A 15-year study finds indoor smoking bans really do make kids with asthma healthier

Prohibiting people from smoking indoors does more than just keep bars from smelling like cigarettes, new research suggests. It’s actually doing kids a favor.
A new long-term study finds that on average, kids with asthma visited the emergency room 17% less often during the three years after indoor smoking bans were enacted than they did in the three years before.
The data overwhelmingly shows that kids really do get healthier when their lungs aren’t exposed to secondhand smoke, the researchers say.....

Read more here: businessinsider.com

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Fish-oil pills for pregnant women may cut asthma risk in children: study

Children whose moms took high doses of fish oil during their last three months of pregnancy were less likely to develop chronic wheezing problems or asthma by the age of 5, finds a study that suggests a possible way to help prevent this growing problem.
Asthma cases have been rising in developed countries, while consumption of omega-3 fatty acids such as those found in fish has decreased. Some earlier studies suggested omega-3 deficiency during pregnancy may affect asthma risk in babies, but they were too small to be definitive.
It’s not known why this may be – one theory is that fish oil lowers inflammation, which can tighten airways.....

Read more here: theglobeandmail.com

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Fake treatments for real diseases: A review of allergy and asthma advertisements by naturopaths, chiropractors, homeopaths and acupuncturists

A majority of Canadian chiropractic, naturopathic, homeopathic and acupuncture clinics claim that they can diagnose or treat allergies, sensitivities and asthma.
For the past few years I’ve been adding to what I call the naturopathy versus science series of posts, where I’ve been examining the public advice and writing by naturopaths on a particular topic, and contrasting it against the scientific evidence. I’ve focused on naturopaths instead of other “alternative-to-medicine” providers because naturopaths actively promote themselves as health professions capable of delivering primary care, akin to medical doctors. And in many parts of Canada and the United States they have been successful with this marketing, despite the fact that the naturopathic curriculum is filled with pseudoscience, and there is no convincing evidence to show that naturopathy offers anything that is uniquely useful or incrementally better than “conventional” medicine.....

Read more here: sciencebasedmedicine.org