Cleaner Air Could Reduce Asthma, IBS, Diabetes Rates

If you have asthma, know the symptoms of heart disease and other inflammatory diseases so you can treat them early.


The Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules that will require coal-burning power plants to limit emissions of toxic air pollutants that are known to exacerbate asthma. That's great news for the 8 percent of Americans who suffer from the breathing disorder. And according to a new study being presented at this week's annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, it could lead to fewer rates of other inflammatory diseases. The authors of the study found that people with asthma are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, irritable bowel disease (IBS), and rheumatoid arthritis than people with healthy lungs.

THE DETAILS: The authors used data from 2,392 people enrolled in an asthma study in Rochester, Minnesota, half of whom had asthma and the other half did not. They compared the incidence of irritable bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and coronary artery disease among those with asthma and those without, and found that with each disease, people with asthma had higher rates. The relationship was strongest with coronary artery disease, in which people with asthma had a 59 percent higher incidence, and with diabetes, in which people with diabetes had a 68 percent higher incidence. Rates of irritable bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis also increased in asthma patients, but, says lead author Young J. Juhn, MD, pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, the associations weren't as strong.

WHAT IT MEANS: Though it may seem logical to think that an inflammatory condition like asthma would be accompanied by other inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Dr. Juhn says his results came as somewhat of a surprise, based on the way our immune systems work. "Our immune systems have something called T-helper cells. T-helper 1 cells determine pro-inflammatory conditions, such as coronary artery disease, irritable bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes, while T-helper 2 cells are considered to play a very important role in determining allergic disorders, such as asthma," he says. Because our immune systems work to maintain a balance between the two types, he adds, it would stand to reason that people with asthma would actually have lower rates of those diseases. But that's not what his study found. "At this point, we think there may be some common immune mechanisms underlying this association," he says, most likely something genetic or environmental.

Dr. Juhn's study is one of very few analyzing the relationship between asthma and other inflammatory diseases, so he says that doctors are still in the early stages of understanding what all this means, especially when it comes to solving the problem. "If we find that the association isn't genetic, then, potentially, controlling your asthma may be helpful in reducing your risk of these other pro-inflammatory conditions," Dr. Juhn says. "But if it the underlying mechanism is genetic, the association may be independent from asthma control."

The most important thing to remember, Dr. Juhn says, is that if you do have asthma, pay attention to any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms you may experience. "This study could be very important for early detection," he says. "If patients experience nonspecific chest pain, their doctors may think it's just their asthma, but it could be the beginning of heart disease."


To help you out, here's a list of some common symptoms associated with each condition.


• Coronary artery disease: Chest pain and shortness of breath are the two primary signs of coronary artery disease, which, unfortunately, makes it easy to confuse with asthma. However, pay attention to where you feel pain. Coronary heart pain may be felt under your breastbone, or in your neck, arms, stomach, or upper back. The condition is also accompanied by weakness and fatigue. The most serious symptom is, of course, having a heart attack. And check out these other six unusual signs of heart disease, such as excessive snoring and sexual dysfunction.

• Diabetes: People with type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes typically exhibit very few symptoms, but those who do may notice things like unusual thirst or hunger, blurred vision, frequent infections, and tingling or numbness in your hands or feet. A blood-glucose test will tell your doctor whether you have diabetes, and recently, doctors developed an easy online test that will allow you to assess your diabetes risk based on things like family history and weight. It doesn't include asthma as a potential risk factor, but the test should help you figure out if you're already at an increased risk.

• Rheumatoid arthritis: This is a disease that's stumped a lot of doctors, as the causes of RA remain unknown and symptoms can be vague and sporadic. But you might have rheumatoid arthritis if your joints ache or swell or are tender to the touch (it usually begins in the smaller joints, such as those in your hands and feet), you feel firm bumps of tissue under the skin on your arms, or have morning stiffness that lasts longer than the morning.

• Irritable bowel disease: If you experience a lot of abdominal discomfort, cramping, or bloating, you could be suffering from irritable bowel disease or the less-severe irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. As with rheumatoid arthritis, there isn't a known cause, but it is an autoimmune condition that seems to be exacerbated by environmental causes, including stressful jobs.


