Asthma
Buteyko and Asthma
Asthma is a disorder characterised by breathing difficulty due to symptoms of bronchospasm (tightness), inflammation of the airways and increased mucus production. It can be diagnosed at any age and may range from mild to life threatening.
Diagnosis of asthma is made from medical and symptom histories and, possibly, pulmonary lung function tests: assessing resistance to airflow through the airways, and whether improvement was noted on taking short acting reliever medication (i.e. Ventolin). The most common outcome of a diagnosis of asthma is the prescription of asthma reliever and preventative medications.
The Buteyko Method is an educational program that teaches reduction of acute and chronic hyperventilation (over breathing) via breathing exercises and lifestyle changes. The principle aim is the normalisation of the breathing pattern. This results in significantly less asthma symptoms, with the majority of those that do occur being overcome by application of the breathing exercises. Outcomes should be regarded as effective management.
One of the important outcomes of lessening reliever medication required is the reversal of tolerance to relievers, which frequently occurs with regular use. Short acting relievers, such as Ventolin, regain their effectiveness and, once again, become valuable emergency medications.
Buteyko practitioners follow international 'best practice' guidelines for asthma medication, instructing clients to use reliever medication as needed and using preventer medication as prescribed by their doctor.
Ideally participation in a Buteyko course should be discussed with your GP and/or respiratory specialist. Doctors, specialists and allied health professionals are welcome to contact Buteyko Wellness for further information. Whilst referrals are not essential, where they are provided your referring doctor will be kept informed of your progress.
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Snoring
Being able to breathe through your nose is vital for a refreshing sound nights sleep, so having a blocked nose often causes poor sleeping patterns. Snoring is the sound of the volume of air a person is pushing in and out while breathing at night. Dental devices attempt to help (such as Mandibular Advancement Appliances), but are often uncomfortable, expensive and can stretch the lower jaw permanently.
The snoring noise reduces within the first days of a Buteyko course and drops even more as the person's breathing permanently returns to normal. Most people are familiar with snoring and the negative effects it can have on relationships with partners and other members of the household. Unfortunately snoring often leads to the onset of the more serious condition of sleep apnoea. From the Buteyko perspective, both sleep apnoea and snoring occur due to incorrect breathing, specifically over breathing or hyperventilation.
People exert most control of their breathing and also breathe smaller volumes of air when upright. The closer a person becomes to the horizontal position the deeper the breathing volume becomes and the greater the loss of carbon dioxide (CO2) there is from the lungs. The worst way to sleep is on the back with the mouth open without the use of a pillow. In this position the breathing volume increases significantly and so does the snoring.
Normal sleep occurs in five stages: Stages 1,2,3,4, & REM (rapid eye movement).
Stages 3 & 4 are the most restful and deepest sleep but when a person is over breathing, or hyperventilating, they are prevented from easily reaching these stages and primarily remain in the light and easily disturbed sleep of stages 1 & 2. The Buteyko Institute Method of breathing retraining (BIM) successfully reduces over breathing (hyperventilation) and normal sleep patterns return. Physiologically, hyperventilation lowers the arterial and alveolar carbon dioxide (CO2) to the point where the breathing reflex is depressed - interpreted as an apnoea or hypopnoea to an observer. During cessation of breathing the CO2 slowly accumulates until it triggers the body to take the next breath. By correcting the breathing pattern the body no longer needs to suppress the breathing reflex as the CO2 level is maintained within normal limits.
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Sleep Apnoea
Buteyko and Sleep Apnoea
Sleep apnoea is a condition characterised by 'stopping breathing' for more than 10 seconds at a time while asleep. There are two types of sleep apnoea; obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and the less common central sleep apnoea (CSA). Diagnosis is confirmed by a polysomnograph or 'sleep study'.
Typically persons with Sleep Apnoea will display:
Apnoeas of between 10 sec and 2 minutes or more
Snoring (though not always with CNS)
Restlessness, excessive movement/ kicking while asleep
Mouth breathing
Dry mouth/throat on waking
Thirst overnight and/or on waking
Waking unrefreshed and daytime tiredness/ foggy thinking
Tendency to fall asleep in meetings and in front of the TV
Breathlessness on exercise
Normal sleep occurs in five stages: Stages 1,2,3,4, & REM (rapid eye movement).
Stages 3 & 4 are the most restful and deepest sleep but when a person is over breathing, or hyperventilating, they are prevented from easily reaching these stages and primarily remain in the light and easily disturbed sleep of stages 1 & 2. A person with sleep apnoea has the added difficulty of 'arousal' occurring each time an apnoea finishes with a gasping breath dragging the person near to consciousness though often they remain asleep. This explains why it often takes a long time for a person to accept that they have a problem needing investigating, much to the frustration of others!
