What is asthma? This question was posed in the Lancet (Vol. 368, No. 9537, 26/8/06) which clearly demonstrates there is no consensus to the answer. To add to the confusion recent research suggested that up to 40% of those diagnosed with asthma had been wrongly diagnosed and should not be on the medication prescribed. (Middlemore & Green Hospitals March 25th 2007)

This must seem confusing for all those suffering the many symptoms that constitute the diagnosis of asthma. The wheeze, the breathlessness, the high mucus production, the acute allergic reaction to many triggers, the irritating cough, the low energy, the disturbed sleep that all appear to be relieved with prescribed asthma medication.

There is no doubt that modern medication helps manage the symptoms associated with asthma but what if the underlying cause of asthma symptoms were something as simple as dysfunctional breathing? This was exactly the conclusion that Dr Konstantin Buteyko came to after 40 years of careful research.

Below you will be able to view two videos; the first is entitled “Understanding asthma” and presents the current medical viewpoint, the second is entitled “Understanding asthma - A Different Viewpoint” .