Follow-Up On 'Buteyko Twins' From NZ Television

1 in 4 children in New Zealand has asthma: the financial costs are enormous, and the strain on families is incalculable. My BIBH colleague Glenn White has just posted a follow-up to his previous involvement in a video about Buteyko Breathing and asthma that was broadcast in New Zealand.

The seven minute segment was part of a news programme that was broadcast on World Asthma day May 2. The segment featured two 8 year old girls with asthma: and I said that I would keep you posted on their outcome and any further video segments. Glenn has now forwarded a link to the follow-up that was broadcast recently. Prior to the course, both girls were experiencing daily asthma symptoms requiring reliever medication. One was taking Symbicort as a preventer medication. Both were unable to breathe through their noses and experienced daily nose bleeds.

By week five the girls no longer needed reliever medication and were able to overcome rare asthma symptoms using the Buteyko Method. Improvement in peak flow readings at six weeks is shown for one of the girls: her peak flow almost doubled. Glenn expects that the girls will continue to improve as they continue to do their exercises, and, in the near future, that the girl who is using preventer medication will be able to start to step down her dose with the guidance of her doctor.

Recently, McHugh and his colleagues published a case-series of Buteyko and children. The results were interesting enough for the authors to call for a large-scale RCT of Buteyko and children to add to the clinical trials that have been run with adults. Jill McGowan has recently submitted her PhD thesis on her large-scale trial with the Buteyko Method and we are awaiting the publication of her results.

The TV clips are interesting but some of the techniques that are shown are safe for the participants because they were assessed by a practitioner. Please do not attempt these techniques without appropriate consultation or the agreement of your doctor/asthma nurse.