The Buteyko Institute Method of breathing retraining (BIM) successfully reduces over breathing (hyperventilation) and normal sleep patterns return. Physiologically, hyperventilation lowers the arterial and alveolar carbon dioxide (CO2) to the point where the breathing reflex is depressed -interpreted as an apnoea or hypopnoea to an observer. During cessation of breathing the CO2 slowly accumulates until it triggers the body to take the next breath. By correcting the breathing pattern the body no longer needs to suppress the breathing reflex as the CO2 level is maintained within normal limits.
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Allergies, Hayfever, Sinusitis
Whenever anything enters the human body, be it through the mouth, nose, eyes or skin, and the body is not comfortable with this substance it will try to get rid of it. This explains why we sneeze, cough, vomit, develop diarrhoea or break out in angry bumps or welts. Every one of these reactions is accompanied by the release of adrenalin and/or histamine and/or other chemicals which cause our breathing rate to increase. If this situation becomes chronic, such as with hay fever, rhinitis, sinusitis, coughing, sneezing and other allergic reactions, the breathing rate will be constantly increased and the brain will alter the trigger point. We then become overly sensitive to these triggers and they affect us at a far lower level than would normally cause a problem, if our breathing trigger was set at the normal response. Constant coughing and sneezing further lowers the CO2 level and the condition becomes worse, leading to more spasm in the smooth muscle tubes in the nose, throat and lungs.
Most of us are familiar with the standard treatments for hay fever, sinusitis and rhinitis; antihistamines and inhaled steroids. But how many are aware that Buteyko offers a simple and effective option to medication that is guaranteed to free those suffering from these symptoms?
Professor Buteyko established that over-breathing (hyperventilation) causes the symptoms of hay fever by disrupting the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in our airways. When we over-breathe we also inhale excessive quantities of allergens like pollen, cat dander and house dust mite. These factors combine to trigger the inflammation and blocked or runny nose that we associate with our symptoms.
Right from the first session of Buteyko breathing exercises, blocked noses clear and breathing becomes easier. The main component of a Buteyko course is easy to learn breathing exercises designed to slow the breathing rate back to normal parameters.
The exercises are taught over five consecutive 90-minute sessions. Most people are free of their symptoms and need for sinus and hay fever medication within the first week. The exercises only need to be practised for about six weeks to achieve permanent relief.
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High Blood Pressure
The majority of the vessels of the circulatory system have a smooth muscle wrapped around them. When CO2 levels are low smooth muscle becomes tense and vessels are constricted. This in turn causes blood pressure to rise to overcome this resistance. It was in fact Dr Buteyko's own high blood pressure which led him to develop his breathing technique. With the Buteyko Method, breathing is normalised, CO2 levels return to normal and vessel constriction is reduced, so blood pressure falls back to normal levels.
Emphysema
Although severely damaged lung tissue cannot be regenerated, it is possible to increase the efficiency of the remaining tissue through breathing better. This reduces muscle spasm and improves oxygen transport , whilst reducing mucus production. As the lung function is improved it is possible to reduce medication and hence any of the drugs adverse side effects. Most sufferers of emphysema who have learned The Buteyko Method find they are more physically active, have fewer breathing problems, are able to reduce their medication and generally have an improved quality of life.
Eczema
Eczema is commonly associated with asthma and other breathing problems. It is also very often found in people who are suffering from stress. The skin is the largest organ of the body and is the furthest away from the heart. The nutrition and oxygenation of the skin relies on normal breathing, and hyperventilaion leads to a reduced oxygen supply, due to lowered CO2 levels as a direct result of the Bohr Effect. The regeneration of new cells is impaired. Normalising the breathing rate leads to relaxation and a return to the normal oxygen supply to the skin.
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ME Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Low Energy
A major stress such as an illness, toxic overload or viral infection usually occurs before the onset of ME/CFS, but there is no one thing common to all sufferers. Many people experience similar events without developing the syndrome, which leaves the exact source a mystery to medical science. We know severe prolonged stress is debilitating, and that stress causes hyperventilation, hyperventilation causes stress and also that it is easy to maintain chronic hyperventilation once this pattern becomes the 'norm'. The Buteyko Method teaches how to break this cycle, by restoring normal breathing patterns, also helping to lesson excess stress, and by developing good dietary habits and having good sleep patterns .
Blocked Nose
Chronically blocked noses are common, so one of the first aims of the Buteyko Method is to re-establish comfortable nasal breathing. Almost all participants achieve this during the first week.
