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Asthma
Asthma is airway inflammation shaped by allergies, environment, gut health, and the nervous system. Alongside your medical plan, we address the drivers upstream.
What you may be noticing
Wheezing, a tight chest, coughing at night, and shortness of breath with exercise, cold air, or allergens. You may rely on a rescue inhaler more often than you would like, or worry about your child during sports or illness.
Asthma attacks can be life-threatening. Severe breathlessness, difficulty speaking, blue lips, or a rescue inhaler that is not working needs emergency care immediately. Never stop or reduce asthma medication without your physician; controller medication protects your airways.
Why it is rarely one thing
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways that makes them twitchy and prone to narrowing. Different types exist, including allergic asthma and asthma driven by other forms of inflammation.
In my practice, indoor mold is one of the first things I look for. Damp buildings and mold in air vents are well-established asthma triggers, and in the families I see they often sit underneath the story. Mold adds to a wider toxic burden bucket that includes smoke, fragrance, and air pollution. The gut microbiome helps train immune tolerance, especially in early life. Low vitamin D is associated with more frequent attacks. Reflux can irritate the airways. The lungs are also a barrier the body works to keep sealed, and stress and breathing patterns shape airway tone through the autonomic nervous system. Not only the lungs, but the immune and nervous systems that talk to them.
Patterns we look for
- Indoor mold, dust mites, air quality, and vents.
- Allergic triggers and IgE patterns, including pets.
- Vitamin D and omega-3 status.
- Gut microbiome balance and early-life antibiotic history.
- Reflux and upper airway irritation.
- Insulin resistance and inflammation.
- Breathing patterns and mouth breathing.
- Autonomic balance and vagal tone.
- Mast cell activation and eczema history.
How I evaluate it
The comprehensive functional neurological exam includes autonomic function and assessment of breathing patterns.
Functional labs may include a complete blood count with eosinophils, total IgE and allergy testing, vitamin D, inflammatory markers, fasting insulin, omega-3 index, comprehensive stool analysis, and mycotoxin testing or home assessment when mold is suspected. I coordinate with your physician or pulmonologist for lung function testing and medication management.
How we address it
- Keep your asthma action plan and controller medication current with your physician.
- Reduce exposures at home: mold, dust mites, smoke, and fragrances, with air filtration.
- Replenish vitamin D and omega-3 status.
- Rebalance the gut microbiome to support immune tolerance.
- Address reflux and metabolic inflammation.
- Retrain breathing toward calm diaphragmatic nasal breathing, with humming and slow exhalations that support vagal tone.
- Strengthen autonomic balance and fitness with gradual, guided exercise and brain-based coordination work.
Children with asthma benefit from the same upstream approach. I build a child-friendly breathing and functional neurology routine, with playful drills such as balloon breathing, bubble blowing for controlled exhales, humming, and cross-crawl movement, plus a parent guide that explains why each step matters and a simple progress tracker. Every change is coordinated with the pediatric care team, and controller medications remain in place as prescribed.
Many people with asthma find that symptoms improve when the indoor environment is cleaner and breathing patterns are calmer, allowing better control with the medication plan their physician prescribes. Calmer airways start with a calmer immune and nervous system.
Book your Comprehensive Functional Medicine Eval/Neurological Exam today to discover what the contributing root causes are that are underlying your health concerns.