£10 HOUSEPLANTS have ‘saved me’ from deadly asthma attacks that left me drowning in air
Vybarr Cregan-Reid has lived with chronic asthma since childhood but claims that he's not been to his GP since getting houseplants
GASPING for air and clutching at his chest, he looked like any other runner out of puff.
Vybarr Cregan-Reid said it felt as though he was suffering a heart attack. But the chronic asthmatic knew otherwise.
“Having an asthma attack is like drowning in air,” he tells The Sun.
“A while ago, my attacks took a turn for the worse and I did have one while I was out running. I thought I’d had a heart attack.”
It was when the 48-year-old moved from Edinburgh to London that he noticed his condition got worse – something he blames on pollution levels.
‘I couldn’t live a normal life’
Vybarr starting suffering deadly attacks more regularly.
He had to up his medication to the strongest dose, and his GP warned him to stop exercising and stay inside.
“It’s really stopped me living a normal life,” he explains.
“I was at the very end of the medication I could still inhale. It was the strongest you could get.”
‘In days my asthma got much better’
But, in a matter of days, all that changed.
Over the past year, Vybarr says his condition has “significantly improved” and he’s barely had to see his GP.
Furthermore, he now takes a quarter of the dose of his asthma drugs than he did when he first moved to London.
Having an asthma attack is like drowning in air. I thought I’d had a heart attack
Vybarr tells The Sun
The only change he can pinpoint is kitting his home out with houseplants.
“Once I discovered that houseplants played a role in cleaning the air in our homes, I became really curious,” he tells The Sun.
“All of a sudden dust levels in my house practically disappeared.
“I didn’t really understand this at first, but also my asthma got a lot better so now most of the time I take about a quarter of the drugs I used to take.
“The only change is the houseplants.”
Vybarr says that the change was “fairly immediate”, and he noticed improvements within a week.
Like all asthmatics, he has his bad spells but apart from the odd week, he says that his health is “fantastic” – and it puts it all down to his plants.
He tells us: “It makes loads of sense – there’s loads of science behind it.”
‘The science is good’
While there aren’t lots of studies into the issue, the science that is out there is “good”, Vybarr, an English professor and academic claims.
Most comes from a landmark Nasa study carried out in the late 80s.
The 1989 Nasa Clean Air Study suggested common indoor plants may provide a natural way of removing toxic agents, including formaldehyde and benzene, from the air.
Meanwhile, Tijanan Blanusa, principal horticultural scientist at the RHS, tells The Sun: “Plants in the home pack a punch when it comes to supporting human health.
“They improve air quality by trapping and capturing pollutants, helping us to breathe more easily.
“Likewise, they have been found to provide a wide range of wellbeing benefits such as improved mood, reduced stress and better concentration.
Vybarr's top 5 asthma-friendly plants
Meet the stars of NASA’s Clean Air study.
Each have differing strengths, so get a variety.
You are more likely to care for the ones you really like. NASA’s report explained that for “virtually all plants tested, the reductions in benzene and formaldehyde are significant”.
1. English Ivy – Hedera helix(hard to kill)
2. Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum wallisi (droops when it needs water)
3. Bamboo Palm – Chamaedorea seifrizii (likes moist soil, but not wet)
4. Areca Palm – Dypsis lutescens(likes to dry out a little between waterings)
5. Variegated Snake Plant – Sansevieria(really hard to kill)
To really get the full benefit of houseplants, you ideally want something resembling your body mass in foliage for each person in the household.
2-3 medium-sized plants per person should do it.
“Our own research recently revealed that plants with high transpiration rates – that is ‘thirstier’ plants that require more water to grow well – and large canopies can keep help reduce air dryness.
“Top performers in our test were the peace lily and ivy.”
Colin Osborne, from the University of Sheffield is more sceptical.
He tells us while it is true that plants do remove CO2 in the air and give off oxygen, the effects are likely to be small.
“There is 500 times more oxygen than CO2 in the air, meaning plants would only have a small effect.”
However, he does acknowledge the Nasa claims are interesting.
Vybarr adds: “It’s still early days.
