I have had my fair share of health issues when I was a kid. Among all the common ailments that kids so easily catch, wheezing was my most troubling problem. Nobody in my family has the history and they don’t know why I was so allergic to dust and things I loved such as curd,  grapes, ice-creams, lemon juice etc which often aggravate cold if the immunity is low. I was so torn when i couldn’t eat grapes like all the other kids and it would rip my parents’ heart to deny me those simple things. If they let me have even a little, then the next 10 days would be hell for us.

I still remember the days when I would be struggling to sleep while my breathing would sound like a poor dog about to die. My mom would have tears in her eyes as she made hot water ready for some steam sauna and would sit up all night rubbing vapor rub on my chest. My dad took me to all sorts of doctors and tried all kinds of medicine – Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda but in vain. They all helped a bit to relieve me but none of them cured me. The root cause, whatever it was there still remained. Our home was in the midst of the city and dust was not so uncommon. My mom would slog the whole day to clean the place so that it would be dust free when I come home from school. But none can clean the microscopic dust that comes with the polluted air on earth. One whiff of microscopic dust and I would sound like the pressure cooker. They got me masks to wear while I cycled my way to school and the stares on the road made me very uncomfortable. I wasn’t mature enough to realize that health is the priority and not what others think, so sometimes I cheated by taking off the mask halfway through. I got caught invariable because not once did I succeed in removing the mask without being tortured by wheezing trouble in the following days.

Day by day, we lost all hope and started getting used to it. I have even missed exams due to this. Luckily, I was spared for the main exams due to mom’s diligent care and dad’s disciplined schedule for me. But it still hurt me to refuse ice-cream while all the kids happily feasted on them during annual days, sports days and other functions. For that matter, which 10 year old can refuse ice-cream with a straight face? I loved those green grapes so much and sometimes out of frustration threw tantrums for that. Now to think of it, the hurt on my parents’ faces at such times is indescribable. To deny your child something that is perfectly okay but just not suitable for her is not an easy thing to do.

Finally, the miracle solution came in the form of Dabur Chyawanprash. My dad had bought it because of his friend’s suggestion and I thought what’s the harm in trying it. It didn’t taste bad either. I like sour things and hence the sour taste of it made me eat it eagerly everyday. Along with it, I joined swimming classes and took up breath control lessons. I struggled like hell to hold my breath under water for like 10 seconds but my amazing coach didn’t let me give up. He patiently trained me. At home, everyday my regular dose of Dabur Chyawanprash continued. We didn’t see any visual progress at first but then I started realizing that the number of times I caught cold every month had reduced. A lot of times, cold was the starting point for my wheezing troubles. As the number of times I got sick with common cold, fever reduced, my breathing troubles also got a little lesser.

I started with baby steps, trying lemon juice when the weather was not that cold. Slowly I tried buttermilk, curd, grapes one by one and I managed them all. The breathing troubles didn’t vanish but their occurrence spanned over 3-6 months rather than every month. We all got excited and it made me all the more serious about swimming and taking Dabur Chyawanprash daily. By the end of the year, I got much better that I celebrated the last day of school that year with an ice-cream. I was dreading what would happen that night and had scarves wrapped around my neck and pulled on a sweater even though it wasn’t that cold. My mom was still paranoid and was chiding me saying that I shouldn’t take advantage of my health. We waited and waited but nothing happened. After an entire day, I could see the relief on my parents’ faces and the happiness that they shared when they realized that there’s a chance of me being a healthy child.

And today, I can proudly say that I haven’t had the wheezing trouble for years except for the occasional shortage of breath and the pressure cooker sounds when do intensive cleaning. Only when I do intensive cleaning taking off all the cob webs and turning the entire house up and down. I love swimming like anything and indulge whenever I get access to a pool. I still suck at breath control but it is a lot better than before and I can manage one full lap of the pool. All thanks to Dabur Chyawanprash which boosted my immunity and did wonders to a family. A family that was distraught not knowing what to do to help their child was shown a way. The happiness it brought to my parents, to our family is priceless. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. And yeah, when I have a kid, Dabur Chyawanprash is definitely on the diet. Because a healthy child is the key to a happy family.

This post is an entry to the ‘A healthy child makes a happy home‘ happy hours contest on Indiblogger in association with Dabur Chyawanprash.

Until later 🙂