Potential Solution for Asthma and Bronchitis

I am adding a page to The Weekly Soccer Referee Blog (separate but searchable) trying to explain how I got past my persistent bronchitis attacks.  After running in cold weather, usually the first time after losing my shape and trying to get it back, I’d end up with a bronchitis attack. I’d be wheezing, my lungs would sound like they have plastic wrap crinkling around in them, and I’d taste blood in some cases if I coughed.

When I would come in with these symptoms, my ear, nose and throat doctor used to prescribe steroid courses, and also prescribed an albuterol rescue inhaler for when it got bad.  I carried that inhaler in my lunch box and my referee bag.

My ENT never said I had asthma, but my son did have asthma so it’s probably not too far from the truth that maybe I did.  I can tell you I’ve had these attacks since I was young, but as usual, it was never diagnosed since it was never bad enough and being young, I recovered quicker.  I didn’t get rescue inhalers until I really got it bad after running when I was a LOT older.

To make a long story short on how I got past this, I started taking Vitamin C (500 mg daily) to combat a problem with bruising due to my blood thinners.  Imagine my surprise when after starting on that, I realized I hadn’t had a Bronchitis attack in years.  My rescue inhalers are all expired and in the trash – I don’t carry one anymore.  And I haven’t needed a steroid course since starting the Vitamin C regimen.

How does the Vitamin C work to fix Bronchitis / Asthma?  According to my cardiologist (who suggested this to help reduce bruising) Vitamin C contains collagen, which builds up tissue strength or in my case, blood vessel wall strength.  Collagen is what is in the structure of your blood vessels and fingernails.  And apparently, it’s used in the alveoli of the lungs, which exchange oxygen and CO2.  Tougher alveoli = no more Bronchitis.

To me, it’s more than a coincidence.  However, I don’t have a clinical study to support this, and I’m not a doctor that can sponsor one.  My intent in posting this is simple: I’m providing a cheap potential solution to stop bronchitis and asthma.  Maybe it works for me, maybe it doesn’t for other people.  But what if it DOES?  Isn’t that worth looking into, trying? For the cost of Vitamin C pills from Wal Mart, I think it is.

So here is my request: If you suffer from Bronchitis or Asthma, e.g., you get a crinkly sound in your lungs after running, you use an albuterol inhaler or breathing treatments, you have pain in your lungs and can taste blood after exercise sometimes, here is what I’m asking:

1. Start taking Vitamin C at 500 mg daily.  Don’t cut back on other sources. Drink your orange juice, eat fresh fruit, but add in the pill.
2. Take this regimen for at least 30 days minimum. You have to build up the collagen in your system – that doesn’t happen overnight.
3. When you start taking Vitamin C, note ANY time after a month of taking it when you have symptoms of bronchitis / asthma.  If you do have symptoms, try going to 1000 mg / day, and repeat.
4. If this therapy makes you Bronchitis / Asthma free (you haven’t looked at your inhaler much less needed it, no more pain in your chest when breathing, no more crinkly sounds), please send me an email at (change 0s to letter o, change “z” to g, and at’s to ampersands) ze0rze.wilhelmsen at att.net. I’ll keep track of the data and post it here anonymously.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE TRYING THIS, AND WHAT THE RESULTS ARE.

Here are some other benefits I have found:

• I started to develop allergies as I got older. Since I have started this regimen of Vitamin C, I seldom have any allergy symptoms.
• My fingernails are REALLY strong.
• I don’t catch colds as often as I used to.
• I don’t get sinus infections as often as I used to (can’t remember the last one).

Eventually, we’ll have enough data points to engage “big data” to get the Centers for Disease Control or maybe a few doctors attention and say “Hey, maybe there IS something here.”  At the least, it may help some people escape this crap, which is why I’m sharing it here, and on a separate page of the Blog.