“I think we’re going to see big changes – fewer chairs in offices and more houseplants.”
‘It’s been life-changing’
For Vybarr, science or no science, the change in his health has been life-changing.
He was first diagnosed as asthmatic when he was in his early teens, and very slowly it got worse as he aged.
But now, the English prof says he no longer worries about things like living above a smoker, because he believes his jungle of houseplants will process the benzeme – a by-product of tobacco – for him.
“I haven’t been to my GP about my asthma since (filling the house with plants),” he adds.
“My GP phoned the other day – asthmatics get regular checkups – but I’ve not actually had to go to my GP since I got houseplants. It’s a massive change for me.
“Like most asthmatics, my condition is managed very carefully.
“But because of the plants, its wound back my asthma to what it was like a couple of decades ago.”
What plants work best?
“Plants are like people – good at different things,” explains Vybarr.
“Some people are good at drawing, others are good at engineering. Plants have different skills as well.
“Practically the only plants that aren’t good at cleaning the air are cacti but pretty much anything with foliage – many common houseplants – are going to do a great job at filtering interior air.
“Really common houseplants like standard ficus, rubber plants.
“The mother-in-law’s-tongue is a brilliant one because it photosynthesis in a slightly different way to other plants.
“It’s a really good plant to have in your bedroom – if you’re breathing out CO2 with the door closed, it can breathe in that CO2 and it can produce oxygen for that room instead.”
‘They’ve even helped me sleep better’
Vybarr says it’s not just his plants’ air purifying qualities that have changed his life.
He swears they have helped him get a better night’s kip.
“I am convinced they help you sleep better,” he adds. “They’re good for stress.
Just 5 plants can improve your air quality by 75%, says Patch Plants owner
FREDDIE Blackett founded after struggling to find good-quality greenery to decorate his London flat.
The easy online haven for plant lovers aims to bring the joy of gardening to everyone – delivering plants all over London.
The 31-year-old told The Sun he’s not surprised at the health benefits Vybarr has experienced.
“I was delighted to hear it,” he said. “But it was no surprise that bringing lovely things like plants into your home can have such a positive effect.
“We know plants can help improve air quality.
“In an average sized room, five medium-sized plants can improve the air quality by around 75 per cent.”
The dad-of-one said most homes in the UK don’t benefit from lots of natural light so tropical plants can be the best option.
“When you buy plants it’s worth thinking about replicating their natural environment,” he said.
“Most tropical plants are used to shade, growing under canopys so tend to do better in shady rooms.”
“Our eyes have adapted to see more shades of green than any other colour and green is right in the middle of our visual spectrum.
“It’s a very comfortable colour for us to be around as people – it’s in our DNA.
“From the moment we’re born, green and plants are what we expect to see.
“So it makes perfect sense that there’s a stress-relieving aspect to them.”
‘But it’s no cure for the disease’
While they have changed his life, Vybarr is quick to add houseplants should not be used as an alternative to asthma drugs.
They aren’t a cure, but he hopes they can help others manage their asthma too.
“It is an important addition to people’s lifestyle and an easy and cheap way of cleaning the air in their homes,” he says.
Our homes are full of substances that could potentially release harmful gases into the atmosphere – from the glue used to stick furniture together to second-hand smoke.
Always check with your GP
One thing’s for sure, plants are no substitute for life-saving asthma inhalers and treatment.
And experts always advise any asthma sufferers see their GP asap if they are concerned about their condition getting worse.
If you think you’re suffering an asthma attack, it’s important to follow the instructions and call 999 if you need to.
But if when it comes to lifestyle modifications, like better diet and more exercise, it turns out houseplants might just work for some sufferers.
And they might just allow you to breathe a little easier, at the very least.
Vybarr adds: “As individuals, it’s easy to feel powerless against changes that modern life is making in our bodies and we don’t have control over lots of things like the air outside in the streets.
“What we do have control over however is the air quality in our homes.
“You can buy expensive air filters but air plants are just as good – if not better – at cleaning interior air.
“So I got a load of houseplants out of curiosity – and it really paid off.”
Vybarr’s book is called Primate Change and you can get it from .
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