My tryst with Asthma

Cont from previous post.  

It was the year 1990, after spending 30 years of my life ,going through all kinds of rigorous physical activities, one fine day , I suddenly found myself gasping for breath after 5 minutes of jogging.

Like a good soldier , I reported to the military hospital in the town. Military hospitals , unlike civil hospitals are very liberal about admissions. I was straight away taken in as an in-patient. After some routine blood tests and x-rays , and observation for about a week, the medical specialist gave the diagnosis as ” acute bronchial asthma”

A point here is that in Army, downgrading medical category is much easier than providing treatment to underlying medical problems. That is one reason you will find many soldiers ‘golfing fit’ and ‘ cocktail worthy’ but not fighting fit. To be declared fighting fit , one has to be fit not just for routine  activities, but fit enough for abuse of the body under all kinds of weather and terrain including a stint at Siachin .

Coming back to my story , I was declared unfit for combat . This kind of down-gradation also meant that I was unfit for doing any training courses and for any promotions. More than anything, I could not attend the much sought after Defence service Staff Course, that I had been nominated for after going through a tough selection process. 

That’s the time I realized that Allopathy has no ‘cure’ for Asthma . The physician who treated me was liberal enough to let me go without an immediate official down-gradation, giving me a chance to cure myself by means other than allopathy.

In those  non-internet days ,whatsapp like stories traveled by word of mouth. Soon I came to be aware of all kinds of weird treatments for asthma. The vegetarian solutions involved different kinds of grass and herbs being ground to a paste and consumed and the non-vegetarian ones went to the extreme of swallowing a fish alive. It was surprising that in one month I came to know so much about asthma than in my entire life. 

I also built up my asthma library to moderate the Whatsapp like stories. (I still have those books) I tried some herbs and exercises but no fish for me please ,cooked or alive. Then someone told me about a place where such ‘incurable’ diseases were cured through yoga exercises.

I had a brief  leave period at Madras, before heading for Wellington, which incidentally enjoys the kind of salubrious climate that is anathema for asthma patients. I headed for Krishnamachari Yogamandiram at Mylapore, run by Shri Kesavachari, son of Shri Krishnamachari ( who was the Guru for both  his son and his younger brother  who is now globally well-known as BKS Iyengar).

Here one must note that Indian systems like Ayurveda or Yoga treat each body as unique and prescribes such treatment that would benefit that person . There is no general remedies like Aspirin for headache or Gelusil for Acidity.

Shri Krishnamachari examined me and prescribed a few breathing exercises. He was not happy that I was available only for two to three sessions to learn the exercises. All the same, he advised me to learn them properly and follow the routine religiously. When I asked him as to the how long will it take to see some results, he, like a mystic , was totally non-committal. He said, “Have faith and just follow the routine”. There was no ‘dosage’.

Not very scientific sounding; obviously there has been no empirical study on the effect of this treatment on a cross section of patients.

So started the regime. It involved getting at five in the morning and doing    the exercises , on empty stomach, that took about forty minutes to complete. Then I had to wait for half an hour before the first intake of any food or drink for the day. 

At Wellington (Ooty), we had a very hectic routine and it was not very pleasant to follow this routine 24×7. Nevertheless, I kept at it . In the beginning ,breathlessness occurred on any light physical exertion like jogging ; but gradually there was improvement and I could play tennis for short periods. I always had asthelin and deriphylin in my wallet, the must have medicines for an asthmatic. I used the medicines very very sparingly, and avoided the inhaler altogether. By the end of the year I could complete a five KM run , a mandatory test, with just only one asthalin tablet . I had come a long way on the path to recovery.

Subsequently, I stopped the exercises, but whenever I had to patrol in the mountainous areas, I went to back to the morning routine . 

Later I had been posted to high altitude areas and have patrolled at 17000 feet, without serious impediments; though I did have  some problems going over steep ascents with heavy loads. In one such situation, what helped me was not my tablets but pure mountain honey ,(eaten with the honeycomb), offered by a Bakarwal (shepherds of Pir Panjal Ranges).

What’s the conclusion ?

             Had I closed my mind to everything other than allopathy, it is without doubt that I would have left active soldiering in 1990, and would still be keeping an inhaler at hand and accepting the situation as unavoidable.

           Allopathic drugs like Asthelin and Deriphylin definitely helped as short term emergency remedies along with availability of oxygen therapy if and when required. But I did not have to go beyond an odd tablet during a bout of breathlessness. 

           Today, if I face a medical emergency would I look only to ayurveda and Yoga ? Not necessarily, particularly for immediate relief. But for any long term effect, I would definitely explore all  systems for healthy living. 

A point to note is that Pathanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga starts with yama and niyama or in simple words Dos and Donts . Many diseases can be prevented or controlled by only these yama and niyama before going on to pranayama and yogasan.

These Dos and Donts that run opposite of what is considered good living are not very popular, understandably.

But the way I look at it , today, I can do anything or abstain from anything just to avoid swallowing some chemicals to achieve a short term or immediate relief. 

The western system analyses and treats diseases. Our indian system studies health to arrive at Dos and Donts for a healthy living. This is what the West would call Preventive Healthcare. If only we can follow our system of healthcare, it is quite possible that there would be no need ever to look to allopathy.