Reduce your risk from heart disease and asthma. Eat lots of Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.

Forest Pays Almirall $75M Up Front as Part of Second Respiratory Therapies Agreement

Forest Laboratories is paying Almirall $75 million up front as part of a U.S. development, marketing, and distribution agreement for the latter’s once-daily, long-acting beta2 agonist, LAS10097. The deal covers development of LAS100977 in combination with an undisclosed corticosteroid for the treatment of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), using Almirall’s Genuair® inhaler. LAS10097 has already completed Phase IIa trials in asthma patients.

Under terms of the deal, Forest will be responsible for U.S. regulatory approval and commercialization of the LAS100977-based therapy. Almirall will receive milestone payments and sales-based royalties on top of the up-front fee.

The deal represents the second major respiratory therapies collaboration between the companies. In April 2006 Almirall and Forest signed a $60 million up front deal to develop, market, and distribute Almirall’s inhaled, long-acting muscarinic antagonist, aclidinium bromide, in the U.S. The drug is an anticholinergic bronchodilator, selective M3 muscarinic antagonist for the treatment of COPD.

The companies had originally anticipated filing an NDA in the fourth quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010. However, in March 2009 the companies announced that after consultation with FDA, additional clinical studies with aclidinium bromide will need to be conducted to provide further support for the selected regimens, including higher and/or more frequent doses. EU filing of aclidinium bromide by Almirall is currently projected for 2011.

Commenting on the deal, Howard Solomon, chairman and CEO at Forest, said, “with the addition of LAS100977, Forest rounds out a broad COPD pipeline that was recently augmented with Daxas® (roflumilast) and will also gain access to the larger asthma market with a once-daily inhaled corticosteroid/LABA combination.”

P.S. Boost your natural immunity against Asthma by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.

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Smoke a testing time for asthmatics

THE National Asthma Council Australia is urging people with asthma in bush fire zones, or those planning summer holidays in the country, to ensure they have considered their asthma as part of their total summer survival plan.

“People with asthma are at particular risk from bush fire smoke, especially the very young and older people,” National Asthma Council Australia Director,Associate Professor Peter Wark.

“The best protection, where possible, is avoiding exposure to high levels of smoke and ensuring your asthma is well controlled from day-to-day.

“This means seeing your doctor to make sure you have an appropriate written asthma action plan to help you manage your asthma over summer as well as making sure you regularly take your preventer puffer,” Professor Wark said.

“If you live in a high risk fire zone, you should also ask for a prescription for a second emergency inhaler, which you should have ready to take with you if you evacuate.

“Keep your back-up medication with your most precious papers or photographs to ensure it goes with you if you decide to leave.”

The National Asthma Council Australia also stressed the need to follow the manufacturer’s storage recommendations for medications during the hotter summer months.

“Keeping a back up inhaler in your glove box may seem like a good idea, but the extreme heat may render your medication ineffective, or worse still, some medication canisters could explode under the intense heat conditions that will occur in cars this summer.”

People who live in built up areas also need to plan for days of smoke haze as winds can move bush fire smoke and harmful airborne particles over great distances.

Bushfire smoke contains particles of different sizes, water vapour and gases, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which can trigger asthma symptoms, such as wheezing, coughing or chest tightness

Larger sized air-borne particles, containing burning debris, contribute to the visible haze when a fire is burning.

They are generally too large to be breathed into the lungs, but they can cause irritation to the lungs, throat and nose.

Finer particles and gases, however, are small enough to be breathed into the lungs.

“This is why we are cautioning people with asthma across Australia to be vigilant about their health as the 2009/10 bushfire season unfolds and Australia heats up.”

P.S. Boost your immunity against asthma by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.

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Smart Inhalers Help Fight Asthma

Developing and deploying smarter wireless medical devices to manage chronic conditions is a high growth area, and with good reason.

According to the CDC, 70 percent of deaths among Americans are due to a chronic illness. One of the keys to controlling chronic disease is adhering to proper medication dosage and schedules. Yet many patients seem to have difficulty following their doctor’s recommendations. We recently came across a couple of smart, connected medical devices designed to help asthma patients be more compliant and achieve better control over their disease – which may in turn help them lead longer lives.