The nose has a number of very important roles. It prepares the air for the lungs to use in ways that breathing through the mouth cannot. The functions of the nose include filtering, warming and humidifying the air we breathe, so by the time the air reaches the lungs it is clean, at body temperature and has sufficient water vapour in it to avoid drying out of the airways.
Mouth breathing draws dirty, cold, dry, and potentially germ-laden air directly into the lungs. The larger volumes of air inhaled through the mouth disrupt the normal gas balance within the body; unfiltered air carries with it airborne allergens and dust particles which irritate and inflame the airways; cold dry air dries out the mucosal tissue leading to inflammation, dehydration and greater volumes of thicker, tackier mucus.
Breathlessness
Breathlessness, or shortness of breath, is a common symptom experienced by many people. Our general assumption is that we must not be breathing deeply enough; that somehow the tightness around our chest is restricting our breathing and making it too shallow, making us breathless.
Breathlessness is principally an outcome of poor oxygen exchange. Most people, understandably, assume that they require a greater volume of air to reach the lungs to bring more oxygen in. Paradoxically, the greater volume of air that is pushed in and out of the lungs the less oxygen will be available for use by our tissue cells.
To understand this more clearly: if deep breathing enabled greater oxygen availability then blowing up balloons or opening your mouth and breathing quickly and as deeply as possible would leave you feeling totally refreshed. But these activities can quickly make us breathless, light headed and dizzy. Thus over breathing reduces the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain and if we were to continue, despite the warning signals, we may very well faint.
Paradoxically deep breathing does not deliver greater amounts of oxygen to our bodies, on the contrary, it delivers less. Buteyko overcomes symptoms of breathlessness by normalising the volume of air breathed, thereby maximising oxygen exchange.
The more we breathe the less oxygen reaches our cells
Sinusitis
Sinusitis is inflammation, with or without infection, affecting the sinus cavities. Pain, headache, swelling, discharge, excessive mucus and postnasal drip may all be present. Common treatments include steroid and non-steroid nasal sprays, antihistamines, antibiotics, inhalations, nasal washes etc.
Susceptible people often have multiple sensitivities to foods and chemicals and will also display disturbed sleep. Symptoms tend to become chronic and more frequent over time.
Over breathing, or hyperventilation, lowers the carbon dioxide level within the blood and the respiratory system including the nasal/sinus passages. A low carbon dioxide environment stimulates mast cells to release greater amounts of histamine, an inflammatory agent, in response to contact with allergens. In short, the body over-reacts and the nasal and sinus regions become swollen and inflamed. Secondary infections are common in the warm moist environment.
The Buteyko Institute Method of breathing retraining (BIM) reduces the acute and chronic hyperventilation leading to a normalising of the mast cell/histamine response to allergens. The nasal and sinus tissues become less inflamed and swollen allowing restoration of nasal breathing. Secondary infections reduce in frequency, and quality of sleep improves. The need for ongoing daily medication is rare.
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Adenoids
If your child has been diagnosed with enlarged adenoids it is likely that surgical removal may have been advised by your paediatrician. Enlargement can be sufficient to cause a blockage of the nose making nasal breathing difficult or impossible. Chronic infection may also lead to ear problems including glue ear. These problems are seen by doctors as being indicative of dysfunctional adenoids with surgical removal being the best option for recovery.
There are potential side-effects associated with removal. Aside from the obvious stress of having your child undergo surgery, it is common for children to be left even more susceptible to respiratory infections following removal.
Surgery is not the only option
Buteyko offers a safe and effective alternative to adenoidectomy. It is widely accepted that children with enlarged adenoids tend to be habitual mouth-breathers. Buteyko works by correcting your child's poor breathing habits, addressing the underlying cause of the adenoid enlargement. Buteyko exercises and games help to encourage nasal breathing until it becomes the norm.
Results are seen in the first week and in the majority of cases adenoids return to normal size, eliminating the need for surgery.
Within days your child will be able to breathe through their nose. As correct nasal breathing returns the adenoids reduce to normal size and the need for surgery is eliminated.
Anxiety & Panic Attacks
When we become anxious, our palms may become sweaty, our muscles tense and our mind and emotions become totally focussed on the anxiety-causing event. Another physiological change in our bodies at this time is an increase in the rate and depth of breathing. We enter what is termed the 'Fight or Flight' state, and this is a normal response to stress.
In a person with a normal anxiety response, once the anxiety-causing event has passed the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems return the body to normal physiological baselines.
If a chronic state of hyperventilation exists (that is, if we breathe more than physiologically required all or much of the time) then this will trigger changes in the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, producing a chronic state of anxiety. We may feel as though we are in a permanent state of 'Fight or Flight' and have a permanently elevated level of anxiety.
