Asthma narrows the airways and causes wheeze, cough and breathlessness. Modern inhalers control it well for most people, and knowing the signs of an attack can save a life.
Reviewed September 2026 · For information, not diagnosis
Sit upright and take one puff of your reliever every 30–60 seconds, up to 10 puffs (a spacer helps). If you are no better after 10 puffs, or worse at any point, call 112 or 108. If help has not arrived within 10 minutes, repeat the 10 puffs. No homeopathic remedy can open the airways during an attack.
Asthma is a long-term condition in which the airways of the lungs are inflamed and over-sensitive. When they meet a trigger, the muscle around them tightens, the lining swells and extra mucus is made. The airways narrow and air has to be pushed through a smaller space — which is what makes the whistling wheeze.
The typical pattern is symptoms that come and go:
The World Health Organization estimates that asthma affected 262 million people in 2019 and caused 455,000 deaths. Most of those deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries, where asthma is often under-diagnosed and preventer inhalers are under-used. Almost all of them are avoidable with regular treatment and a clear plan for attacks.
Asthma often starts in childhood and runs in families with eczema and hay fever, but it can begin at any age. It cannot be cured, but most people who take the right treatment have few or no symptoms and live completely normal lives.
A doctor will ask about your symptoms, what sets them off and your family history, and listen to your chest. Because symptoms come and go, the diagnosis is confirmed with breathing tests:
Young children cannot do these tests reliably, so the diagnosis is often made from the pattern of symptoms and how they respond to treatment. Wheezing with every cold in a pre-school child does not always mean lifelong asthma.
Asthma treatment is almost always inhaled, because this puts a tiny dose of medicine straight into the airways. Inhalers are not habit-forming: needing them every day reflects the asthma, not addiction, and stopping them does not “train” the lungs to cope.
| Type | What it does | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Preventer (inhaled steroid, e.g. budesonide, fluticasone) | Calms the inflammation so the airways react less. The single most important asthma medicine. | Every day, even when well. Takes 1–2 weeks for full effect. |
| Reliever (e.g. salbutamol) | Relaxes the airway muscle within minutes. | When symptoms appear. Needing it 3 or more times a week means the asthma is not controlled. |
| Combination inhaler (steroid + long-acting reliever, e.g. budesonide–formoterol) | Prevents and relieves in one device. | Some plans use it both daily and for symptoms — follow your own plan. |
| Add-ons and tablets | Montelukast, long-acting antimuscarinics, biologic injections for severe asthma. | Added by a specialist when inhalers alone are not enough. |
| Steroid tablets | Treat an attack. | Short courses (usually 3–5 days) prescribed after an attack. |
The inhaled steroid dose is very small compared with tablets and, at usual doses, is safe for adults, children and pregnant women. Rinsing the mouth after use prevents hoarseness and thrush. A spacer makes a metered-dose inhaler work better at every age, and most people benefit from having their technique checked — many use their inhaler wrongly without knowing.
A written action plan, filled in with your doctor, tells you what to do as your asthma changes. People who have one are less likely to need hospital care. Most plans use three zones:
Review the plan with your doctor at least once a year, after any attack, and whenever your medicines change. Keep a copy at home, at work and at your child’s school.
A homeopath takes a long history — when attacks happen, what brings them on, how you breathe and cough, your sleep, food preferences, temperament and family history — and chooses one remedy for the whole person. Many people with asthma value this unhurried conversation, and it can help them notice their own triggers.
Using homeopathy safely with asthma
A Cochrane review of the trials of homeopathy for chronic asthma concluded that there is not enough evidence to reliably assess any role for homeopathy in asthma. The reviewers noted that people may respond to the whole “package of care” — the consultation and attention — rather than to the remedy itself.
More broadly, the largest independent assessment — the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council’s 2015 review of 176 studies — found no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective for any health condition, and advised against using it for conditions that are chronic, serious or could become serious. People often do feel better after a long, unhurried homeopathic consultation; in one controlled trial in rheumatoid arthritis, the benefit came from the consultation rather than the remedy.
In practice: if you choose homeopathy, use it alongside the care described on this page, not instead of it — and tell each practitioner what the other has prescribed. More on the research →
Homeopaths describe these remedies for particular patterns of breathlessness and cough.
These are the traditional descriptions (“keynotes”) from the homeopathic materia medica, listed so you recognise names a practitioner may mention. They are not evidence that a remedy works and not a guide to self-treatment. Homeopaths choose one remedy for the whole person rather than by diagnosis.
Described for breathlessness after midnight with anxiety and restlessness; the person must sit up and wants sips of warm water.
Described for sudden wheeze with coarse rattling mucus that is hard to cough up, often with nausea or gagging.
Described for a loud rattle of mucus that will not come up, with drowsiness; traditionally mentioned for children and older people.
Described for asthma worse in damp, rainy weather and in the early morning, with a loose cough.
Described for symptoms between 2 and 4 a.m. that ease by sitting and leaning forward.
Described for a dry, barking, “sawing” cough, better for warm drinks.
Traditionally described for asthma linked to dust and damp, with much mucus.
Described for people who feel hot, with asthma that alternates with skin eruptions.
If you would like to try homeopathy, see a registered homeopathic doctor (BHMS or MD (Hom)) who will take a full history, knows your other treatment and will tell you when you need a medical specialist. Take your prescriptions and recent test reports with you.
No homeopaths have a profile on NeedsDoctor yet, so we cannot suggest one here. Choosing a homeopath explains how to check a practitioner’s qualifications and registration.
Are you a homeopathic doctor? Create your profile so readers of this page can find you.
This page is general information, reviewed September 2026. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace a consultation. Do not stop or change a prescribed medicine without talking to the doctor who prescribed it. In an emergency in India call 112 (ambulance 108).