Asthma is a widespread chronic disease that often strikes in childhood, making it a prime area for smarter treatment solutions that help patients to manage their symptoms. One avenue for such devices is to deliver medication through inhalers. Computer controlled inhalers with embedded intelligence can precisely measure the amount of the drug that gets to the patient. Increasingly, doctors are moving from pills to inhalers as a way to administer drugs, but it can be difficult determining how much actually was inhaled into the lungs. This is the challenge that smart inhalers help to solve.

One such smart inhaler system prototype is being developed by Clement Kleinstreuer, a mechanical engineering professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, in collaboration with a departmental colleague, Dr. Stefan Seelecke.


According to Kleinstreuer, the inhaler system (pictured left) “modulates the patient’s inhalation waveform and then releases a controlled drug-air stream which targets specific lung sites.” This stream could also be targeted at sites like a tumor or some other predetermined lung area, giving the smart device even wider applicability. Kleinstreuer adds that this “optimal targeting methodology” has been successfully tested in both virtual reality and in the lab, and components of a smart inhaler system prototype are now being built and tested.

“Clearly,” he says, “clinical trials will be necessary to convincingly document the amazing capabilities and wide-range applicability of the invention.”

In the long run, medical devices that use embedded intelligence to deliver precise amounts of medication to patients will help not only asthma patients, but also address other chronic and acute diseases that need targeted and specific medications.

Asthma patients can look for more immediate relief from a smart inhaler that is already available in New Zealand. This device comes from Nexus6, Ltd, a New Zealand company. New Zealand has one of the highest incidences of asthma in the world so it’s not surprising that they are leading the efforts in this area. According to COO Garth Sutherland, “New Zealand has the second-highest per capital incidence of asthma in the world; over a half a million of the 4 million people have the disease. Fortunately, we have a good public health care system so there is a good chance that asthma will be diagnosed and treated.”

Sutherland started the company in order to help chronic asthma patients better manage their own care. The Nexus6 Smartinhaler device (pictured right) helpspatients adhere to the prescribed amount and frequency of medicine. It connects to the patient’s computer via a docking station and the data is uploaded and sent to their email system. The patient can then print a report to provide to their doctor and health care team. A wireless version, which has a cell phone chip imbedded in the device, is currently in clinical trials. Also in trials is a ringtone reminder that is designed with kids in mind. Preventing asthma attacks is important, and keeping to the prescribed routine is crucial in those prevention efforts. “Kids really like the ring tones and it keep them on a schedule.”

The need for smarter management of asthma treatment is certainly not unique to New Zealand. In the United States, it’s estimated that more than 34 million Americans suffer from asthma. Smart inhalers are one example of how connected health technology can help those with chronic illness get the most benefit from prescription drugs and give them tools to better manage their own care.


P.S. boost your asthma immunity by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.



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Beckham tips for asthma sufferers

David Beckham hopes the revelation that he has suffered from asthma since he was a boy will help others with the condition.

The England midfielder said he had not tried to hide the fact he had asthma - it became apparent when he was seen using an inhaler after playing for Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup final in Seattle.

Beckham said: "It's out there now. Sometimes I have good days and bad days. I've never hidden it but it's something I've had for a good few years now."

He added: "I hope it turns into a positive because I've been able to play for many years with the condition. I know there are many other players who have overcome it such as Paul Scholes."

The 34-year-old also dismissed a report that he smokes cigars.

"I've always prided myself on the way I look after myself," he said. "On special occasions, like winning the European Cup, I might have had a puff. But I don't sneak into the garden - I think my boys would kill me if I did."

Beckham is recovering from an ankle injury and had three painkilling injections in Seattle but said it should be mended by the time he joins AC Milan after Christmas.

He added: "In the last few days it has felt a bit better. Bone bruising takes time to go away and obviously the injections I had during the game in Seattle didn't help.

"But it should be fine by the time I get to Milan. There's not much you can do with bone bruising apart from resting it and icing it. I just need a couple of weeks off, which I'm having."

P.S. boost your asthma immunity by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.

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What is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a chronic disease of the lung that covers several conditions including Chronic Bronchitis or Emphysema.

