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AYURVEDA IDENTIFIES THE respiratory system as pranavaha srotas, meaning “that which carries the vital breath that provides the subtle energies of prana and supports sustenance of life.” Hence the saying: life starts with a breath and ends with a breath! Ayurvedic science assigns great importance to the management of respiratory disorders as these conditions not only cause distressing symptoms, such as struggling for breath, but also affect the growth and development of children as well as their resistance to other diseases and longevity.
Earaches
Being in their kapha cycle of life, children tend to have increased secretions of mucus and lots of congestion that leaves them susceptible to different types of earaches, known as karnasoola in Ayurveda. In addition to that, children’s eustachian tubes—the passageway that connects the middle ear to the upper part of the throat—are narrower than an adult’s, which can often lead to blockages and dysfunction. Have your children ever experienced severe earaches when taking off or landing during air travel? When the eustachian tubes become blocked with mucus, it causes difficulty regulating and equalizing the pressure inside the middle ear to the air pressure outside of the body, the primary reason children have pain when flying.
Middle ear infections (otitis media) are another common reason for earaches in children due to retention and accumulation of mucus in the middle ear—the space behind the eardrum—that often triggers inflammation and infections. Earaches due to otitis media usually last a few days and can be accompanied by a fever. This type of infection can sometimes lead to complications like a ruptured eardrum or discharge of pus from the ear, a condition Ayurveda refers to as pootikarna that expresses as purulent discharge with a foul smell due to pus formation. Other common causes of earaches are swimmer’s ear (otitis externa), injury of the ear canal from a Q-tip or fingernail, accumulation of earwax blocking the ear canal, and a foreign body in the ear canal. While pain is an obvious indication of an ear infection or disorder, there are other common symptoms to watch for:
•Dull, sharp, or throbbing pain in the ear
•Discharge from the ear
•Itching in the ear
•Ringing or hissing sounds (tinnitus)
•Loss of hearing
•Feeling that the ear is blocked or trouble hearing
Ayurveda distinguishes different types of earaches based on doshic expressions. Vata-related ear disorders typically include severe pain associated with thin or no discharge, dry earwax, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), and loss of hearing. Pitta earaches express redness, swelling, burning, hypersensitivity, and yellow discharge with pus. Kapha types are characterized by swelling, itching, white or slimy discharge, and dull ache.
The Ayurvedic management of earaches includes avoiding known causes such as swimming and exposure to cold, supporting the ear channels to relieve blockages and congestion, healing existing inflammation and infection, and, finally, enhancing immune resistance to prevent tendencies toward congestion and avoid recurrence. Here are the most important tips for managing earaches in children:
1.Avoid washing your child’s hair or wetting their head as soon as your child expresses initial symptoms of ear problems such as a feeling the ear is heavy or blocked. As Ayurveda considers the head to be the seat of kapha dosha, wetting the scalp can always cause an increased chance of congestion and heaviness. For children who experience repeated ear problems, it is recommended they minimize the frequency of head wetting in general.
2.Avoid cold food and beverages. Cold always aggravates kapha and vata; increased kapha causes congestion, whereas aggravated vata increases tendencies of pain.
3.If your child experiences earaches when flying, guide them to repeatedly swallow their spit or chew gum during takeoff and landing as the action of swallowing can help open the eustachian tube and avoid pressure changes inside the middle ear. Another helpful exercise is to ask your child to inhale deeply and fill the mouth with air like a balloon for a few seconds without exhaling.
4.Gargle with warm salt water two or three times a day. The practice of gargling with warm water with a high concentration of salt can relieve the swelling and congestion in the ears through osmosis and quickly reduce earaches.
5.Avoid late nights as this causes aggravation of vata and any pain your child may be experiencing. Daytime sleep is also discouraged as it can cause kapha aggravation and more congestion.
6.Avoid cleaning your child’s ears with Q-tips when they have an earache as the ear is very sensitive and the intensity of pain can increase with pressure. It is always advisable to consult with an expert to manage such issues.
7.There are many specific Ayurvedic herbs and formulations that can be taken internally and also used in combination with external therapies and local applications. An Ayurvedic physician can personalize a treatment protocol for your child.
Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is very common in children and known as tundikeri in Ayurveda, a condition characterized by inflammation of the tonsils, the lumps of lymphoid tissues on both sides of the back of the throat. Ayurveda recognizes tonsillitis as an indication the immune system is fighting against a possible infection that may affect the body. In the active stage of tonsillitis, if you look inside your child’s mouth, the red, swollen tonsils will be visible in the throat. Tonsillitis causes severe pain that can even make it difficult for your child to swallow their own spit. Many children get recurrent tonsillitis that can develop into other issues including severe fever, losing their voice, difficulty swallowing, and earache if left untreated.
The tonsils play a key role in our health fighting off germs that can enter the body through the nose and mouth and lead to infection. They are considered part of the lymphatic system and function as a component of the body’s active immune defense mechanisms that pool defense cells when there is a high probability of invading pathogenic organisms. This fight against invading viruses or pathogenic bacteria causes swelling and inflammation. Tonsillitis can produce white or yellow discharge and can sometimes be accompanied by enlarged adenoids. ENTs used to commonly recommend that children with recurrent tonsillitis have surgery to remove the tonsils (tonsillectomy), but that is becoming less frequent these days as there is no evidence that having a tonsillectomy reduces the chance of infections in children. In fact, removing the tonsils is like removing the front door of your house, allowing anybody and anything to enter without warning or barrier.
Ayurveda considers your child’s mild fevers and occasional sore throat an indication their immune defenses are becoming more active. Such exposures to possible threats from pathogens gradually make the body’s resistance to infections stronger. As your child’s immune system develops resistance, you can manage and prevent mild illnesses at home with some basic regimens and home remedies. Ayurveda explains that exposures to cold wind, intake of cold food or beverages, cold showers, or even cold and moist weather can trigger tonsillitis. The most common symptoms are:
•Swelling inside the throat with redness and pain
•Pain while swallowing
•Fever and chills
•Loss of voice and bad breath
•Sore throat
The management of tundikeri in Ayurveda not only provides symptomatic relief but also treats the current condition and prevents the chances of recurrence. Here are the most common tips and home remedies to prevent and manage tonsillitis:
1.Minimize wetting the head, especially for children who have a tendency to get tonsillitis. Cold water on the head, the seat of kapha, can cause increased congestion and tonsil inflammation.
2.Avoid eating cold food and drinking cold beverages as cold aggravates both kapha and vata.
3.Sipping lukewarm water with fresh squeezed lemon juice, raw honey, and a pinch of salt throughout the day is found to be supportive to reduce inflammation and keep symptoms from progressing.
4.Gargling with warm water that has a slightly higher concentration of salt multiple times a day can reduce swelling and relieve difficulty swallowing instantaneously.
5.Regular intake of warm cow’s milk with ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and a touch of black pepper is Dr. J’s favorite home remedy to support children who tend to get recurrent tonsillitis.
6.Gargling with water boiled with leaves of holy basil with salt and turmeric during the active stage of tonsillitis is sometimes found to be helpful.
7.There are specific Ayurvedic herbs like lilac tasselflower (Emilia sonchifolia) and traditional formulations that can be taken to manage tonsillitis and related issues based on the advice of an Ayurvedic physician. Rejuvenators (rasayana) like Chyawanprash are commonly used by parents at home to help strengthen their child’s resistance against recurrent inflammations.
Flu
Flu, or influenza, is a contagious viral infection that affects the nose, throat, and lungs and spreads through droplets when people with flu cough, talk, or sneeze. While flu is primarily a respiratory infection, it can lead to other complications and sometimes be fatal. Ayurveda classifies flu in the category of kapha-vata jwara, fever or inflammation caused by aggravation of kapha and vata. When flu isn’t managed well in the initial stages, it can affect the upper respiratory tract and cause sinusitis or move to the lower respiratory tract (lungs), causing cough and chest congestion. Flu can progress into bacterial infections like pneumonia, sinus infections, and ear infections. Ayurveda identifies conditions like flu as an indication of reduced vitality and immune resistance (bala) in children. This is the reason children don’t all develop flu-like symptoms when one or two individuals in a classroom invariably present with a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and are likely spreading droplets to everyone. Flu typically starts with a sudden onset of the following symptoms:
•Sore throat
•Nasal congestion and runny nose
•Aches and pains in the body with headaches
•Fever with chills
•Heaviness of head with extreme tiredness
•Children can also develop vomiting and diarrhea
•Cough and chest congestion
The Ayurvedic management of flu includes taking precautions to avoid close contact with people who are sick with flu, carefully managing the initial onset with care to minimize the development of symptoms and progression, and supporting children to enhance immune resistance to prevent such infections. The most effective Ayurvedic tips for preventing and managing flu are to reduce further imbalances of vata and kapha, the doshas primarily involved in this condition. Here are some ways you can modify your child’s lifestyle to support recovery:
1.Avoid cold food and beverages.
