Breath Institute

Question by ol_skater_boy: Does steam therapy (breathing in steam) help a cough go away?
If so, how does it help?

Best answer:

Answer by cwgrrl7
It helps impart moisture into a dry or congested airway. It won’t “help” certain coughs, but some can be comforted this way.
The most effective method is to increase your fluid intake-drink lots of juices or non carbonated beverages to keep the mucus liquefied and mobile.

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Question by Sunny: Oral health?
I have braces, and I feel like I can never get my teeth tottally clean, I use a water pik, one of those thingys that you brush through your teeth that look like a Christmas tree, of course brushing my teeth, and a toung scrapper, but i can never totally feel like my teeth{and breath} is totally clean, can you give me some tips for oral hygine, with braces?

Best answer:

Answer by Joe W
I WOULD SAY USE MOUTHWASH

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Question by domsdimesdotcom: What are some healthy foods or health food products good for oral health?
Not necessarily looking for a natural remedy for a toothache or anything specific, just wondering if there’s any supplements or even foods that promote good oral health, healthy teeth, etc?

Best answer:

Answer by M U
Good oral health requires adequate calcium in your diet, and many people don’t get enough. So try to include low-fat milk, yogurt, etc. Also, calcium is absorbed much more readily if you are also getting plenty of vitamin D, so you want to make sure that you are getting that as well.

But mostly, oral health depends on keeping stuff *away* from your teeth. Acidic drinks (orange juice, sodas, etc.) and food particles are the enemy of good oral health. Hardly anyone brushes for long enough (at least two full minutes, and at least twice a day), and not enough people floss every day. If you do both of those things, that’s more important than any supplement you could take.

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Question by frogholler9: Close your mouth therapy for breathing problems?
Has anyone here used the Buteyko method of breathing to help with their breathing problems? Have they noticed that if they keep their mouths closed except for eating or talking and only use their nose to breathe, that they find they can breathe easier,even on a cold and windy day?

Best answer:

Answer by Swm 39 4 Younger Swf Forever
WHEN I HAVE PROBLEMS BREATHING I AM THE OPPOSITE
I HAVE TO BREATH WITH MY MOUTH OPEN

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Question by tidy mess: What is this mysterious vision problem?
This post is a little long because I’ve included a brief medical history of myself. I would very much appreciate it if you would read or skim through it and offer some advice – if you’re short on time, just read the last 1/4 of it. I’m very nervous and am not sure where to turn for help. There’s a lot of diverse symptoms that my doctors haven’t been able to make sense of. I’ve included a lot of things that might not be relevant just in case they are.

I’m a 26 year old white male from the upper midwest USA, but I have been living in the northeast for a few years. I’m an architecture student. I’ve generally been described as healthy by my doctors and family. Here’s a chronology of what’s been going on.

————

Family history:
*Aunt on father’s side with severe diabetes and schizophrenia
*Mother has thyroid issue
*Uncle on mother’s side died at age 57 of heart attack; he was not overweight
*Brother has slight heart arrhythmia that does not affect his activity

Age 4:
*Surgery due to weak muscle in left eye to correct lazy eye.

Most of life:
*Frequent double vision – seeing two of the same thing due to the offset between the eyes (not present, obviously, when I have one eye closed); never went to eye doctor
*Vision is otherwise fine. Always score perfect on vision chart tests at doctor.
*Occasional fainting, usually from needles (getting shots or getting blood drawn); this happened a few times also after getting hit in the head. MRI and EEG at age 10 do not indicate any issues.
*Significant dandruff and itchy scalp problem.
*Mild Tremor in hands
*Always been told I am a fairly tense and intense person.

1994 (Age 13):
*Hands and feet become extremely swollen halfway through meal at Chinese restaurant. Doctor gives pills that I have to take every few hours for a week or else I get a lot of spots all over me. Allergy skin-test a few weeks later comes up totally negative. Cause for outbreak never determined.

Summer 1999 (Age 16):
*Blood in urine after working out; ultrasound indicates no issues.

Summer 2001 (Age 18):
*Moved to Europe for a year as an exchange student. During first month, began getting symptoms such as: (1) strong awareness of heartbeat, ability to see heart beating vibrate my abdomen (2) shortness of breath (3) difficulty sleeping. Doctor says this is just stress. After a month this calms down to a manageable level. EKG (while resting) is normal.

October 2001:
*Was unknowingly given hot chocolate laced with hashish by friends; a few hours later was very messed up. I was shaking like crazy and kept forgetting where I was – and thought something was seriously wrong with me. I was mostly better after a few hours.