Chronic Bronchitis results from an inflammation of the airways of the lung. The term chronic refers to the fact that the condition is present for a long time and bronchitis means inflammation of the bronchi or air passages of the lung. You can find the anatomy of the lung on any well-researched website, but I will give a brief summary here.

The air passages begin with the trachea in the neck which branches into the left and right main stem bronchi. These bronchi continue to branch into smaller bronchi or bronchioles until they end up in the microscopic air sacs or alveoli. It is the alveoli that oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with a rich network of small blood vessels or capillaries. The bronchioles and bronchi are responsible for delivering the oxygen to the alveoli and for carrying the carbon dioxide from the alveoli to the outside. These air passages are more than just tubes — the linings are composed of cells and structures that serve many functions for lubricating the airways and removing debris from the airways. These cells can be damaged by infections or toxins like inhaled poisons or smoking. When these cells are irritated by various stimuli, they form mucus which can plug up the airways and make air movement difficult. In addition, the airways have muscles in the walls and these muscles will contract or dilate the airway depending on what kind of pressure is placed on them.

When we breathe in, our diaphragmas act like an accordion and pull air into the airways. When we breathe out, we squeeze our chests and the airways by pushing our diaphragms up to force the air out. This pressure to force the air out causes the bronchi to become narrow and slows down the speed of the air escaping from the lungs. If the airways are already partially blocked by mucus, or if the muscles are contracting due to irritation, the air cannot escape from the lungs as well, and we feel short of breath or you will hear a wheezing sound as the air tries to escape through narrow tubes.

Emphysema, on the other hand is a disease of the alveoli or air sacs, where the lining of the sacs become destroyed by specific enzymes or infections, and the small air sacs become larger and larger as the walls or membranes between them become destroyed. They tend to lose their elasticity and are unable to squeeze the air out of them as effectively. In addition, the walls or membranes contain the capillaries or small blood vessels that carry the oxygen to the tissues and remove the carbon dioxide from the tissues, so air exchange becomes compromised and we feel short of breath, because not enough oxygen is being delivered to our tissues. In severe cases we can actually see our fingernails turn blue from lack of sufficient oxygen. When there is not enough oxygen in the blood, the blood becomes dark or blue, like in our veins. When there is enough oxygen in the blood the blood becomes a bright red, like in the arteries.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD is a combination of Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema. The treatment is therefore three fold.

* Remove the toxins from the lungs. This is done by avoiding irritants like smoke, perfumes, dust, or allergens from the environment. In addition, direct toxins like cigarette, cigar or pipe tobacco smoke should be immediately discontinued.

* Treat the constriction of the airways with medicines that can open up the airways. These are called bronchodilators and are usually in inhalers or nebulizers, but can also be in cough medicine, or pills.

* Treat the inflammation of the airways with inhaled anti-inflammatory medications, or by pills or injections. These medications are derivatives of cortisone. Frequently in severe episodes you will be treated with doses of Prednisone tablets for short period of time, or injections of cortisone.

The treatment of COPD is therefore a combination of bronchodilators and cortisone as well as discontinuing smoking, treating any infections and avoiding an environment of smoke.

The prognosis varies depending on the severity of the condition, and this can be determined by doing pulmonary function tests to see how well you can breathe. A simple test that can be done in the office is the PEFR (Peak Expiratory Flow Rate). This is a simple flow meter that patients with COPD can obtain from the pharmacy to test the amount of airway restriction that is present. A more detailed test can be done by a pulmonary specialist, which we do have here in Nassau.

If caught early enough, like any other disease, the prognosis is excellent. I have seen patients with severe COPD who require oxygen all the time, still smoke even with the oxygen being administered. Those are extreme cases but, as you can see, the prognosis can vary widely depending on the severity of the disease and the compliance of the patient with prescribed treatment.

P.S. boost your asthma immunity by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.

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H1N1, asthma can be a dire combination in children

The day before Halloween, T.J. Berndsen had what his parents believed was a little asthma flare-up. By Halloween night, he felt lousy enough to cut trick-or-treating short.

A week later, the 9-year-old was straining to breathe in the emergency room at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center because of complications from an H1N1 influenza infection.