2.Minimize exposure to cold, and make sure your child wears layers in cold weather and seasons to protect them from prolonged exposure.
3.Avoid cold showers.
4.Make sure you towel-dry your child’s scalp after hair washing as a wet scalp can trigger sneezing, runny nose, and congestion.
5.Avoid late nights.
When you see initial symptoms of flu in your child like sore throat, sneezing, or congestion, the following Ayurvedic tips can be helpful:
1.Allow your child to rest completely.
2.Offer only easily digestible, warm cooked food like soups.
3.Avoid hair washing for a few days.
4.Boil three or four leaves of holy basil in a cup of water for five minutes, adding a teaspoon of honey once it cools down to lukewarm, and have your child sip throughout the day.
5.Prepare a mixture of ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder with one teaspoon of honey and a touch of black pepper powder. Give this to your child in three or four divided doses in one day.
6.Have them sip warm ginger tea made with two or three slices of fresh ginger in a cup of water to relieve congestion and clear the respiratory channels.
7.Gargle with warm salt water to reduce swelling and congestion.
Ayurveda’s main focus is to support children to avoid recurrent colds and flu. There are many home remedies and Ayurvedic herbs and formulations you can use to support your children’s immune health:
1.The regular intake of herbs like turmeric and ashwagandha in hot milk (golden milk) has been found to be supportive to enhance immune strength.
2.Traditional formulations like Indukantham Ghritam, Amalaki Rasayana, and Chyawanprash have been used for centuries to enhance immune resistance in children.
Asthma
Asthma is a serious, chronic respiratory disease that can severely affect the health of growing children. Bronchial asthma is known as tamaka shwasa in Ayurveda and leads to abnormal breathing patterns, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, wheezing, and coughing. Children who have a tendency toward asthma can easily develop inflammation of the lungs and airways when they are exposed to causative factors or when they have conditions like cold or flu. Since asthma affects the airways and oxygen levels, it impacts a child’s overall activity, growth, and quality of life. Ayurveda identifies asthma as a condition developed due to aggravations of vata and kapha doshas, as well as pitta at certain stages. There are many known causes for asthma, and it varies for every child. The most common triggers are:
•Allergic asthma is one of the most common types of asthma in children when the respiratory system reacts to different irritants and exposures. When a child inhales an allergen, their immune system perceives a crisis, and the body’s response is to constrict the respiratory airways (bronchioles), causing restricted airflow to the lungs. This presents as breathlessness and difficulty getting the required oxygen to the system. As a consequence, there can be acute inflammation of the respiratory tract that leads to increased secretion of mucus and further closure of the breath channels. Dust mites, pollen, molds, cockroaches, and pet dander are some of the most common respiratory allergens that affect children.
•Air pollution or irritants in the air is another common reason for childhood asthma. Wood fires, charcoal grills, cigarette smoke, fumes from vaping, air pollution such as smog, strong chemicals, dust, and fumes are known to aggravate inflamed and sensitive respiratory channels. A child doesn’t necessarily need to be allergic to these exposures to become symptomatic, but the intensity and sharpness of these items creates irritation of the mucosal lining of the respiratory system.
•Asthma can also develop as a symptom of other underlying disorders and diseases in children that create inflammation, constriction, and inflammation of the airways such as: obstructive sleep apnea, acid reflux (GERD), obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), nasal polyps, pneumonia, flu, sinusitis, and rhinitis.
•Exercise-induced asthma is another condition that can develop in children, which may only appear after prolonged and sustained exercise. Dr. J has seen many cases where children exposed to extreme training as a part of a competitive sports program experienced symptoms of bronchoconstriction (EIB), especially in cold weather.
