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Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog
information on herbal medicine
MEDICATION STRENGTHENS BREATHING
Those who become permanently short of breath because of chronic bronchitis and lung damage after decades of heavy smoking have what it called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Ultimately, they become blue in the face (when the lungs no longer allow the blood to obtain all of the body’s oxygen needs) and develop heart failure. Fatigue and weakness then develop in the overworked muscles of the chest making matters even worse.
In searching for ways to strengthen breathing and counteract the respiratory muscle fatigue, physicians have discovered that theophylline, the time-honored medication for asthma, has a consistently useful effect, the New England Journal of Medicine (311:349) reports.
Taken twice daily in doses of 500 mg for one week, theophylline improves the strength of the diaphragm and the efficiency of respiration. This effect is enough to cause marked improvement in COPD patients and is maintained for at least three weeks, even after the drug is discontinued.
How often theophylline courses need to be repeated remains to be established. Theophylline, incidentally, is an ingredient of coffee and tea, which also contain the closely related chemical, caffeine. It, too, improves the efficiency of respiration and the strength of the muscles, including the diaphragm.
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