Biodiversity Loss May Cause Increase in Allergies and Asthma

ScienceDaily (May 7, 2012) — Declining biodiversity may be contributing to the rise of asthma, allergies, and other chronic inflammatory diseases among people living in cities worldwide, a Finnish study suggests. Emerging evidence indicates that commensal microbes inhabiting the skin, airway, and gut protect against inflammatory disorders. However, little is known about the environmental determinants of the microbiome...

Full story at  sciencedaily.com



Asthma drugs: What every parent should know

First, some basics. There are two kinds of asthma medicines: Rescue medicines (in the U.S. primarily albuterol and sometimes levalbuterol) and preventive medicines (inhaled corticosteroids such as fluticasone and many others). Stefon, who wheezed with every cold he caught, skipped preventive medicines and relied on his rescue medicine much too frequently. As a result, he ended up in the hospital several times. He would have probably stayed out of the hospital if he had used his medications the smart way: Preventive medicines everyday, rescue medicine only on rare occasions...

Full story at philly.com



Asthma attack in the Arctic Circle: How Rav Wilding found himself fighting for breath in minus 30 degree conditions

As I plunged into a frozen lake in the Arctic Circle I ­realised I may be in a bit of trouble.
Since my late teens, I have suffered from exercise-induced asthma, an inflammation of the lungs, which ­narrows the airways and makes it hard to breathe, and one of my triggers is extreme cold...

Full story at mirror.co.uk