits for asthma patients, and replace the questionably effective allergy shots which conventional allergists still employ.
Nutrient therapy can also offer remarkable benefits.
The antioxidant vitamins C, E, and A, along with mixed carotenoids, zinc, and selenium can help reduce the inflammatory condition of asthma. Chief among nutrients important to people with asthma is magnesium. Intravenous infusions of magnesium can halt even some of the most severe exacerbations of emphysema under emergency room circumstances. Magnesium apparently acts as a natural bronchodilator, relaxing the smooth muscle found in the walls of the tubules which bring air into the lungs, thus relieving the spasms which close these tubes down in asthma. Vitamin B6 is another useful vitamin, along with B12 which can provide relief to asthma sufferers through its ability to activate the body's chemical detoxification pathways.