Flu can cause worse symptoms in people with asthma, research shows

People with asthma are likely to have worse symptoms when they get the flu because they have weaker immune systems, new Southampton research has shown.
A study led by Dr Ben Nicholas, of the University of Southampton, and published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, assessed lung samples from asthmatics and healthy volunteers.
The samples were exposed to influenza and their reactions analysed.
Dr Nicholas, who led the study under the NIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, said: "We wanted to look into whether immune system differences explain why asthmatics are more likely to end up in hospital if they get flu than the general population. This is important, as flu can cause a person's asthma symptoms to get worse. The samples from healthy people showed a strong immune system-triggering reaction to the flu virus. But in lung samples from asthma patients, this reaction was much weaker.....

Read more here: news-medical.net

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Educating Families On Reducing Household Allergens Helps Improve Asthma Symptoms In Children

A new study by Johns Hopkins University Of Medicine suggests children, who suffer from mouse allergies who improvement, when living in homes where families are taught how to properly trap mice and clean allergens.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Monday. It could potentially help scientists and physicians, looking for new ways to reduce symptoms and rates of asthma in Baltimore.....

Read more here: morningsidemaryland.com

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8-year-old's death preceded by asthma attack, family says

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A family member of the 8-year-old Staten Island boy who died early Wednesday morning said the incident started with an asthma attack.
Naseem Douglas was transported to Richmond University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, without any obvious signs of trauma, police said.
A family member who was present at the time of the incident said family called 911 when the asthma attack started, and by the time firefighters arrived at about 12:20 a.m. the boy was slipping in and out of consciousness.....

Read more here: silive.com