Effect of Neutral Pulmonary Douche on Pulmonary Functions among Bronchial Asthma Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Bronchial Asthma is the second-most significant contributing factor to mortality rates for chronic respiratory diseases. It is characterized by hyperreactivity of the airways and reversible episodes of bronchoconstriction. Douche is a general application in hydrotherapy, which is a stream of water directed against the body generally or locally. The neutral pulmonary douche (NPD) is employed to improve pulmonary functions, but there is no scientific report validating its effect. Materials and Method: A randomized control trial study of a total of 60 subjects belonging to the age group of 18–44 years participated in the study. The study participants were randomized into intervention and control groups (1:1). The intervention group (30) underwent NPD for 30 minutes. No intervention was given to the control group (30) and was followed up. The assessments were taken at baseline and after 10 days of the study. Result: The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis, employing interferential statistical tests. These analyses showed a significant difference in all parameters (FEV1, FVC, the FEV1FVC ratio, and PEFR) within (t-tests, the Wilcoxon rank test) and between (ANCOVA) groups. Conclusion: The implementation of hydrotherapy-facilitated NPD has demonstrated notable enhancement of pulmonary functionality in Bronchial asthma (BA) sufferers, in conjunction with conventional medical interventions. This discovery contributes to the progressively accumulating substantiation endorsing the efficacy of hydrotherapy within the domain of naturopathy.