HOW TO BEAT YOUR KID’S ASTHMA Britain, Europe and the USA are in the grip of an asthma epidemic. It’s a debilitating condition which can kill, and it affects millions of children who rely on drugs to relieve terrifying attacks.

In this two-part series, we investigate a possible solution that could transform the lives of asthmatic children.

Twelve families with asthmatic kids volunteer for a radical experiment, overseen by a specialist doctor, to see if it’s possible to treat asthma by removing the irritants that cause allergic reactions and trigger attacks. Everyday allergens such as dust mites, pollen, pet hair and mould spores can set off wheezing and coughing which can escalate into asthma attacks.

Each of the children is allergy-tested to identify what they need to avoid. For the parents, desperate to alleviate their children’s sufferings, we see if something as simple as a vacuum cleaner provides the answers?

Our cameras follow these children, aged between 6 and 14, and their families, as they test out a whole new allergen-free lifestyle for nine weeks. With dust mites and pet hair the worst perpetrators, the family homes are stripped of soft furnishings, pets are evicted and parents prepare for a gruelling cleaning regime, all under the beady eye of asthma nurse Maureen.

If successful, the children’s inhaler use should decrease, their lung capacity will increase, and they should sleep more soundly at night and begin to live normal active lives.

Hopes are riding high on this experiment. For 10 year-old Rakeem, if successful, this experiment could make a big difference to his quality of life. At the beginning of the experiment, Rakeem is regularly hospitalised because of his asthma and he relies on his inhaler – taking up to 100 puffs a week – which is double the recommended dose. “It’s just like he’s being held to ransom by this little blue thing, I don’t want Rakeem to be dependent for the rest of his days on inhalers,” says his mum Vanessa.

Kay, mum of 10-year-old Katie who uses her inhaler day and night, is hoping the experiment will succeed where Chinese medicine and homeopathy has failed, and like all the parents involved, Kelly, is willing to try anything to help her daughter, Jessie: “It’s so scary. Just imagine not being able to breathe when you need to… she just never complains. She’s suffered so much.”

Over this three month long experiment, the regime sounds deceptively simple, but as the families discover, it’s hard work maintaining an allergy-free environment. From the emotional distress of banishing pets and restricting the kids to one boil-washed cuddly toy, to a rigorous timetable of vacuum cleaning, dusting and washing for overworked mums, the scale of the task in hand proves to be a daunting prospect.


BACK TO PRODUCTION LIST
Year of Production 2006

Broadcaster
Channel 4

Running Time
2 x 50mins

Number of Episodes
2

Executive Producer
Claudia Milne

Contact Info

0207 284 2020

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