"By Sunday, Nov. 8, his cough turned into a croupy bark, and he started running a fever. It got to 102.9. I knew it had gotten to be more than we could handle at home," says his mother, Jennifer Berndsen. She had suspected flu but wasn't sure. His school had had significant numbers of children out, but his classroom hadn't seemed to be hit hard, she says.

While H1N1's effects in a healthy child can range anywhere from mild congestion and sore throat to serious respiratory illness, and even death, the 7 million American kids who have asthma are at a higher risk for complications and death if they contract the novel flu virus, says Tom Skinner of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We're seeing underlying health problems, including asthma, in about two-thirds of the estimated 540 children who have died from H1N1 complications," he says.

But the CDC and pediatric asthma experts say there are steps you can take to prevent H1N1, or swine flu, as well as seasonal flu, and ways to treat it if an infection does occur.

Prevention is best

"In children with asthma, the key issue is anticipation rather than reacting," says Erwin Gelfand, chair of pediatrics at National Jewish Health in Denver, a hospital that specializes in treating children with respiratory conditions.

Gelfand says a parent can ensure two things: vaccination and making sure a child's asthma is in control.

The advice goes even for children who get asthma only intermittently, says Tyra Bryant-Stephens, medical director of the Community Asthma Prevention Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Children who only get asthma during exercise, with a cold, or during allergy season can also have serious complications from flu," Bryant-Stephens says.

T.J.'s parents gave him what asthma experts call "maintenance medications" every day: an oral Zyrtec (cetirizine) for allergies and the inhaled corticosteroid Flovent (fluticasone), which reduces inflammation in the lungs. They knew he needed the H1N1 vaccine, says T.J.'s mom, but it hadn't become available in their area yet.

Unlike T.J., many asthmatic children do not take medications as prescribed, sometimes because of cost or parental concerns about side effects, Gelfand says.

"I'd say to any parent, this is not a time to relax compliance. The drugs we have for asthma are as a rule not effective if taken on an intermittent basis, except in possibly the mildest of cases," Gelfand says.

As for vaccines, the CDC recommends that children with breathing issues get the shot form of the vaccine – two doses spread out by a month in those under age 9 – instead of the nasal mist.

If a child does get flulike symptoms, there are steps caregivers should take, says Carolyn Kercsmar, director of the Asthma Center at Cincinnati Children's.

She says if a child develops a fever, is feeling poorly, has chest pain, a bad cough or extreme fatigue, see a doctor right away.

Rough night, quick comeback

T.J.'s parents took the correct steps, Kercsmar says. After additional home albuterol treatments didn't budge his symptoms, they scooted fast to the pediatrician, who sent him on to the ER. There, Jennifer Berndsen says, "they did three back-to-back albuterol treatments – continuous for about an hour. He was so sick by then, poor thing."

He then received a cornucopia of drugs: Motrin to help reduce fever, antibiotics for atypical pneumonia that a chest X-ray revealed, and an intravenous line of magnesium sulfate to help further open up his airways. They dosed him with the steroid prednisone to simmer down inflammation, and he received pure oxygen through a nose mask, Berndsen says.

After he was moved to a room well after midnight and an H1N1 swab came up positive, he was given Tamiflu (oseltamivir).

"These are the children who can benefit from starting Tamiflu right away. It can turn a very nasty disease into one that's tolerable," says Kercsmar, who adds that it works best started within 48 hours, but even within 72 hours can help.

Berndsen reports that though her son's night in the hospital was rough, the turnaround was fast.

"By noon the next day, Tuesday, Nov. 10, T.J. was feeling well enough to eat a chili dog and a pretzel with cheese," she says. He went home that night.


P.S. Boost your immune system by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich foods and fruits.



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Medco study finds doctors overprescribe inhalers for acute asthma attack sufferers

EDITOR'S NOTE: In Monday's original headline, Drug Store News indicated that pharmacists were overprescribing inhalers, when it should have said that doctors or physicians were overprescribing such medication. Pharmacists cannot prescribe medication, only dispense it.

Pharmacists pushing physicians not to write prescriptions for excessive quantities of inhalers used to treat acute asthma attacks can help reduce overprescription of the inhalers without compromising patient safety while saving money, according to a study.

Pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions presented a study at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology last week showing that when physicians receive educational materials and follow-up communications outreach, and have to give a response before the pharmacist can dispense a prescription, the number of new prescriptions for excessive quantities of rescue inhalers – defined as more than one inhaler per month – decreased by 60%.

Rescue inhalers, also known as short-acting beta2 agonists, are meant for patients experiencing acute asthma attacks, though many physicians will prescribe them for daily, long-term use. While wasting medicine, this also can have dangerous implications for patient health by masking exacerbations of the disease and causing more serious problems down the road.

The Medco study, conducted between July 2007 and June 2008 on 250,000 patients, found that as a result of the intervention, 200,000 fewer inhalers were used, saving $4.2 million.

“Excessive use of rescue inhalers wastes medicine, but even more importantly, it can be masking an asthma exacerbation,” study researcher Luis Salmun stated. “Rather than over-relying on rescue inhalers, patients should speak to their physicians to make sure that they’re using their daily asthma medications properly or to determine if an adjustment in those medications is needed.”

The researchers also looked at pharmacy and medical claims for a 1,835-patient subset of the study population. During the 12 months following the intervention, 67% of the patients no longer were prescribed excessive quantities of rescue inhalers, while the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits stayed the same.

P.S. reduce your asthma sufferings by eating lots of Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich Foods and Fruits.

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Child asthma, mother's depression linked

Maternal depression may aggravate a child's asthma but how often a child had symptoms did not seem to affect the mother's symptoms, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore analyzed data from interviews with 262 mothers of African-American children with asthma -- a population disproportionately affected by the inflammatory airway disorder.

The study, in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, found children whose mothers had more depressive symptoms had more frequent asthma symptoms during the six-month study. Conversely, children whose mothers reported fewer depressive symptoms had less frequent asthma symptoms.

Senior investigator Kristin Riekert, a pediatric psychologist and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Adherence Research Center, and colleagues tracked ups and downs in maternal depression as related to the frequency of symptoms among children.

"Even though our research was not set up to measure just how much a mom's depression increased the frequency of her child's symptoms, a clear pattern emerged in which the latter followed the earlier," Riekert said in a statement.

"Intuitively, it may seem that we're dealing with a chicken-egg situation, but our study suggests otherwise. The fact that mom's depression was not affected by how often her child had symptoms really caught us off guard, but it also suggested which factor comes first."



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What You Should Know About Asthma Pediatric Cases

What You Should Know About Asthma Pediatric Cases

Asthma in children is one of the most trying experiences that parents may have while their children are still very small. Asthma pediatric cases are very common nowadays because of the many triggers in the environment, as well as in the food that our children eat everyday. More often than not, children who are living in the city are often the hardest affected by asthma pediatrics due to the smoke emitted from vehicles and other pollutants in the air.

Common Symptoms in Asthma Pediatric Cases

If you are a parent with very young children who have asthma, taking note of the common symptoms of asthma pediatric cases is very important. Unlike adolescence and adults, very young children often cannot express what they feel very well. In most cases, they will just appear to be irritable and cry a lot, and it is really hard to tell what is wrong with them. Since your child could not aptly express what he or she is feeling at the moment, you will need to be very perceptive.

To determine the first signs and symptoms of asthma pediatric attack in you child, you should note the common signs and symptoms of the disease. Note that most asthma pediatric cases have different signs and symptoms. To determine what are the early signs and symptoms of pediatric asthma in your child, you will need to take notes of what happened during the last time your child had an attack.

Is There Such a Thing as a Pattern for Asthma Pediatric Episodes?

Technically, each child may have some unique experiences with asthma pediatric episodes. However, if you are a very keen observer, in most cases, asthma pediatric attacks on very young children follow a pattern. For instance, every time your child is exposed to smoke, he or she will start sneezing followed by coughing. After a few hours of coughing, he or she will start wheezing and getting out of breath. If you have noticed this pattern in your child, chances are this will happen every time he or she is exposed to smoke.

