The Humming Cure of Allergy and Asthma
Anyone can hum: “oooommm” or star spangled banner or a popular song.
Did you know that you can cure 50% of your ills by humming? Look up humming in the Pri Med index.
When you hum you vibrate the head. More important you vibrate mucus that is in your nose, sinuses throat and chest.
Got thick postnasal drip? Humming will shake this up, break up the bonds that hold this together, and at the same time vibrate and stimulate cilia of the nose, sinuses and chest.
What are cilia? These are tiny microscopic hairs that move in a synchronous manner, to move bacteria out of your nose and chest. In the nose, they move bacteria out of the nose to the back of your throat. In health, the cilia move bacteria via a mucus layer to the back of the throat, down the throat to the stomach where they are inactivated by the stomach acid. If the mucus is thin, the cilia move better.
Cilia of the Chest
In the chest the cilia move in the opposite way- they move dust and bacteria out of the bronchial passage up the windpipe to the throat where you can cough it up and out or swallow it. When the cilia of the chest are working, you don’t cough or wheeze. When they fail, bacteria and dust remain in place and coughing takes over. Remember a time when you accidentally inhaled a tinny particle; you kept coughing until it came out. Your cilia couldn’t handle the large piece.
Mucus Blanket
If the nose or chest is totally dry, then cilia don’t function. They require a mucus blanket that traps the bacteria; then they can move the mucus. But mucus can be almost as thin as water or it can be as thick as stale Jello. What liquefies solid Jello? Vibration. Imagine putting the almost solid bowl of Jello on a foot massager – it will turn to liquid quickly. There are actual bonds – attachments that bind the mucus together that make it thick. Vibration breaks those bonds, just as the vibration of a foot massager breaks up “solid” Jello into a liquid. Humming does this.
Proof of Vibration
Place your 3rd and 4th finger to the side of your nose. Now do “oooommm” at a very low pitch/tone. You can actually feel that vibration and measure how effective your humming is! You can similarly place your hands over your chest and feel how effective that vibration is.
Importance of Nitric Oxide -NO
Nitric oxide is a gas that can be measured. It is produced in the body and is present in the nose, sinuses, and chest. Airway NO levels are increased in airway inflammation such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. Humming quickly empties the sinuses of NO. Since we want to reduce inflammation, the sooner we reduce NO the better. Therefore you should hum.
Antibiotic is Not Good for You
In 1950 you got a sinus infection, got a prescription for an antibiotic and were cured. In 2016 you get a sinus infection and
- It may not respond to an antibiotic
- You need a long course of antibiotic
- Antibiotics have all kinds of side effects. In particular they destroy the good intestinal bacteria. Studies today increasingly show that it takes months to restore the good bacteria. In 1999 I advised my patients to take two weeks of yogurt after the antibiotic. Today I advise six months of yogurt/probiotic. There is evidence that even when the long term antibiotic is proven to clear the sinus infection, the absence of good gut bacteria prevents the patient from feeling well.
Avoid the Antibiotic
Obviously if you can avoid an antibiotic it is best:
- the antibiotic may not work – especially if the infection is viral
- the bacteria may be resistant
- the antibiotic may result in a vaginal thrush infection
- the long term effect on good gut bacteria is harmful.
Will humming help? Yes
Humming reduces viscosity and thickness of mucus. This allows for easier removal of bacteria.
Humming speeds cilia movement.
Humming helps cilia move in synchrony
Humming effectively removes Nitric Oxide from nose and sinuses. Since Nitric Oxide is associated with inflammation and immune factors, this can be beneficial.
Will humming aid asthma? Yes for all the above reasons; Nitric Acid is increased in asthma, and decreased by humming.
Anything else to help sinus/bronchial conditions?
Lots of fluids. Green tea is known to improve cilia. Lemon and lime thin mucus. Honey works especially in suppressing cough.
Good sleep.
You Forgot the Hydro Pulse™ Nasal/Sinus Irrigator
For years, patients have used the Hydro Pulse™ to remove bacteria, thin the mucus, and restore normal cilia movement and synchrony. Most important – you don’t need to use the Hydro Pulse irrigation once your sinuses are normal again. Even though your sinuses feel great after irrigation, there is no need to continue irrigation when the nose is normal: – you don’t need to be more normal.
