Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Natural Asthma Cure: Himalayan Salt Lamp

The Headlines:


My daughter has asthma.

She was taking a medication for it.

Turns out she didn't need it.

She needed this...





It's a Himalayan Salt Lamp.  

Doctors are amazing.  We need them.  They help us get better when we're sick or sad or hurt.  They're trained in areas we are not.  I am no doctor.  But I am an expert on our story.  If you need more background on that  - the story about my daughter taking a pill to help her asthma which made her depressed in the process - click HERE

It will give you the details of what led up to this point.  The point where we figured out a lamp was helping "cure" our daughter far more than any medication.  It's called a Himalayan Salt Lamp and while some, like my husband, may call it VOO-DOO... once you hear our story you may change your mind.  BP (the husband) doesn't call it voo-doo anymore.

Long story, as told in the link above, short... my daughter was diagnosed with asthma when she was about 3 years old.  She coughed.  A lot.  She took Singulair (generic Montelukast) and it made the coughing stop but, after years of taking it, I realized it also made her sad.  It took a while to figure this out since I gave it to her slowly and ramped up the medication over time.  Years actually.   About 2 months before I took her off of the medication we took a short weekend trip.  It was there, in the White Mountains of Arizona, I happened upon one of these...


While in the store we found the lamp could help asthma sufferers and I joked:  "Savannah ya got yourself a new lamp!"  But soon I wouldn't be laughing.  I could not know the large impact of such a small thing.  Not yet.

We stuck it in her room and turned it on.  It sat, rather un-spectacularly, on her dresser, across from her bed for about 2 months…


Fast forward to Fall Break when I took my daughter off the drug that was helping keep her Asthma cough at bay - and we braced ourselves.  We went to the doctor, she prescribed an inhaler, the medication to go with it... we purchased that and then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But nothing happened.  She didn't use the inhaler at all.  She didn't NEED it!  I was very confused.  Just a little while ago, if she forgot to take her pill even just one day, she would inevitably cough.  WHY WASN'T SHE COUGHING NOW?  One night when I was taking her to bed and about to turn off the Salt Lamp... it dawned on me... maybe THIS was why she wasn't coughing?  Nothing else had changed.  I hadn't bought an air filter or cleaned the air ducts (both of which I had planned to do)... we just had this lamp on all day, everyday.  Perhaps this was her "cure"?  So I went on line and read that, for many, there's something to it.  People sware by the power of the lamp.  And now I do too.

How does it work?  The bulb inside the rock/salt creates heat which attracts moisture and through the process of evaporation the lamp emits negative ions... these negative ions then cause harmful particulates in the air to clump together and drop to the floor.  In very simple terms, it cleans the air around it.

There are those who say there's hardly enough negative ions being released from the lamp to make any difference but our experience would point in the opposite direction.  It's been 3 months since she's been off the pill and the only time she coughs, significantly, is when she's sick with a cold.  I'm convinced.  Especially when you consider we've done NOTHING ELSE different.  No dietary changes, no other medications or vitamins, at all.

We have since been to our Asthma and Allergy doctor and told him of our findings.  Guess what?  He didn't poo-poo it at all... in fact just the opposite.  He says he's not at all opposed to alternatives.  Especially if they work.

This does work for our family.  Since our discovery, I've bought 2 more and put them in my room


my son's room...


and of course it's on 24/7 in Savannah's room.  The light at night doesn't bother her.  For my sleeping purposes, I turn it off at night - just too bright.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I am not a crazy person, just a Mom trying to help her kids live the best life possible.  And it's working.  As I explained in the post first mentioned above… she's happier and healthier than she's been in a long time.  And that's all that matters to me.


Will it work for you?  I'm not sure.  Again, I am no medical professional and I know every person is different.  I can say it worked for us - my hope is it will help you too.

The bottom line is this: you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  If you or your child suffers from asthma - buy a Himalayan Salt Lamp.  They're relatively inexpensive, especially when you compare it to the costs of pills, steroids, nebulizers and puffers... and if it works, well then, it's priceless isn't it?  You can find them through Amazon,  depending on size, they range from about $20-$35.  I've seen them actually in-store at Home Depot and I've bought some at Target.  But buy more than one if you're serious.  Put them in several places throughout your house - definitely where you spend most of your time (like your bed - or an office).

Lastly, and most importantly, I encourage you to be your own best medical advocate.  Like I said, Doctors are trained professionals... I would never pretend to know more than them.  But they aren't God.  They don't know everything and they can make mistakes.  Just like anyone.  Always keep that in mind.  Sift through the information they give you and pick and choose what's right for you.  Follow their advice, not blindly, but critically... they may know more than you about medicine - but in the end, you're the expert on you and your family!  










11 comments

  1. Hey, that's kind of cool... And if it works for you, then GREAT! I mean before we had modern technology and medicine, people relied on these types of remedies...so NO, I don't think you're some crazy Mom for believing in it! :)

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    1. exactly! And I guess I'm maybe a little crazy... aren't we all? ;)

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  2. wow-- That's amazing. So often we over medicate our children without looking into natures own remedies. This is an amazing story. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. They are also really pretty, and make great décor pieces! So awesome that they work for your daughter, salt has been a natural curative for many, many years.

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    1. right... it has been a "cure" for a long time. now in therms of style, they don't totally fit my decor - but they're also not ugly! ;)

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  4. Haha I love your disclaimer! So it only works when its on? Do you leave it on 24/7 really, or off when she's not in there? I'm intrigued!

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    1. ha, thanks! so, i'm not sure exactly "how" it works... but i believe it needs to be on for its "power" to work. since my daughter's asthma is worse than my son's and she can sleep with it on - that's what we do. my son, on the other hand, needs it completely dark to sleep - so we turn it off. however, both are doing better with their coughing... so...?

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  5. I am so intrigued by this!! Definitely going to look into it for my little one with allergies. Might sound like a dumb question, but does it leave a residue anywhere? Just makes me think of ocean air and how you get that kind of "salt feeling" on everything.

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    1. i ask a MILLION questions all the time so I really really subscribe to the notion that there are NO DUMB QUESTIONS. and it does not. not at all.

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