The Swampscott Board of Health has announced a schedule of free flu and pneumonia clinics, open to all adult residents, 18 and older, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Clinics are scheduled:

· Wednesday, Nov. 12, 9 to 11:30 a.m., Congregation Shirat Hayam, 55 Atlantic Ave.

· Tuesday, Nov. 18, 9 to 11:30 a.m., Congregation Shirat Hayam, 55 Atlantic Ave.

· Tuesday, Dec. 2, 6 to 8:30 p.m., Swampscott Council on Aging Senior Center, 200R Essex St.

All insurance cards, both Medicare and HMO, must be brought on the day of the flu clinic.

Roseanne Morrissey, Swampscott’s public health nurse, offers the following information and suggestions:
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When the air you breathe is polluted, it can cause symptoms such as labored breathing; irritated eyes, nose and throat; burning of the eyes; cough; and tightness in the chest.

To minimize these side effects of air pollution — especially if you have heart or lung disease — the American Academy of Family Physicians offers these suggestions:

1. When pollution levels are high, stay inside as much as possible.
2. If you must engage in outdoor activities, try to schedule them first thing in the morning or in the evening, after sunset.
3. When air quality is poor, don’t exercise outdoors.
4. Avoid any outdoor activities that require you to exert yourself. Taking in more air also means breathing in additional pollutants.

(Corrects 13th paragraph to clarify that Avastin is not a pill)

A broad analysis of genes has turned up 26 mutations linked with the most common form of lung cancer, several of which play a role in other cancers as well, researchers said on Wednesday.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, double the number of genes already linked with lung adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer that accounts for 40 percent of the more than 1 million lung cancer deaths each year.

“We think that our study may achieve a real impact on the cure of lung cancer patients,” Dr. Matthew Meyerson of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University said in a telephone briefing.
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Food allergies in American children seem to be on the rise, now affecting about 3 million kids, according to the first federal study of the problem.

Experts said that might be because parents are more aware and quicker to have their kids checked out by a doctor.

About 1 in 26 children had food allergies last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. That’s up from 1 in 30 kids in 1997.

The 18 percent increase is significant enough to be considered more than a statistical blip, said Amy Branum of the CDC, the study’s lead author.

Nobody knows for sure what’s driving the increase. A doubling in peanut allergies — noted in earlier studies — is one factor, some experts said. Also, children seems to be taking longer to outgrow milk and egg allergies than they did in decades past.
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We generally think of breast cancer as being only a problem for women; but breast cancer can also occur in men, although far less often than in women. On average, breast cancer occurs in less than 1 in 1,000 American men and accounts for less than 0.5 percent of all cancer deaths in men.

If a man carries a BRCA2 mutation, however, he has a much greater lifetime risk (about 7 percent) of developing breast cancer. He also faces an increased risk of prostate cancer. BRCA1 mutations are less likely than BRCA2 mutations to predispose men to breast cancer.

A man should ask his doctor about a screening test for mutations in his BRCA genes if:

* several close female relatives have a history of breast or ovarian cancer
* a first-degree relative — mother, sister, brother, or offspring — develops breast cancer before age 50, or has had a positive test for a BRCA gene mutation
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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.
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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.
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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..