•Certain strong emotions in children can trigger asthma-like symptoms. These strong emotions can cause changes to breathing patterns and bring on wheezing even when a child doesn’t have a history of asthma. Fear, anger, laughter, crying, feeling insecure, excitement, and yelling are some of the emotional triggers that may cause symptoms of asthma.
•Weather can also trigger asthma in certain children. Sudden changes in weather, dry wind, cold air, cloudy conditions, and thunderstorms are known to cause asthma symptoms in some children. Seasonal asthma is mainly due to specific allergens like pollen that get released into the atmosphere.
•Chemical medications such as certain anti-inflammatory drugs and beta-blockers can trigger symptoms of asthma in some children.
The signs and symptoms of childhood asthma can vary from child to child, and sometimes change from one episode to the next. The most common signs and symptoms are:
•Fast and difficult breathing
•Pain and tightness in chest
•Whistling sound while breathing in or out (wheezing)
•Persistent cough that doesn’t go away
•Episodes of continuous coughing that occur often, especially at night, during exercise or physical activity, from exposure to cold air, or from crying or laughing
•Reduced energy during play, and needing to take breaks during physical activities to catch their breath
•Avoidance or lack of desire to participate in sports or physical activities
•Difficulty in lying flat and sleeping due to cough or breathing difficulties
The vata-predominant stage of asthma expresses as dry cough, breathing difficulty due to airway constriction without phlegm, wheezing, pain in the chest, and difficulty talking and sleeping. In the kapha stage there will be increased white, thick mucus as well as chest heaviness with congestion. A pitta association is comparatively rare, but yellowish or greenish mucus and sometimes phlegm stained with blood are all indications.
Ayurvedic management of childhood asthma varies according to the type of asthma as well as which dosha is predominant at that time. The overall approach of management is multipronged with dietary and lifestyle guidance, herbs and formulations to stabilize the condition, and administration of rejuvenators specific to supporting the respiratory system as well as enhancing immune resistance. Ayurvedic guidance for parents to support children with asthma is as follows:
1.The first step of managing allergic asthma is to avoid or limit exposure to the allergens. It will be challenging to avoid the allergens completely when it comes to pollen or air pollutants. Keeping the windows closed, using filtering masks when exposed to the external environment, and employing quality air purifiers are some of the practical options to minimize the exposures.
2.Avoid eating cold food, drinking cold beverages, and taking cold showers as cold aggravates both kapha and vata.
3.Sipping warm water with heating spices like ginger throughout the day is found to be supportive as warmth always dilates and cold always constricts.
4.Regular intake of warm cow’s milk with ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and a touch of black pepper is known to help reduce tendencies of respiratory allergies in children.
5.Sipping water boiled with leaves of holy basil with turmeric powder and raw honey is found to be helpful. Ayurveda suggests never heating honey and only adding it to tea that is lukewarm. Incorporating ingredients like garlic, turmeric, ginger, and black pepper when preparing meals can help reduce vata and kapha and lower tendencies of asthma.
6.Restrict cold and hard to digest foods as well as ingredients such as yogurt, oil, fried items, black lentils, and fish as these can aggravate vata and kapha, causing more constriction and congestion.
7.There are specific Ayurvedic herbs like long pepper (pippali), licorice root (yashtimadhu), ashwagandha, and traditional formulations, which can be taken based on the advice from an Ayurvedic doctor to manage childhood asthma and associated problems. Rejuvenators (rasayana) like Chyawanprash have specific indications to support respiratory issues and help the body’s resistance against immune sensitivities and inflammation.
8.Ayurveda recommends external applications of heat such as steam and warm towels and herbal oils like Karpuradi Thailam to help relieve chest tightness during an active asthma attack.
As we have discussed, children are especially prone to respiratory issues as they are in the kapha period of life, and this is the primary reason Ayurveda suggests avoiding exposures to cold in any form whether as a cold shower or drinking cold water. Since the respiratory system provides the vital life force energy of prana and facilitates metabolism and sustained energy, any issues that hinder the respiratory system affect children in a much deeper way than adults. It is essential that parents take necessary precautions to support their children’s health and avoid recurrent respiratory issues as the most common conditions in childhood.