April 2002:
*Wake up one morning with very sore and tense neck, shoulders, and lower back. Orthopedist (and x-rays) indicate that vertebrae in neck are arranged kind of straight when they should be arranged in a curve but can’t say whether this is a cause or a symptom. Physical therapy and acupuncture reduce problem but it is never fully solved and continues to this day.

August 2002 – June 2006 (In college):
*Overall seemingly good health.
*Occasionally drink heavily, but less than most college students
*Become sexually active, but never engage in activities of significant risk
*Go jogging/running/biking often. After jogging, often feel mild chest pains that go away soon
*In architecture school and internships, am occasionally exposed to things like (1) solvents for melting acrylic (2) fumes from laser-cutting acrylic, wood, and cardboard and (3) sawdust
*Frequently get much too little sleep due to school demands

August 2007 (Age 24):
*Enter graduate school for architecture. Health is seemingly fine.
*Get somewhat nervous because hairline is receding significantly even though no one in my family has any hair loss; doctor says this is genetic. I do not treat it.
*Begin again to be occasionally (frequently?) exposed to things like (1) solvents for melting acrylic (2) fumes from laser-cutting acrylic, wood, and cardboard (3) sawdust (4) glues and (5) spraypaint
*Begin again to frequently get much too little sleep due to school demands
*Occasionally watch laser-cutter in action, whcih means I am looking at intense laser light, although it is not pointing at my eyes.

March 2008:
*Travel to Asia, specifically China, for the first time; overall feel fine there and do not get sick.

April 2008:
*Begin sexual activity with somebody new for the first time in a while; as always, do not engage in any particularly risky activity.
*For the period of one week, get a few quarter-sized white bumps on hips each day. Spots are in different location each day and do not itch.

May 2008:
*Late at night, notice shadowing double-vision on text on computer screen; this is different than my typical double vision because it is present in each eye individually (when I close one eye, there is still double vision). T

Best answer:

Answer by parrot_gurl
The double vision you get when you have both eyes open is probably due to your eyes not being perfectly straight. A pediatric ophthalmologist (medical doctor who specializes in strabismus (misaligned eyes) in children and adults) will be able to recommend appropriate treatment for you- whether you decide no treatment as it doesn’t bother you very often, prisms to align the images and hopefully eliminate the diplopia (double vision), and/or surgery. This link will help you find a pediatric ophthalmologist:

http://aapos.affiniscape.com/associations/5371/aapos_search.cfm

The shadowy double vision present with just one eye open may be from uncorrected astigmatism (which may be helped with glasses), dry eyes from not blinking as much when you’re on the computer (a fairly common thing), lack of sleep, early onset cataracts, etc. You may consider seeing an ophthalmologist about it.

Sorry I don’t know much about your other medical issues. And as is easier said than done, it probably wouldn’t hurt to eat right, exercise, get adequate sleep, and use proper personal protective equipment at work/school (ie safety glasses when you’re supposed to use them etc).

Good luck!

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Question by Amy D: Is nodule reaccurance prevelant after voice surgery (laryngoscopy by laser)?
After a batlle with an eating disorder and singing throughout my disorder, my vocal chords developed nodules, making it difficult to speak and nearly impossible to sing.

I had vocal surgery in December of 2003. I went to voice lessons for a month. After a month’s time I had to stop voice lessons because I was never vocally healthy. I checked my chords and they said they were still healthy. I even went to speech therapy for a year following and even during my therapy my pitch changed and became raspier over time. . Now talking is difficult for me and I often run out of breath in the middle of sentences and my voice is raspy. The surgery was great at first–but it seems like I’m regressing worse than before the surgery. I can’t sing even in the shower.

For the most part I think I was better off before the surgery. Does anyone else have experience with this topic?

Best answer:

Answer by Eve
You need to get checked again. You should have a biopsy done if you have re-growth. You might have done some kind of damage to your body and in it’s weakened state, singing might have really damaged your vocal chords. Hard to say what’s going on but go get checked out. You can’t go on like that.

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Question by SeaMistress: Has anyone ever broken ribs after being on steroid therapy for breathing problems?
I have broken my ribs 5 times, each time after steroid therapy for COPD. I’m just curious to know if anyone else can relate to this?

Best answer:

Answer by greenmountains84
I went through this with my mom before she passed away. The steroid therapy can cause your bones to become more brittle and break easily. Be careful and best wishes!

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