Breathe Easier
Comfortable breathing habits, congestion, allergy season, air quality and lung health.
General information, not medical advice. Each goal page shows what helps, what to avoid, the evidence and the safety points.
Goals in this category
11 goals
Build Comfortable Breathing Habits
Comfortable breathing is mostly slow, relaxed and unforced, and a few simple practices can help you notice and ease tense or hurried breathing. This page covers everyday…
Manage Nasal Congestion
A blocked or stuffy nose is usually a short-lived part of a cold, an allergy or a sinus infection, and a few simple, well-checked steps can make it more comfortable whil…
Improve Comfort During Allergy Season
Hay fever and other seasonal allergies can make sneezing, itchy eyes and a blocked nose part of daily life for weeks or months. This page covers everyday habits that red…
Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Irritants
Smoke, fumes, dust and strong chemicals can irritate the airways, and for many people the most useful step is to meet them less often or in smaller amounts. This page co…
Improve Indoor Air Quality
The air inside your home can carry smoke, cooking fumes, dust, mold spores and gases from fuel-burning appliances, and cleaning it starts with removing the source and le…
Protect Your Lung Health
Your lungs work quietly for decades, and most lasting lung damage comes from a few things we can influence: tobacco smoke, polluted air, repeated infections and long per…
Build an Activity Routine With a Respiratory Condition
Staying active is encouraged for most people with asthma and COPD, and a steady routine can make everyday tasks easier even when breathing is not perfect. This page is a…
Support Respiratory Recovery After Illness
After a chest infection, bronchitis, pneumonia or COVID-19, a cough, tiredness and some breathlessness can linger for weeks after the worst is over, and most people can …
Get Support to Stop Smoking or Vaping
Quitting smoking or vaping is hard because nicotine is addictive, and most people need more than one try; the good news is that support makes success clearly more likely…
COPD
COPD is a long-term lung condition that makes breathing harder over time; it cannot be cured, but a diagnosis, stopping smoking, the right care and daily habits can keep…
Asthma
Asthma is a long-term condition in which the airways can swell and narrow, causing wheeze, cough, chest tightness and breathlessness that come and go. This page explains…
Guides
Foods, herbs, vitamins and supplements studied for this category
Strongest evidence first. Most evidence is low, so read each page's studies and safety points.
- Vervain Herbs & Botanicals
Acute viral sinus infection (five-herb mixture, adults)
Safety first: Avoid in pregnancy - Cs-4 and Cultured Cordyceps Mycelium Cultured fungal product
Chronic bronchitis flare-ups
Safety first: Know which product and which fungus you mean - Sorrel Herbs & Botanicals
Acute viral sinus infection in adults (five-herb mix that includes sorrel)
Safety first: Sorrel is high in oxalate: people with kidney stones, kidney disease or a stone history should ask first - Almond mushroom Medicinal mushroom
Birch pollen allergy and asthma symptoms
Safety first: Liver injury, including deaths, has been reported in people with cancer - Asafoetida Herbs & Botanicals
Asthma control
Safety first: Do not give to infants: a case report of dangerous blood-oxygen problems (methaemoglobinaemia) - Black Seed Oil (Nigella) Carrier oil
Asthma control (added to usual treatment)
Safety first: Skin: severe allergic and blistering reactions to black seed oil have been reported - Nasturtium Herbs & Botanicals
Chest infection and bronchitis (nasturtium plus horseradish tablet)
Safety first: Evidence for safety is thin and comes from one branded combination. - Fang Feng Herbs & Botanicals
Adult asthma, as part of the Yupingfeng powder formula
Safety first: Sun sensitivity is a plausible risk, but it is not shown for fang feng in people