Online health and medical information » Asthma

ASTHMA AND FOOD ALLERGIES

admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:49:22 +0000

The old adage, ‘You are what you eat’, is still true but recently people are becoming aware of the sad fact that, health-wise, we are often better for what we don’t eat. By this I mean that it is sometimes possible to regain your health simply by not eating a particular food. When eating or even touching a particular food causes a ‘reaction’ that is not commonly experienced by the majority of people, one can say that the individual is ‘allergic’ to that food.

I am sure you know someone who breaks out in a rash when eating, say, strawberries or eggs. You may also have a friend who cannot drink milk without becoming congested and having a runny nose or, worse, an asthma attack. You may also know people who have stomach ulcers or suffer from arthritis or feel depressed most of the time, but regain their physical and mental health once they have given up a particular food. I have lost count by now of the number of patients I have seen who suffered the pains of arthritis for years, only to find relief when I placed them on the correct diet, after the appropriate food-allergy testing procedures.

Your GP may insist that your gastritis is not really an allergy, in spite of the fact that whenever you eat a particular food your stomach feels as if a band of gremlins has taken it over for a game of soccer. Many professionals are trying to abandon the term ‘allergy’ and prefer the less precise ‘intolerance’.

The name makes little difference to the sufferer, except perhaps when it comes to finding out exactly what he or she is allergic to. Even when you do find out, the problem remains of just how many and which foods, grasses, pollens, moulds/ fungi and so on in any given group you should avoid, not to mention for how long.

As I have treated literally thousands of patients with all kinds of allergies, I know only too well how confused people can become when trying to make up a suitable meal from the meagre list of permitted foods.

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ASTHMA AND DRUG ADDICTION

admin — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:36:58 +0000

No drugs associated with the treatment of asthma are addictive. However, some asthmatics develop an emotional dependency on their medication, particularly bronchodilators (puffers).
Just because you are asthmatic, you should not medicate yourself whenever you become breathless. Breathlessness is not always asthma. Even a totally fit person becomes breathless after exertion. Wait a few moments after a period of physical exertion and your breathing will probably return to normal. If not, by all means, use your puffer, but you should always try to give your body the chance to settle down naturally.
Some asthmatics continue with unnecessary medication even when they are feeling well because they are afraid of asthma symptoms developing. Preventive medicines, such as Intal and Becotide, are designed to be taken on a long-term basis and are not the ones to reduce. It is a good idea to take note of how long your puffer lasts. If you are using more than your prescribed dose, you should try to cut down.
Elizabeth found the family doctor a great help in curbing her son’s dependence on Ventolin:
My ten-year-old son started using his puffer as a matter of course when he ran up the stairs or gave the occasional cough. This developed over a period of time and I only really became aware of it when I realized that I was buying Ventolin on an increasingly regular basis. Our doctor had a talk with him at our instigation and stressed that he should count the number of doses he had each day. He now keeps his Ventolin in his school bag rather than his pocket, so he actually has to go and get it, rather than reaching for it and using it automatically. I realized also that my son did not really see Ventolin as a drug. The very term ‘puffer’ took it out of the normal category of medication. Our doctor explained to him that Ventolin was a strong drug that should only be used when necessary. Once this point was made, he made a conscious and successful effort to cut down. He has a contemporary at school, however, who uses his Ventolin continually, even when sitting in class and struggling over a maths question. I have suggested to the teacher that she bring this to the attention of the boy’s parents.
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PREVENTING ASTHMA: SOME NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:40:59 +0000

THE TENDENCY TO develop asthma, together with other allergic conditions like eczema and hay fever, is inherited. However, the increasing prevalence of asthma in the past few decades reflects the adverse impact of industrialisation and changes in lifestyle. It is quite possible that in a greater proportion of children who inherit an allergic tendency it would have stayed latent but for the adverse environment and lifestyle resulting from urbanisation. How to help asthmatic children avoid an attack. In a majority of the asthmatic children, the attacks occur only sporadically. However, it needs to be kept in mind that such children have a tendency to get an attack any time. The first and perhaps the most important step therefore in any asthma management programme is to prevent an attack.
Primary prevention strategies that parents can, and should, adopt must focus at creating a favourable environment around a high-risk-child, and more so in the case of high risk infants.
A high-risk infant can be identified as one born to two atopic parents, or to a family in which one of the parents is atopic. The age and length of time for which an infant is vulnerable to asthma is quite important. Studies of twins with similar inherited allergic tendencies, but brought up in a different environment, have emphasised the importance of the interaction of the environment with genetic factors.
Very young children usually spend most of their time indoors with their mothers. The newer building methods which have less of natural ventilation, more of synthetic building materials, and emphasise greater use of indoor furnishings, specially the use of carpets, mattresses and upholstered furniture have increased the quantity of allergens, specially domestic mites, to which young children are exposed. The degree of such exposure can be correlated with an increase in the prevalence of childhood asthma.
Reducing the exposure of infants and very young children to domestic mites seems to be a highly promising preventive measure. Research shows that domestic mites allergen is a major cause for asthma.
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Астма

admin — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:34:28 +0000

Астма представляет собой всемирную проблему, но в некоторых странах она представляет сложную и острую ситуацию: в США, Западной Европе, Великобритании астмой страдают 5-10% всего населения. Мировым эпицентром астмы является остров Тристан-да-Кунья в Южной Атлантике, где астмой болеет каждый третий житель. Высокая заболеваемость астмой на этом острове, объясняется близкородственными узами, поскольку трое из первых пятнадцати поселенцев страдали астмой.
Учёные Австралии обнаружили, что один из каждых пяти второклассников испытывает повторяющиеся эпизоды затруднённого дыхания и почти каждый четвёртый из этой группы детей, позже становился хроническим астматиком и продолжал болеть, будучи уже взрослым.
Астма больше распространена в городах, чем в сельской местности. В основном, в странах западного мира заболеваемость колеблется от 3 до 5%. В большинстве исследований отмечается высокий уровень астмы именно у детей. Последнее изучение тенденции развития показывает, что общая заболеваемость в мире резко возросла. Причины этого роста связывают с ухудшением экологической среды обитания человека.
Астма может передаваться по наследству, но не обязательно по прямой линии, т.е. она может пощадить одно поколение либо проявиться, лишь у племянников, дяди или тётушки. У многих астматиков с видимым отсутствием семейной предрасположенности, возможно, были деды, у которых отмечались хрипы, неправильно диагностированные как хронический бронхит или проблемы с лёгкими. Наличие астмы у близких родственников вовсе не означает наличие болезни у потомков. Всё зависит от окружающей среды. Многие братья и сестры астматиков несут в себе эти астматические гены, однако симптомы болезни у них не обнаруживаются. Народная мудрость гласит, что чаще всего наследует астму первый, родившийся в семье мальчик. Хотя у этой народной теории нет научного подтверждения, многие люди прислушиваются к ней. Дело в том, что научно доказано, что астма, начинающаяся в младенчестве или в детстве, наследуется с большей вероятностью, чем астма, появившаяся в силу разных причин, в зрелом возрасте. Когда один из родителей страдает астмой, тем более, если родитель аллергик, в 50% случаев у ребёнка тоже разовьётся астма.

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