Preventing Asthma Pediatric Episodes

Recognizing the triggers of your child’s asthma is very important. Knowing what triggers asthma in your child would help you prevent such attack. For instance, if you observe that your child would react strongly towards smoke, then, make sure that he or she is not exposed to smoke to prevent an attack. Knowing what to prevent can mean everything in the case of asthma.


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The Link Between Allergies and Asthma

Allergies and asthma frequently often go together. Pediatric asthma is actually very common in the US especially in children. Your child's body's reaction to an allergen can often lead to an asthma attack, or it might cause an existing condition to become worse. This is a serious issue for those who suffer from both allergies and asthma, because it involves twice the discomfort and a greater risk of health problems.

Allergens cause your body to produce antibodies to get rid of the irritant, causing you to experience a reaction that usually involves sneezing and watering of the eyes. The airways and nasal linings become inflamed as a result of your body's response, which frequently leads to an asthma attack in those who suffer from the condition. Those who have respiratory allergies along with asthma typically experience more severe attacks.

Can treating your child's allergies prevent pediatric asthma? It can certainly lower your chances of experiencing an asthma attack. Receiving injections to treat your allergies is beneficial because it restricts your antibodies from reacting to the allergens. And so the chances of an asthma attack are reduced.

For those children who suffer from pediatric asthma attacks, it's essential that parents should do their best to avoid the irritants that lead to inflamed airways. The most typical culprits are dust mites, pet dander, pollen and certain foods. Those who have family members with allergic asthma are more likely to acquire the disease. These people are advised to be very careful with possible allergens. Most allergy induced asthma is triggered by more than one factor.

You don't always have to use medication if you are successful at avoiding the situations that lead to an attack. However, if you do use medication, it's important that you treat the symptoms of both conditions. Nasal sprays can reduce inflammation caused by allergies. Inhalers can reduce inflammation caused by asthma. Be aware, though, that self-medication can have serious consequences. First of all, you should visit your doctor to discuss the most appropriate course of treatment. You can use medication to cure either of these conditions, but caution is advised because they can aggravate certain health problems.

People are advised to take control of their problem by making sure they know which factors trigger their attacks. Discuss all this information with your physician so he or she can formulate the best possible asthma treatment for your situation. The doctor will try to gauge the factors that you have encountered before and the reactions of your body towards past treatments.

P.S. Boost your immunity against pediatric asthma by taking Vitamin D rich foods.

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How Exercise Can Trigger Asthma

Although it comes as a surprise to many people, exercise is one of the most common triggers of pediatric asthma attacks. As many as 9 out of 10 people with asthma experience exercise-induced asthma, an exacerbation of their symptoms during or after a workout.

Exercise is still one of the best things you can do for your body, but if you have exercise-induced asthma, it can be tricky to work out without triggering asthma symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing. But it’s not impossible. Indeed, many star athletes suffer from exercise-induced asthma, and the symptoms can be minimized by taking medication and precautions, such as avoiding exercise in cold weather.

With the right treatment, children with exercise-induced asthma can still be active and participate in sports.

To learn more about exercise-induced asthma and how to prevent it, check out the following information from our A–Z Health Library.

An asthma attack is a short period when breathing becomes difficult, sometimes along with chest tightness, wheezing, and coughing. When this happens during or after exercise, it is known as exercise-induced asthma or exercise-induced bronchospasm. About 70% to 90% of people with persistent asthma and about 10% of the population without asthma have exercise-induced asthma.
Exercise-induced asthma develops most often in athletes, especially those who train or perform in cold air. Swimming appears to cause the fewest problems for children with asthma; it may even help reduce the severity of exercise-induced asthma.

For most people:

* Shortness of breath may occur early in an exercise period. Some people get worse 5 to 10 minutes after exercise stops.
* Difficulty breathing usually goes away within 20 to 30 minutes after stopping exercise.

Exercise-induced asthma is often not diagnosed, especially in children. Most experts agree that a medical history and a physical exam are not accurate tools for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma. If you notice the symptoms of asthma (such as wheezing or shortness of breath) after your child exercises, it is important that you bring this to the attention of your health professional. However, children with asthma should still be encouraged to exercise and should not be excused from exercise unless really necessary.

