am an asthmatic person and i read some articles that coffee can help relieve asthma attacks.



usually my attacks occurs while am sleeping and i bothers my resting time.



Now, can drinking coffee be effective before am going to sleep to prevent asthma attack...or is just coffee can only be effective when am about or already experiencing asthma attack..



pls advice..



by the way does drinking coffee before going to sleep is safe? (though some others are saying this will just keep you awake..but not for me.lol!)



though honestly am not really a coffee drinker but once i've read about this article am trying to drink coffee now just to get out from my regular inhaler maintenance (i hate it).

Coffee can act as a bronchodilator - however it isn't an alternative to using your inhaler.  It is used if an inhaler isn't accessible.



If you are having asthma attacks at night then you need to talk to your doctor about changing your medication to help relieve those.  Unfortunately, you are not going to get out of using an inhaler.

First question.........Have you been diagnosed, by a Medical Doctor as having  " asthma " How long ago ? What medications are you  taking now?



You mentioned that your sleep is disturbed by "asthma " that is odd. Most asthma attacks are either stress related or are triggerd by allergic reactions, or possibly  air bourne irritants.



Caffeine is the  main active ingredient  in coffee, and it is a stimulant, so it should NOT be  consumed before bed time.



Im my opinion, you  should be discussing this  subject with your Medical Doctor, not trying to self medicate.



Jim B. Toronto.

Coffee contains caffeine and other xanthenes that dilate the small bronchioles in the lungs.



Aminophylline and theophylline, drugs that were formerly popular for treating asthma, are also xanthene derivatives.



Still, nighttime asthma raises a yellow flag in my brain. Perhaps you should discuss this with your doctor.

Researchers looked at all the published clinical trials studying the use of oral caffeine to treat asthma. They analysed only clinical trials that compared patients taking oral caffeine to those taking a placebo and evaluated the effect on lung function. Two studies used a 'low' caffeine dose of 5 mg per kg of body weight and four studies used a 'high' dose of 6-10 mg per kg of body weight. The average amount of caffeine per cup of coffee is between 30mg and 150 mg.



The results:

Six methodologically sound trials with a total of 55 patients were included in this review. All found that oral caffeine improved lung function measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF). FEV1 showed a small improvement up to two hours after caffeine. Mid-expiratory flow rates also showed a small improvement with caffeine and this was sustained for up to four hours. Adverse effects observed in patients taking high doses of caffeine were tremor, nervousness, agitation and changes in heart rate and blood pressure.



The conclusion:

The authors of this review of the literature found that caffeine was mildly effective in improving airway function. Results were so consistent that they felt asthmatics should avoid caffeine for 4 hours before any lung function test. However, they conclude that there is not enough evidence to determine if this improvement in lung function will reflect in improvements of asthma symptoms and quality of life.Heartburn treatment and asthma symptoms