December 23, 2011
By Jenifer Goodwin
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) — Children who are overweight or obese during early childhood have a greater risk of having asthma at age 8 than normal-weight kids, a new study finds.
Researchers in Sweden followed more than 2,000 children for eight years, using preschool and school health records to track their height and weight at ages 1 year, 18 months, 4 years and 7 years. Parents completed questionnaires about their child’s health, including asthma and allergy status.
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December 22, 2011
THURSDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) — Use of gastric bands as a weight-loss aid is increasing, and doctors need to be alert for potential complications years later, say the authors of a new case report.
The report details problems that developed two years after a 49-year-old British woman underwent the weight-loss procedure. She sought treatment at a hospital after having night sweats and a persistent cough that produced green and yellow sputum for four months. Her medical history showed that she had asthma that had not responded to treatment and that she had been fitted with a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band in September 2008.
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December 19, 2011
MONDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthDay News) — Holiday decorations, both old and new, can cause asthma attacks and allergic reactions, an expert says.
Dr. Joseph Leija, an allergist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Maywood, Ill., warns that fresh Christmas trees, poinsettias and boxes that have been stored for months can stir up potential triggers like dust and mold.
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December 16, 2011
FRIDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthDay News) — Infants born to mothers who use inhaled glucocorticoids — a class of steroids — to treat asthma during pregnancy may be at risk for endocrine and metabolic disorders, a new study indicates.
Researchers looked at more than 65,000 mother-child pairs from the Danish National Birth Cohort who were followed from early pregnancy into childhood.
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December 5, 2011
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 5 (HealthDay News) — About one in three children with asthma is currently using a preventive medication, according to new research. That number is up from about 18 percent of kids during the late 1980s.
Preventive asthma medications help control the airway disease before symptoms flare up, and guidelines from the U.S. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program recommend their use.
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November 6, 2011
By Jenifer Goodwin
HealthDay Reporter
SUNDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) — Pumpkin spice candles and pine-scented air fresheners may evoke the holiday season for some. For others, those airborne fragrances trigger allergy symptoms — from runny, itchy noses and sneezing to asthma attacks.
Allergists say as the popularity of scented products has risen, so have complaints from their patients about reactions to them.
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November 6, 2011
SUNDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) — Alcoholic beverages can trigger allergic reactions or exacerbate existing allergies, experts warn.
Though rare, some people have allergies to the alcohol itself, while others are allergic to various substances in alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine, Dr. Sami Bahna, past president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and chief of Allergy and Immunology at Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport, La., said in an ACAAI news release. Symptoms may include red, itchy eyes, nasal congestion, upset stomach and difficulty breathing.
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November 5, 2011
SATURDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Children with asthma who live in single-parent homes are 50 percent more likely to return to the hospital for treatment within a year than those who live in two-parent homes, a new study finds.
Kids from families whose annual income was less than $60,000 a year were also more likely to be readmitted, as were kids from homes with “time constraints.”
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November 5, 2011
SATURDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Text message reminders help children — but not teenagers — stick with their asthma medication schedule, a new study finds.
It’s common for youngsters to forget to take asthma control medications, and missing doses can result in poor asthma control.
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October 30, 2011
SUNDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) — Children with asthma are at greater risk for flare-ups in the fall because of airborne ragweed and mold spores, as well as the flu and other seasonal infections, researchers warn.
Such flare-ups are marked by inflammation, swelling and tightening of the airways, resulting in wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. But, fortunately, it’s possible to stave off these attacks, according to experts at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
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