World COPD Day is observed annually throughout the globe on the third Wednesday of November, this year which is falling on November 16. The day is primarily organized as a joint endeavour by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and the health care professionals and COPD patient groups. World COPD Day mainly aims to step-up awareness, contribute knowledge, and discuss ways to curtail the risk and burden of this chronic diseased condition.
This year the theme for World COPD Day 2022 is “Your Lungs For Life" and it chiefly aspires to highlight the significance of having healthy lungs throughout life. Every individual is born with only one set of lungs. Right from infancy to adulthood, keeping this organ in the proper working condition is highly essential for future health and well-being. The World COPD Day campaign primarily focuses on educating the general populace on several factors that are responsible for COPD right from birth to adulthood, protecting the people that are already suffering from it and the necessary remedial steps that can be adopted to promote easy breathing and enhance lifelong lung health.
Also Read: World COPD Day 2020: 5 Simple Exercises To Improve Lung Health And Breathe Well
What Is COPD?
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an umbrella term that is used to describe a group of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema that mainly characterizes blocked airflow, breathing trouble, constant cough, feeling of tightness within the chest and occurrence of mucus with cough. Once getting affected by COPD, the condition keeps on progressing and worsening with time and causes fatal damage that cannot be reversed. Hence, the primary treatment of COPD is preventive therapy to stop the symptoms from worsening.
Also Read: World COPD Day: Know The Causes, Symptoms, Treatment And Its Impact On Lung Health
The primary causative factor behind COPD is long-term tobacco smoking, and others include vulnerability to polluted air, chemical fumes, vapours and dust in the external environment. Even genetics play a role in getting diagnosed with neonatal chronic lung disease.
While an advanced stage of COPD requires allopathic medications such as bronchodilators (available through inhalers) and antibiotics, if you want a natural holistic approach to keep your lungs healthy and prevent further degradation, then Ayurveda can be your ultimate saviour in effectively managing the condition. In Ayurvedic terms, COPD is mainly illustrated as a disorder of the 'PranavahaSrotas' that mainly stems due to an imbalance of the three Doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha).
According to Ayurveda, successful COPD treatment chiefly requires an individual to do Shamana (pacification treatment), Shodhana, (biopurifactory method of the entire body), Nasya (a technique that involves cleansing the membrane lining the nasal cavity from irritants or pollutants) and the most essential Nidanaparivarjana (modification of lifestyle and diet). Inclusion of a well-balanced diet with herbs and foods that promote lung health play a pivotal role in the preventive therapy of COPD.
We bring you a curated list of 7 such ayurvedic herbs that not only combat the harmful pollutants from affecting the lungs but also promote breathing and overall health of the lung tissue.
Proven Ayurvedic Herbs That Relieve COPD Symptoms
Vasaka (Adhatoda vasica)
Touted as one of the best respiratory herbs, Vasaka or Vasa efficiently manages chronic respiratory tract infections, colds, coughs, allergic rhinitis, etc. The abundance of anti-viral, antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties makes Vasaka the absolute solution to ward off various respiratory infections. Imbued with bioactive components like Vasicine, Luteolin, Carotene, Vasakin, other quinazoline alkaloids, and essential oils, Vasaka readily expels out all the phlegm amassed in the lungs, chest and nasal passages and promotes easy breathing. It is also pivotal in dealing with asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis and other respiratory ailments.
Pushkarmool (Inula racemosa)
The root powder of Pushkarmool is an excellent remedy for breathing troubles and wheezing during COPD. It is extremely effective in reducing coughing and chest congestion. It facilitates normal breathing and diminishes mucus production in the lungs.
Liquorice / Mulethi (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
Mulethi is one of the best remedies used for patients suffering from dry cough. Deemed as Sarvarogaprashamani’ (i.e., herb that cures all maladies), the root powder of Mulethi has soothing effects on the lungs and reduces mucus production in the chest. It is more advantageous if a person has yellow or greenish sputum. Additionally, it helps in expelling phlegm from the body and also curtails chest pain, wheezing, chest congestion and breathing trouble. But care should be taken that it is used only when a patient has a productive cough with COPD.
Tulsi/Basil (Oscimum sanctum)
Prized as the ‘Queen of Herbs' in Ayurveda, holy basil has been utilized for thousands of years in Ayurveda and even modern medications for its plethora of medicinal qualities. The goodness of phytochemical compounds like eugenol, camphene and cineole in tulsi leaves works miracles as an expectorant which helps to clear out phlegm and mucus from the lung tissues. This herb is affluent in anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive, antimicrobial, antioxidant, radioprotective, neuro-protective, cardio-protective, anti-diabetic, and analgesic properties and is highly beneficial for treating bronchitis, asthma, COPD, pneumonia, common cold and cough.
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Owing to its powerful rejuvenating and strengthening traits, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a boon for patients with COPD. It not only reduces tiredness but also effectively diminishes the frequency of breathing troubles and cough attacks. Being a dominant expectorant, Ashwagandha is primarily prescribed by doctors when a patient needs to expel the sputum from the body. It slackens the thick sputum within the chest and nasal cavities and helps in eliminating them naturally.
