With thunderstorms predicted in many parts of the country this week, Asthma UK is offering important advice to the 5.2 million people in the UK with asthma.

During thunderstorms large quantities of pollen can be released into the air which can trigger asthma symptoms and raise the risk of an emergency admission six-fold. On an average day over 200 people will be admitted to hospital with potentially life-threatening asthma attacks, so the increased risk during volatile weather means it is even more important for people with asthma to keep their asthma medicines with them.

It is believed that during thunderstorms, downdraughts of cold air sweep up high concentrations of pollen and spores. These allergenic particles are then thrust into the air, where the moisture breaks them up into pieces that can penetrate deep into the lungs. This can induce attacks even in those who have previously only had mild asthma. During thunderstorms it is therefore best to stay inside and close windows to keep allergens out. » Read the rest of the entry..

By ELIZABETH HAN
The Press-Enterprise

There’s a different dimension to back-to-school preparations when a child has asthma.

Parents and educators need to discuss the particulars of a child’s condition such as the symptoms and triggers and emergency plans at school.

The American Lung Association of California is holding free Asthma 101 classes in San Bernardino for parents and educators the last Tuesday of the month to raise awareness of how an asthma attack is triggered and how the condition is managed through medication.

According to the national American Lung Association, asthma is the most common chronic disorder in childhood, affecting 6.8 million kids in the country.

In San Bernardino County, the pediatric asthma rate is 17.1 percent, higher than the state average of 14.7 percent, and in Riverside County it is 11.3 percent, said Terry Roberts, area director of the state association’s Inland county office, based in San Bernardino and covering both Inland counties.

There are several things parents need to do to prepare their asthmatic kids for school, such as having an asthma action plan, making sure there is an inhaler at home and at school, and conferring with teachers about allergens and irritants.

A sample asthma action plan can be downloaded from the San Bernardino County Medical Society’s Web site at www.sbcms.org or obtained by calling the San Bernardino office of the American Lung Association of California at 909-884-5862.

The form is filled out by the child’s doctor and details an emergency plan on what to do if a child’s symptoms worsen. For example, it provides instruction to educators on when to call 911 (if symptoms are not relieved by medication after 15 to 20 minutes usually).

It is also important for parents to give a copy of the plan to the school and share with their child’s teacher, Roberts said.

“It’s a really good idea for parents to visit a teacher, or school nurses, and them about the child’s trigger and share the action plan with the teacher,” she said.

“Every child that has asthma has a different severity, different symptoms, different triggers,” she said, and it is important to educate teachers about how to recognize when a child has difficulty breathing.

“You won’t necessarily see them gasping for air,” Roberts said. Some kids can turn pale, sit there quietly, or have their lips or fingertips turn blue.

Symptoms such as blue lips or fingertips veer into dangerous territory, along with trouble walking or talking, a hunched posture, or struggling to breathe.

Parents need to make sure children have an inhaler not only at home but also at school, said Consuela Edmond, program coordinator for the Childhood Asthma Program, put on by the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

“There (are) a lot of allergens and irritants in the school such as chalk dust or even dry-erase markers — the scent — paints and glues, strong odors such as perfumes and room deodorizers, chemicals from science and art projects, even upholstered furniture,” Edmond said.

Pets, mold, dust and cockroaches are also triggers, Edmond said.

It is important to remember that asthma can be managed, Edmond said. It doesn’t need to hamper a child’s quality of life.

The academy offers a checklist of tips and a sample food allergy action plan to keep communication flowing. Both can be downloaded at no cost at www.aaaai.org.

Here’s a short list the academy shared to start parents on the right path:

• Inform the school cafeteria, teachers and other staff, including the school nurse, what foods your child must avoid.
• Pack bag lunches.
• Send safe snacks to school anytime the classroom is having a party.
• Advocate “no eating” policies on buses and in other settings where children are not supervised.
• Be aware of the expiration dates on self-injectable epinephrine.
• Keep in contact with your allergist to make sure all medicine is current and replaced prior to expiration.
» Read the rest of the entry..

This is when my husband and I would start getting our asthmatic and allergic daughter ready to go back to school.

Asthma inhalers for her backpack? Check. Epinephrine, in case she had a serious allergic reaction? Check. Claritin, Nasonex and other medications to clear up those stuffed sinuses? Check.

Notes from her doctor to go in the school files? Ready to go. Permission forms from us allowing school officials to administer drugs? Ditto.

