Any connection bw Caffeine and Asthma??
Question:
Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on asthma or other respiratory problems? For better or worse? Thanks…
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> Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on asthma > or other respiratory problems? For better or worse?
Caffeine, in relatively large doses (couple cups of strong black brewed coffee) acts as a bronchodilator. Indeed, it was used for this purpose in the 19th century. If you look up the chemical structure of caffeine and theophylline (a commonly used oral bronchodilator drug), you will see they are similar. Of course, bronchodilator inhalers have fewer side effects than drinking large amounts of coffee. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
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> Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on asthma > or other respiratory problems? For better or worse? Thanks…
Yeah, for the better, but just a wee bit. Larry
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>Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on asthma >or other respiratory problems? For better or worse? Thanks…
Caffeine is chemically similar to theophyline – which is a drug once popular for the treatment of asthma (but has been replaced by newer, safer and more effective medications). Like other stimulants caffeine is a bronchodilator. However the side effect – effect ratio for Caffeine in the treatment of asthma makes it a poor choice of treatment. — "What Sept. 11 did was remind us that there are times when we must fight for our country, that, indeed, there are things – our liberty, our democracy, our belief in human rights and human dignity – worth fighting for." Newsday.com editorial – 27 May 2002
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Caffeine has been used to treat apnea (cessation of breathing) in newborns. I have had some success treating my own sleep apnea with it. If I come down with a cold or anything else that might further constrict my airways, I often eat a good amount of high quality bittersweet chocolate an hour or two before bedtime. (High quality and bittersweet both mean higher amounts of actual cocoa/chocolate.) Works very well, and tastes very good, too! Since I’m a confirmed chocoholic, this is very pleasant medicine, indeed. -S- – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on asthma > or other respiratory problems? For better or worse? Thanks…
Response:
> Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on asthma > or other respiratory problems? For better or worse? Thanks…
Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no longer require Corticosteriods. Regards Mark
Response:
> > Does caffeine (coffee, chocolate, hydroxycut, etc.) have any effect on > asthma > or other respiratory problems? For better or worse? Thanks… > Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of > coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less > severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no > longer require Corticosteriods.
You might be able to achieve the same effect with Serevent. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
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> > Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of > coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less > severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no > longer require Corticosteriods. > You might be able to achieve the same effect with Serevent.
But if you *like* coffee …. Ted
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>Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of >coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less >severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no >longer require Corticosteriods.
If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms while the caffeine merely counteracts those symptoms. "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
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>You might be able to achieve the same effect with Serevent.
I thought that Serevent is only intended to be used as an additional medication to supplement steroids. The steroids treat the disease while the Serevent only treats the symptoms. "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
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>Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of >coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less >severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no >longer require Corticosteriods. > If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma
So does clean unpolluted air! symptoms while > the caffeine merely counteracts those symptoms.
but ‘roids add a few I can do without! > "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton > But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." > Carl Sagan
Regards Mark
Response:
> >Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of >coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less >severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no >longer require Corticosteriods. > If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms
Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> while > the caffeine merely counteracts those symptoms. > "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton > But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." > Carl Sagan
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>> If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms >Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner.
It’s not the cough that kills you off; it’s the coffin they carry you off in…
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>> If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma >So does clean unpolluted air!
It depends. For many of us ‘fresh air’ is a bigger problem than ‘polluted air.’ >symptoms while > the caffeine merely counteracts those symptoms. >but ‘roids add a few I can do without!
You have to also consider the long-term (and short term) risks of not using the steroids also. Personally, I am not willing to risk permanent damage to my airways. "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
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>> If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms >Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner.
What are you talking about? Can you provide any actual evidence that suggests that inhaled steroids are linked to a shorter life expectancy? Or are you just parroting somebodies scare tactics? "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
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> >> If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the >> steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms >Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner. > It’s not the cough that kills you off; it’s the coffin they carry you > off in…
Well, I just do have my doubts about the ethics of recommending steroids like this. Asthma must be taken seriously and energetic, scientific measures adopted. But there is the load of evidence about steroid side effects.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>> If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the >>> steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms >> Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner. > It’s not the cough that kills you off; it’s the coffin they carry you > off in… > Well, I just do have my doubts about the ethics of recommending steroids > like this. Asthma must be taken seriously and energetic, scientific > measures adopted. But there is the load of evidence about steroid side > effects.
