Shrewsbury author's incurable lung condition under spotlight in new book
Andrew John Frederick knows what it is like to be fighting for breath – he has lived with the problem for decades.
With the outbreak of coronavirus, he has been able to empathise with those who are suffering the symptoms.
In his case, he was diagnosed with his incurable condition, called bronchiectasis, 20 years ago.
But with a mixture of medication and his own methods using breathing exercises and herbal remedies, he has managed to keep it at bay and live a full and active life.
And he has now penned a new book to share his own methods of coping with the condition, both physically and mentally.
Bronchiectasis: Taming it and Feeling Better aims to explain the symptoms, diagnosis and potential treatments of the disease.
It is a long-term condition where the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection.
Common symptoms include a persistent cough and breathlessness, although the severity can vary widely.
The 71-year-old, of Shrewsbury, said: “Just before I completed this book about bronchiectasis, and my own self-treatment programme for it, the United Kingdom along with most of the rest of the world was struck by the terrible often deadly effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This virus has shone a spotlight on the world of respiratory diseases and conditions and the health disasters experienced by a large number of individuals inflicted with them. These problems can either be short term or lifelong.
“I was struck by the fact that bronchiectasis, of all the main respiratory conditions mentioned in the media and by politicians and medical or scientific experts in relation to Covid-19, has been largely ignored.
“This is disappointing because worldwide it kills thousands annually in severe cases in ‘normal’ times.
"As a pre-existing medical condition, the numbers were probably escalated when Covid struck sufferers.”
It is thought the condition affects over 300,000 patients in the UK.
“They, their family members and probably their friends and colleagues, know only too well that it is a nasty, long term chronic respiratory condition with no cure and only management of its symptoms possible," Andrew said.
"Some preventative actions can ameliorate this condition.
“Hopefully, the book’s information will also be of interest and help to sufferers of other respiratory conditions.
Diagnosis
“Having had breathing problems for almost 60 years, since childhood, my ongoing chest condition was only diagnosed as bronchiectasis in my local general hospital in Shrewsbury about 20 years ago.
“A young doctor recognised its signs from a chest CT scan which looked at my lungs in detail.
“I was so disappointed that all that was offered to me, on different occasions, was the prescription of different antibiotics with different strengths to treat my respiratory bacterial infections at different times.
“I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to develop my own different, self-help treatment programme using methods which would hopefully yield better results to me than what was being offered by the NHS.
“While I have to agree that bronchiectasis cannot be cured in the generally accepted medical sense and its symptoms can only be managed, I have seen concrete positive results in my own experience of this condition since I have been using my methods.”
One of the methods he has used for coping with the condition features asafoetida herbs.
The herb has been known for thousands of years and is used throughout the world, including the UK, mainly for culinary use, rather than for medicinal purposes.
He uses the natural product in the form of an inhalation of vapours of its essential oil when they are given off after being mixed with hot water.
Andrew also uses breathing exercises and makes a tea from the leaves of lungwort plants.
He says he has had positive results and his lung health age has been hospital-measured at 10 years less than his actual age.
But he has also urged anyone considering any changes to their medication or therapy to consult their GP first.
The book is available as a paperback for £7.99 from book shops or Amazon, or as a Kindle eBook.
For further details, contact bronchiectasisbook@outlook.com