Those were the days. Last night, this teenage daughter came into the room where I was watching the Olympics and told me she needed a nebulizer treatment (for asthma). “Can I help,” I asked. “Mom, you know I know how to do all that,” she replied indignantly, turning on her heels.

Indeed. She’s been puffing on the inhaler, taking the medications, and relying on the nebulizer for years now. She knows her body, when she’s not feeling right, and what she needs to do.
» Read the rest of the entry..

What killed tens of millions of people around the world in the 1918 flu pandemic actually might not have been a flu virus. A new study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases blames different agents: bacteria.

The flu virus weakened lungs, opening the door to fatal bacterial pneumonia in most of the pandemic’s 50 million victims, according to researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The researchers based their findings on preserved lung tissue from 58 soldiers who were infected by the flu and died in 1918 and 1919. They found tissue changes that are the hallmarks of bacteria, not viruses, as well as the destruction of cells that normally protect lungs from bacteria.

They also studied case reports from 1918 in which doctors said they suspected a second infection. One doctor said that the flu “condemns,” but secondary infections “execute.” » Read the rest of the entry..

FDA News — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it has approved this year’s seasonal influenza vaccines that include new strains of the virus likely to cause flu in the United States during the 2008-2009 season.

The six vaccines and their manufacturers are: CSL Limited, Afluria; GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Fluarix; ID Biomedical Corporation of Quebec, FluLaval; MedImmune Vaccines Inc., FluMist; Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited, Fluvirin; and Sanofi Pasteur Inc., Fluzone.

Approval information and specific indications can be found at http://www.fda.gov/cber/flu/flu2008.htm.

This season’s vaccines contain three strains of the influenza virus that disease experts expect to be the most likely cause of the flu in the United States.
» Read the rest of the entry..

Sellheart via Health News

The millions of Americans who are overweight or obese are putting their health in jeopardy. Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death, and can raise your risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, asthma and even gum disease. The underlying causes of obesity are numerous, from genetic disposition to binge eating, which may be caused by the same brain changes responsible for addiction. This link prompted researchers to test a potential addiction drug on lab rats bred to be obese-with surprising results.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory tested the drug, called vigabatrin or GVG, in 50 rats, some of which were bred obese and some were of normal weight. The animals were either given injections of various amounts of vigabatrin or a placebo for up to 40 days. The genetically obese rats lost up to 19 percent of their body weight, and normal-weight rats lost 12 to 20 percent of their body weight. “Our results appear to demonstrate that vigabratrin induced satiety in these animals,” said Amy DeMarco, who worked on the study. “When we gave GVG, they would steadily lose weight, and when we took them off GVG, they would steadily gain weight,” she told Reuters Health. » Read the rest of the entry..

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that they are going to be working with Medco Health Solutions Inc. to try and improve prescription medications.

The FDA is going to work with Medco Health to try and study how the genetic makeup of patients has an impact on which medications they should be prescribed.

The FDA, by working with Medco health, is hoping to better understand the needs of patients, and how certain medicines may be better for certain patients depending on their genetic make-up.

This could be to custom medicine being developed just for them.

The FDA and Medco Health have entered into this two-year partnership to test how helpful certain prescription medications are for patients, depending on their genetic make-up.

Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7c95b2/pharmaceutical_pri) has announced the addition of Decision Resources, Inc.’s new report “Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement News in the Second Quarter of 2008″ to their offering.

The United States stands in stark contrast to Europe and Japan in terms of the freedom that manufacturers have to set–and increase–the prices of branded drugs in the U S market. However, pharmaceutical companies need to give careful thought to their pricing strategies in all markets Payers around the world are constantly adjusting their pharmaceutical cost-containment strategies.
Get the Answers You Need to Shape Your Strategy:

- Leading pharmaceutical benefit management companies (PBMs) in the United States are seeking new ways to contain prescription drug costs. How do recent pricing trends for generics and branded drugs compare? What are PBMs doing to stimulate greater use of generics? What is the outlook for specialty pharmaceuticals? » Read the rest of the entry..

Bisphenol-A, a chemical that shows up in some baby bottles, food can linings and hard plastic water bottles, just got a vote of confidence from the FDA.

“FDA has concluded that an adequate margin of safety exists for BPA at current levels of exposure from food contact uses,” said an FDA draft assessment released Friday.

Earlier this year, a draft report from another federal agency concluded that “[T]he possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed.”

That was part of what prompted Wal-Mart, among others, to say it would stop selling baby bottles that contain the chemical. And California is now considering a bill that would ban the substance in food and drink containers made for infants. » Read the rest of the entry..