Dick, this is a difficult point to speak to unless you have seen some asthma deaths, evaluated their therapy prior to the fatal episode, and seen some near fatal episodes averted by the use of steroids. And it’s not just fatalities that are a concern. There are many previously totally disabled persons who are now enjoying a nearly normal life because of steroids; of course, we always hope that only small doses will be needed. If you speak to them about bad long-term effects of steroids they tend to nod politely and walk off shaking their heads. It is clear that a normal person put on steroids will die sooner. A totally disabled, suffocating person who reponds to steroids is given some *real* life. Larry
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Colin, I am thinking about the growing body of evidence about steroid side effects. And also about SIMT (specific inspiratory muscle training) with the promise in Chest 1992, pages 1357-61, see the note in summary: "We conclude that SIMT, for six months, improves the inspiratory muscle strength and endurance, and results in improvement in asthma symptoms, hospitalizations for asthma, emergency department contact, absence from school or work, and medication consumption in patients with asthma." You did argue against SIMT that a feature of asthma was hyperinflation ("not being able to breathe out") and you did not see how making someone breathe through a resistance, a sort of choke, was going to help here. Well, the proof the pudding is in the eating. In hyperinflation the diaphragm is flattened and shortening its fibers will make it have a completely different effect to the intended one. Instead of starting from a dome shape and becoming flatter as its fibers shorten, shortening of the fibers in the already flat shape will mean that the rib cage is pulled together at the bottom. See "The axial direction of the diaphragmatic fibers is also lost by hyperinflation. They are directed medially or inward and have mainly expiratory action." (page 1359, left side) The muscle system is kind of "out of joint" and the desperate efforts of a patient in an attack can only make things worse. If a patient has to breathe through a resistance, then it is logical that the muscle system capable of producing a higher suction pressure, namely the diaphragm, will be preferentially activated and drilled, as otherwise the patient could not inhale. Just why there is a successful recovery of the muscle system out of the position in which the diaphragm is flattened by breathing through a resistance is not explained theoretically. I think one should just be damned grateful that the idea works in this way. Of course my opinion on myself only has the status of an anecdote, but to me asthma after doing SIMT just seems like a rewarding challenge motivating a person to keep fit. The secret seems to be to get the muscle system "back in joint." Regards, Richard Friedel – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the >> steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms >Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner. > What are you talking about? Can you provide any actual evidence that > suggests that inhaled steroids are linked to a shorter life > expectancy? Or are you just parroting somebodies scare tactics? > "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton > But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." > Carl Sagan
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>Well, I just do have my doubts about the ethics of recommending steroids >like this. Asthma must be taken seriously and energetic, scientific >measures adopted. But there is the load of evidence about steroid side >effects.
And there is a lot of scientific evidence that demonstrates that inhaled steroids provide the best effect/side effect ratio for the methods used to treat asthma. And since the dangers of not controlling the airways inflammation that causes asthma symptoms is well known – how can anybody ethically recommend against using these medications to control asthma? "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
Response:
>Colin, I am thinking about the growing body of evidence about steroid >side effects. And also about SIMT (specific inspiratory muscle training) >with the promise in Chest 1992, pages 1357-61, see the note in summary: >"We conclude that SIMT, for six months, improves the inspiratory muscle >strength and endurance, and results in improvement in asthma symptoms, >hospitalizations for asthma, emergency department contact, absence from >school or work, and medication consumption in patients with asthma."
How many other studies reproduced these results? >You did argue against SIMT that a feature of asthma was hyperinflation >("not being able to breathe out") and you did not see how making someone >breathe through a resistance, a sort of choke, was going to help here.
The biggest arguments against this is that it is nothing but a treatment to compensate for the effects of asthma – without doing anything to control the actual problem. > What are you talking about? Can you provide any actual evidence that > suggests that inhaled steroids are linked to a shorter life > expectancy? Or are you just parroting somebodies scare tactics?
