Your Questions Answered

Response
The trigger for asthma is obviously important. However, I am encouraged by the fact that you say the attacks are mild and not too frequent. I would suggest you log the instances of attack and look back to see what had happened in the day or so before hand. You are probably right in your assumption that the trees are to blame. However, in my experience, we have been led to believe the obvious when a not so obvious cause was the real one (eg visiting Granny on Sundays who had a very hairy dog was the cause when I was sure it was anxiety!)

I would suggest that you also look at the timing of the onset of attack. For instance, is this during the night (ie bedroom based maybe?) or during the day. What was the weather like etc. I have found damp wiping the bedroom where the child sleeps for several hours can help a lot (just started a case where 3 puffs a night were needed which has gone to only 1 puff 3 nights out of 7 doing this). I would also look at animal contact if you don’t have any animals. For instance does she stroke a neighbour’s cat occasionally?

Dairy Products are also a cause of creating lots of mucus in some cases which can cause asthma responses. I am constantly amazed that medics don’t point this out to families.

Does your daughter suffer from any sinus blockage? This is easily dealt with and is often a problem. Does she suffer, for instance with hayfever?

I usually get a response straight away with Bowen with such a young child. There are several Bowen practitioners in your area according to an old list of mine. I have found that all they need to do is the child asthma procedure, and maybe P2 & 3 plus the hayfever moves only. That works a treat usually.

Response
Many thanks for your question

If we can arrange for your daughter to have a very few Bowen treatments, from my experience, I think you will find that the problem will not trouble you much. I am not sure, from your note, where you live. If you can give me the name of your local town I will try to locate a therapist for you.

If you use the Emergency Move described in the web site, but very gently (try it on yourself first, you will find you need virtually no pressure at all), whenever she is starting to become wheezy, you will usually find the wheezing will stop in maybe 10-15 minutes.
I treated a 6 year old today who had a really critical attack a month ago. I first treated the child a week after the attack. Her mother, an ex nurse, has been using this approach ever since and told me she has not needed to use the Ventolin at all. The child is doing very well. She had a bad cold last week and, for the first time in 6 years, the child did not develop an asthma attack.

If there isn’t a local Bowen Therapist near you, I can send you a CD which will teach you how to do the simple Bowen procedure. I prefer a trained person to do it, of course. However, it is safe and quite simple….and very effective.

Response
Thank you for your question. You are right in that we do not know of a Bowen Therapist in The Phillipines. I developed the CD which illustrates how to apply the Bowen Asthma Procedure to a child to help people in your position. If you could kindly send me an email with your address I will mail it to you.

The CD is set out like a book. Pictures of each stage of the easy procedure are on the left with instructions on the right. You simply "left click" on either "page" and the book will turn to the next (or previous) page. The moves themselves are done smoothly so I encourage you to practise on a pillow or a doll. They are all gentle and do not require much pressure to achieve a result.

You can start by looking at the Emergency Procedure on the web site. Use this GENTLY! below the end of the breast bone when your child is wheezing or having any sort of breathing difficulty. This often help. Many of the children I treat (when old enough) do this before they resort to using their ventilator medication. They often find they don't need it. However, it is important to understand that you should use the medication as and when needed. It will not interfere with the Bowen.

This procedure is safe and easy to do. However, it is always better done by a trained therapist, of course, who can include other moves in addition if needed.

Response
Thank you for your question. I am very sorry to hear of your son's problems and the worry this causes you. Your question comes, really, in two parts so I will answer them both.

1. Will your son grow out of his asthma attacks?

Well, no one can really predict that with certainty. However, children often do grow out of asthma attacks in their 'teens, as happened with your husband. Some take longer and others take less time.

2. Is there anything you can do right now to help him?

I have found, in almost every case, children of his age respond very well and very quickly to the Bowen Technique treatment. It only takes a moment to administer and has had a remarkable effect in cutting down the instance of "colds" and other frequent illnesses. Many children suffer almost constant illnesses with frequent visits to hospital because the cold or illness immediately triggers an asthma attack. However, as soon as they start with Bowen, this changes and usually holds.

After a time, the attacks simply get less and less frequent as the triggers seem to lose their ability to start an asthma attack. In all cases, I recommend that medication prescribed by your doctor be continued until the doctor has decided to reduce or stop
the medication.

Treatment takes less than a minute to administer and needs to be given for the next 3-4 weeks or until he has settled down and is essentially well. Then he will need a treatment maybe monthly for the next 4-6 months. He will also need to be treated immediately (same day if possible) if he develops any cold or illness to stop the trigger having an effect. The cold, incidentally, often stops immediately too.

Please take a moment to study the Bowen Emergency Procedure on the web site. You would need to do this if he suffered a serious attack, and it does work well. If your son becomes wheezy, you can also gently do this move with your finger, and this sometimes helps reduce the wheezing.

If you would like to let me know where you live, I will try to find a therapist near you. If we cannot find one, I can send you a CD with a short "self-help" guide on what to do.
However, I much prefer a trained therapist to treat your child.

I hope that answers your questions. By all means contact me at any time if I can help. It has been one of the great to see children get better and for them, and their families, to get on with life.

Response
Thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear of your young son's condition.

As you will have gathered from the web site, The Bowen Technique is a very gentle, and for a child of your son's age, can be a very effective treatment. My advice would be to try it out and see how he responds. One of the key elements of the treatment is that it is totally complementary and does not in any way either conflict nor replace the medication your son is receiving. As asthma can be very severe at times, it is essential that the reduction in medication is supervised by your GP.

Having said that, I have found that in most cases, young children respond very quickly with a reduction in the wheezing they are experiencing. I have also found many children who have had one cold / illness after the other, often with asthma being triggered, have stopped having these regular illnesses and so, consequently, have not suffered the frequent attacks of asthma triggered by the illness. The treatment for such a young child takes less than 1 minute and consists of a few very gentle "disturbances" across the edges of muscles - 2-3 pairs on the back and one pair and a single on the front. When the instances of illness have reduced, you can get your doctor to advise on reducing the medication.

You also need to learn the Bowen Emergency Procedure which is explained on the web site. This is very simple and in a very gentle form is the final"move" we do on the child. You can also use this "move" gently whenever the child is wheezing as this sometimes helps to reduce the wheezing very quickly. The Emergency procedure is done reasonably firmly as at that stage, when the patient is having a full asthma attack, the diaphragm is totally, or nearly so, in spasm and the move is designed to release the spasm. Wheezing in normal circumstances is a minor version of this so a gentle move often suffices, and can be done safely as often as you like. It is worth a try.

Usually I recommend two or three treatments and then, provided the child is OK, further treatments whenever the child is ill, on day 1, to prevent the illness providing a trigger for an asthma attack. This has worked very well. After some months, the condition seems to become less and less prevalent which is when you can discuss the medication with your GP.