For people with pediatric asthma symptoms during exercise, using asthma-controlling medicine before exercise may help reduce symptoms, especially in cold, dry weather. For these people, some asthma experts recommend the following:

* Take your medicine daily, if needed, to decrease airway inflammation Click here to see an illustration. and decrease the overreaction (hyperresponsiveness) of the airways that carry air to the lungs (bronchial tubes).
* Use an inhaled bronchodilator (beta2-agonists), cromolyn, nedocromil, or leukotriene pathway modifier before exercising.
* Warm up before exercising.

Other steps you can take to decrease asthma symptoms when you are exercising include the following:

* Avoid exposure to air pollutants and allergens whenever possible. Exercise indoors when air pollution levels are high.
* Wear a mask or scarf wrapped around your nose and mouth if you are exercising in cold weather. This may help warm and moisten the air you breathe in.
* Exercise slowly for the first 10 to 15 minutes.

If your child has exercise-induced asthma, be sure his or her teachers and coaches know when your child’s daily medicines should be given and what to do if your child has an asthma attack, especially before and during physical exercise. Your child’s daily treatment and asthma action plans provide this information. School officials need to know the early warning signs of an asthma episode, how your child’s medicines are used, and how to give the medicines. School personnel also should know how to contact your child’s health professional.



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When Allergies attack, Fight Back with Natural Remedies

According to the 2008 National Health Survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, it is estimated that about 19.6 million adult Americans suffer from hay fever, with 6.8m children also suffering. Even more, physicians state that more than 11 million office visits are by patients seeking relief from hay fever, which is also known as allergic rhinitis.

Symptoms of hay fever include itchy eyes, runny nose, congestion, and an endless amount of sneezing. All of these symptoms are caused by an overacting immune response to a variety of possible triggers, which include pollen from plants, dust, dust mites, airborne pollutants, mold, and pet dander.

Hay fever is marked by inflammation of mucous membranes in the eyes, throat, ears, sinuses, nose, and lungs. Although the development of inflammation in allergies is complex, one of the most influential factors is immunoglobulin E (IgE), which responds to protein allergens. Although there is a genetic component to susceptibility to allergic response to certain triggers, the focus of allergy relief is on the events that occur as a reaction.

Various natural products offer allergy relief by targeting the factors in allergy pathology. Similar to other areas of immune health, fruits and vegetables are suggested for the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that they provide. Vitamin C is a major antioxidant in the airway surface liquid of the lungs; therefore, it can severely impact allergies and asthma. Low levels of vitamin C have actually been associated with asthma in both adults and children. Also, low levels of vitamin E have been associated with asthma and other wheezing illnesses. Combining antioxidant ingredients also provides additional relief. Therefore, by combining vitamins C and E with the antioxidant NAC, pollen-induced airway inflammation is inhibited by blocking ragweed oxidases which cause oxidative stress and inflammation in the airways.

On its own, NAC reduces mucous viscosity and protects against lung tissue damage. According to scientists, lycopene may also be beneficial. As far as minerals are concerned, both magnesium and zinc have been proven to help. Quercetin has both antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties, allowing it to inhibit the release of histamine in nasal mucosa of allergic patients. Glucomannan was shown in a study to suppress allergy symptoms, while CLA reduces allergy symptoms such as sneezing.

One of the best natural remedies for allergies is comprised of botanicals such as licorice root, skullcap, pine bark extract, and butterbur. Licorice root offers anti-inflammatory activities along with aide in fighting IgE allergic reactions, while skullcap can restrict inflammatory cytokine production.
Pine bark extract blocks the release of allergy troublemakers in the body even better than a known pharmacological histamine inhibitor.

Similarly, butterbur has abilities in blocking histamine release by IgE-sensitized mast cells and relieving allergy symptoms as effectively as drugs without the drowsy side effects. Although allergies are widespread and disrupt the daily lives of many people, they strike one out of every four Americans, affecting six times more than cancer. The mechanisms of allergic reactions in the body, especially those in the upper respiratory system, are becoming more and more well-known.

Natural products are available that can help to address these mechanisms, along with the mediators that produce the inflammation and symptoms that allergies create. Natural vitamin supplements are available at your local or internet health food store.



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