Table 8 The impact of using complementary therapies: exploring a broader range of causes of asthma

"GPs, because they're more science-based..I feel they're always looking for a scientific answer and there isn't always a scientific answer. Sometimes I think you need to look a bit broader..the more questions you ask the broader outlook you can have on something." (HY01, parent of girl aged 15, using homeopathy and other therapies)

"I went to the homeopath and..they deal with your susceptibility, your anxieties, the way that you feel with school, the way that you're sleeping..all the little sideline things that will help the susceptibility to having an asthma attack" (DC05, mother of boy aged 7, using homeopathy and Buteyko)

"She (Buteyko teacher) gave us a bit of background into asthma, and that was really helpful because I've never had a chance to sit down with a doctor, for him to tell me what it actually was or even an asthma nurse..she spoke about triggers and how different triggers, different foods, different atmospheres, trigger different people, so the background information that she gave was really helpful." (TA02, adult male, using Buteyko)

"I do believe that conventional medicine really, the NHS is just sort of..this sticking plaster approach of trying to keep people, placate people with drugs really..they're not saying, 'Well hang on a minute, why has this happened..why have we got so much asthma?" (TC05, mother of girl aged 8, using kinesiology and homeopathy)

there's an awful lot of things which conventional medicine is good at, but there's an awful lot of things that it isn't really very good for, because they are only treating the result and not the cause, so if you are only dealing with the symptoms and never the cause, you are going nowhere." (AY16, mother of boy aged 14, using cranial osteopathy and homeopathy)