Hyperventilation and anxiety and panic form a vicious circle, one leading to the other. The process may be initiated from either end. Some will experience anxiety and panic, which then leads to hyperventilation -- others will hyperventilate, leading to feelings of rising anxiety and/or panic. One feeds the other in an increasing spiral.
The Buteyko Method acts like a circuit breaker, teaching people how to reduce acute anxiety producing hyperventilation, so reducing the resultant anxiety and panic. It also teaches participants how to retrain their breathing back to a normal level with the result that they no longer have to live constantly in the 'Fight or Flight' state. Their body is then able to return to normal after cessation of the anxiety-causing event and their condition ceases to be chronic.
Hayfever
Most of us are familiar with the standard treatments for hay fever, sinusitis and rhinitis; antihistamines and inhaled steroids. But how many are aware that Buteyko offers a simple and effective option to medication that is guaranteed to free those suffering from these symptoms?
Professor KP Buteyko established that over-breathing - hyperventilation causes the symptoms of hayfever by disrupting the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in our airways. When we over- breathe we also inhale excessive quantities of allergens like pollen, cat dander and house dust mite. These factors combine to trigger the inflammation and blocked or runny nose that we associate with our symptoms.
Right from the first session of Buteyko breathing exercises blocked noses clear, and breathing becomes easier. The main component of a Buteyko course is easy to learn breathing exercises designed to slow the breathing rate back to normal parameters.
The exercises are taught over five consecutive 90 minute sessions. Most people are free of their symptoms and need for sinus and hay fever medication within the first week. The exercises only need to be practised for about six weeks to achieve permanent relief.
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Sports Performance
In our highly competitive world sports performance is highly prized. For many it becomes the equivalent of their full time job and career. The primary goal of every athlete is to achieve his or her absolute potential. An important determinant of whether this will be possible is our breathing pattern.
A poor breathing pattern will: limit oxygen exchange; increase the production of lactic acid, subsequently leaving the athlete with residual muscle soreness; increase dehydration; increase the occurrence of cramp; increase recovery time; elevate the heart rate; increase baseline anxiety; and contribute to poor sleep patterns.
The aim of the Buteyko Method is to normalise the breathing pattern. When the body is working within its physiologically normal parameters, it can work at its optimum.
Many athletes both in New Zealand and internationally have used Buteyko to improve their sporting performance, among them New Zealand Rowing Four Darnelle Timbs and Con Barrell, All Blacks Rugby Team.
Children and Dental Problems
The human body is designed to breathe through the nose. Allergies cause the inside of the nose to swell and block the airway. The body then switches to mouth breathing for oxygen as nasal blockage forces the mouth to stay open to breath. If the mouth constantly stays open, then the teeth stop fitting together.
Mouth breathing from allergies in children can be disastrous. The jaws don't grow together and a malocclusion develops. The head rotates backward to make it easier breath but the rotation causes the eyes to rotate upward. To prevent this, the patient throws the head forward. This problem causes the patient to have a constant dry mouth, especially in the morning. The forward head posture causes the collar bones to wing upward and forward. The shoulders roll forward too. Normal collar bones are horizontal. Winged clavicles are a sign of severe allergies, mouth breathing and future neck and back problems. Eventually the patient learns to keep the tongue low to avoid blocking the air coming through the mouth. If the tongue continues to stay low for years, a number of problems result.
A normal tongue sticks to the palate when swallowing. An abnormal tongue doesn't but instead thrusts forward. In severe cases, the tongue thrusts forward and downward. The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body and easily pushes teeth out of position. This abnormal tongue will also cause swallowing and speech problems.
Allergies cause black eyes called 'allergic shiners', because the allergic swelling in the nose prevents the blood from draining. Some children have continued inner ear infections due to the allergies. There is a small tube that goes to the inner ear from the back of the mouth and nose. This tube allows the inner ear to drain and evens out the air pressure in the ear and the outside. This is called the Eustachian tube and is made out of the same type tissue that makes up the inside of the nose.
The tube can swell up and close shut when allergies irritate it. This causes pressure and fluids to build up in the inner ear and makes the patient prone to ear infections, 'Glue Ear'. Physicians cut through the outside of the ear drum to place a drain tube, rather than treat the allergies that caused the problem.
The tongue functions as a natural brace when nasal breathing is restored. The Buteyko Method addresses these problems without need for dental braces or even surgery, by teaching children simple exercises that restore correct nasal breathing habits. Improvement usually occurs within a few days. By the end of the course, most children are breathing easily, sleeping well, and waking refreshed and able to concentrate well at school
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