Study draws link between allergies, asthma in the infant gut

It takes real guts for a newborn baby to thrive these days.
If the beneficial microbes that naturally inhabit an infant‘s innards are disrupted during the first weeks of life, a typical newborn can face a threefold higher risk of childhood allergies and asthma, new research shows.
That is the latest in a cascade of findings about the microbiology of motherhood, and the bacteria that live in a baby’s intestines, known collectively as the infant microbiome. Researchers are discovering that bacteria are an intimate part of the bond between mother and child. “It begins at birth,” said Susan Lynch, a gastroenterologist at the University of California, San Francisco.....

Read more here: foxnews.com

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Fe-line better? Watch devoted owner give Heidi the cat an inhaler after she was diagnosed with ASTHMA

A cat who suffers from feline asthma is given an inhaler by her loving owners to keep her condition under control.
Three-year-old Heidi has been filmed using her new equipment, which has to be administered to her every single evening by Donna and David Stead.
At first the couple, aged 37 and 35 respectively, thought their pet just had hairballs stuck in her throat, but a vet later diagnosed her with asthma.....

Read more here: dailymail.co.uk

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Life with Asthma and Anaphylaxis: One Mum's Story

Mother of two Rachel Morgan tucked her 8-year-old son Connor into bed with a good night kiss, like she did every night. But on this occasion, within a very short space of time his lips started to swell, then blister. Connor is anaphylactic - which means he has a life-threatening allergy - to sesame seeds, peanuts, pistachios and cashews. But Rachel knew he hadn’t eaten anything with nuts in it. She thought back through the events of her day – and remembered the salad that she had for lunch that day had pistachios in it.....

Read more here: nationalasthma.org.au