Will humming alone help sinus disease? Yes
Will green tea with lemon and honey alone help sinus disease? Yes
Will using the Hydro Pulse™ alone help sinus disease? Yes
“Which then is best for me?” Frankly, I don’t know which is best for you. Patients vary. One identical twin is “cured” by humming alone and the other is “cured” by Hydro Pulse alone. There are many reasons why there are differences.
What is important is to avoid using antibiotics whenever possible. With that goal in mind I have usually recommended the humming, the green tea, and the Hydro Pulse pulsed irrigation be done at the same time in order to clear an acute infection. To avoid future infections it makes good sense to hum, drink green tea and use the Hydro Pulse whenever necessary to prevent an infection by restoring good cilia function. With asthma, preventing infected drainage getting into the bronchial passages is just as beneficial – as reducing the Nitric Oxide of inflammation.
The Sound of Music
There is a whole topic on music itself being a healing factor. There may be a second benefit to the person who hums music that soothes or excites her. More on music for healing later.
Humming Works
How much humming? For most patients with a history of allergy, asthma or sinusitis, I recommend an hour a day. Be sure to place your fingers on the nose to be sure there is good vibration. The same goes for humming for the chest. When there is illness with yellow or green discharge, many patients require pulsatile irrigation to be sure to remove bacterial contents.
Best of all, if your sinus infection does require an antibiotic, this can be easily added to the Hydro Pulse Irrigator so that it acts on the sinus and not on the entire body, thus avoiding damage to good gut bacteria and avoiding secondary thrush infections.
For illustration of cilia action see http://grossaninstitute.com/wba/
From The Whole Body Approach to Allergy and Sinus Relief
References:
Eur J Clin Invest. 2003 Dec;33(12):1090-4.
Nasal nitric oxide measurements before and after repeated humming maneuvers.
Maniscalco M1, Sofia M, Weitzberg E, Carratu L, Lundberg JO.
Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007 Aug;15(4):258-63.
Nitric oxide in the airways.
Inflamm Res. 2007 Feb;56(2):58-69.
Nitric oxide in upper airways inflammatory diseases.
Maniscalco M1, Sofia M, Pelaia G
Eur J Clin Invest. 2003 Dec;33(12):1090-4.
Nasal nitric oxide measurements before and after repeated humming maneuvers.
Maniscalco M1, Sofia M, Weitzberg E, Carratu L, Lundberg JO.
Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007 Aug;15(4):258-63.
Nitric oxide in the airways.
Inflamm Res. 2007 Feb;56(2):58-69.
Nitric oxide in upper airways inflammatory diseases.
Maniscalco M1, Sofia M, Pelaia G
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW:
This review briefly explains the basic facts about nitric oxide, which is entering clinical practice as a measure of lower airways inflammation and is likely also to be employed in otorhinolaryngological practice.
RECENT FINDINGS:
These include the validity of nasal nitric oxide in diagnosing primary ciliary dyskinesia and in monitoring the response to chronic rhinosinusitis therapy. The nasal nitric oxide value combined with a humming manoeuvre, which increases the passage of nitric oxide from the sinuses to the nose if the ostiomeatal complex is patent, could reduce the need for computed tomography scans. The link between nitric oxide production and ciliary beating requires further exploration. Therapeutic adjustments to nitric oxide production are under investigation.
SUMMARY:
Nitric oxide is likely to prove highly relevant to airways defence, as well as being an inflammatory mediator. Nasal nitric oxide probably explains some of the benefit of nasal rather than mouth breathing.
Inflamm Res. 2007 Feb;56(2):58-69.
Nitric oxide in upper airways inflammatory diseases.
Maniscalco M1, Sofia M, Pelaia G.
Author information
Abstract
In the human respiratory tract, the main production sites of exhaled nitric oxide (NO) are the nose and paranasal sinuses. In the upper airways, NO has been suggested to be involved at different levels with regulatory, protective, defensive or deleterious effects. Therefore, we review some aspects of the origin, metabolism, and functions of NO in the upper airways, together with the role of NO in some upper airways inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, we discuss the recent improvements in nasal NO measurements, which may be useful to better characterize the involvement of the NO produced by nose and paranasal sinuses in upper airways inflammatory diseases such as allergic rhinitis, nasal polyposis, sinusitis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and cystic fibrosis.