BTW, I am still waiting for evidence that people using inhaled steroids have reduced lifespans. Or is this claim nothing more than hot air? "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
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> >You might be able to achieve the same effect with Serevent. > I thought that Serevent is only intended to be used as an additional > medication to supplement steroids. The steroids treat the disease > while the Serevent only treats the symptoms.
But that’s not "the same effect." I specifically said, "the same effect." He’s obviously using caffeine as a bronchodilator. You can achieve that same effect with other bronchodilators. Two puffs of Serevent, and he wouldn’t have to drink coffee throughout the day at all. Steroids are anti-inflammatories, which coffee is not. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
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> > >Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of > >coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less > >severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no > >longer require Corticosteriods.
Don’t you use a prescription bronchodilator at all? If not, why not? > If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma > So does clean unpolluted air!
Not if your asthma trigger is pollen, molds, upper respiratory infections, sinusitis, etc. etc. etc. You didn’t say what your asthma triggers were. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> >Yes, caffeine has a beneficial effect on asthma. I drink 2 – 3 cups of > >coffee (filtered, black, no milk, no sugar) a day. My asthma is far less > >severe as it was before drinking black coffee..To the extent that I no > >longer require Corticosteriods. > If you need caffeine to control your asthma then you need the > steroids. Remember that the steroids _prevent_ asthma symptoms > Sure, 100% prevention: you die sooner.
Sooner than what? Sooner than an asthmatic with untreated inflammation, who could die of a fatal asthma attack at any time, given the wrong trigger? Do you really think your breathing techniques will help an asthmatic who contracts the flu this winter? What used to happen to asthmatics prior to 1950, when steroids were first synthesized? For that matter, what happened to asthmatics prior to 1900, when prescription bronchodilators were first synthesized? I’ll tell you: they DIED. In large numbers. Often in childhood. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
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While we’re on the subject. I am supposed to be on Aerobid, but I can’t use it. I’ve tried in vain to get the docs to try somehting else, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. I take Singulair, but it doesn’t seem to work as well as it did the first few days, the Allegra does nothing for me, and the Combivent makes me cough more than the straight Albuterol when I need to use it as a rescue inhaler ( which is several times a day ). Know anyone that can kick the VA in the ass to actually do something other than trying to fix the things that aren’t broke and concentrate on the stuff that is? They are screwing up all my other meds that have been working for my other ailments for the last 3 years, and don’t listen a bit on this asthma issue. I shouldn’t need to carry around two inhalers to use everyday when a pill is available that can address the issues ( at least the old Marax worked, but it made my hair crawl ). Can you help? Do you know anyone? It’s the Lincoln, Ne., VAMC. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Well, I just do have my doubts about the ethics of recommending > steroids like this. Asthma must be taken seriously and energetic, > scientific measures adopted. But there is the load of evidence about > steroid side effects. > And there is a lot of scientific evidence that demonstrates that > inhaled steroids provide the best effect/side effect ratio for the > methods used to treat asthma. > And since the dangers of not controlling the airways inflammation that > causes asthma symptoms is well known – how can anybody ethically > recommend against using these medications to control asthma? > "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton > But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." > Carl Sagan
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> While we’re on the subject. I am supposed to be on Aerobid, but I can’t >use it. I’ve tried in vain to get the docs to try somehting else, but it >seems to fall on deaf ears. I take Singulair, but it doesn’t seem to work as >well as it did the first few days, the Allegra does nothing for me, and the >Combivent makes me cough more than the straight Albuterol when I need to use >it as a rescue inhaler ( which is several times a day ). > Know anyone that can kick the VA in the ass to actually do something >other than trying to fix the things that aren’t broke and concentrate on the >stuff that is? They are screwing up all my other meds that have been working >for my other ailments for the last 3 years, and don’t listen a bit on this >asthma issue. I shouldn’t need to carry around two inhalers to use everyday >when a pill is available that can address the issues ( at least the old >Marax worked, but it made my hair crawl ). > Can you help? Do you know anyone? It’s the Lincoln, Ne., VAMC.
I had to deal with the VA for my asthma at one time. The only solution I found that worked was to find a competent doctor in private practice. "They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Newton But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Carl Sagan
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