Dr Mohammad Shamssain and his research team recently completed a study into the impact that high levels of air traffic pollution has on schoolchildren’s respiratory systems, allergies and conditions such as asthma.
Testing the lung functions of 1,397 children, aged 7-10, and measuring air pollution levels in Cairo, one of the world’s most traffic congested cities,…
Archive for October, 2011
Traffic Pollution Affecting Unborn Children, Says Asthma Expert
Friday, October 21st, 2011
6 Allergy Mistakes Exercisers Make
Friday, October 21st, 2011
Being active is a must for good health. But venturing outdoors when you have allergies requires a bit of preparation to avoid triggering allergy symptoms.
Lisa Hall, 49, does just that. As a distance runner with allergies and asthma, Hall plans ahead. “I never go for a run without using my rescue inhaler (a bronchodilator that…
Smoking and Asthma
Friday, October 21st, 2011
Secondhand smoke is bad for everyone’s health, but even worse for the millions of children and adults with asthma: If you have asthma, any exposure to cigarette smoke can lead to an asthma attack, and frequent exposure to cigarette smoke can make asthma symptoms even worse.
Cigarettes “do not cause asthma, in the sense that people…
Inhibiting Allergic Reactions Without Side Effects
Friday, October 21st, 2011
The therapy centers on a special molecule the researchers designed, a heterobivalent ligand (HBL), which when introduced into a person’s bloodstream can, in essence, out-compete allergens like egg or peanut proteins in their race to attach to mast cells, a type of white blood cell that is the source of type-I hypersensitivity (that is, allergy).
“Unlike…
Plastics chemical in packaged foods linked to asthma in babies
Friday, October 21st, 2011
BPA, also known as bisphenol-A, is a chemical compound often used in the production of a large variety of plastics. The widespread use of BPA has come under public scrutiny due to known connection to a host of health problems, including heart complications, cancer, neurological issues, diabetes and fertility and sexual issues.
The chemical can be…
African-American Kids May Have More Food Allergies
Friday, October 21st, 2011
African-American children in the U.S. have a higher rate of food allergies than children of other races, and new research suggests that genetic and environmental factors may explain why.
Researchers found self-reported black race to be associated with a higher risk for all food allergies examined. Genetically verified African ancestry was significantly linked to peanut, but…
Vitamin D and Asthma
Friday, October 21st, 2011
Vitamin D deficiency and asthma are two common conditions that share risk factors such as African American ethnicity, inner–city residence and obesity. Because most published epidemiologic studies of vitamin D and asthma or asthma morbidity are observational, a recommendation for or against vitamin D supplementation as preventive or secondary treatment for asthma is currently not…
Halloween And Nut Allergies, A Scary Combination
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
The scary reality is that food allergies are becoming more and more common in the United States. In the last 10 years there has been an 18 percent increase in children with food allergies. In fact, one in 22 children has a food allergy. That means most likely there is at least one child in…
Childhood Asthma Reduces Smoking In Teenage Boys
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
A boy who has asthma is less likely to smoke as a teenager, according to a new study from Italy.
Giuseppe Verlato, an epidemiologist at the University of Verona, asked participants to recall whether they smoked between the ages of 11 and 20 and if they had suffered from asthma as young children.
They found that 49…
Egg Allergy No Longer A Reason To Avoid Getting A Flu Vaccine
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
Along with fall comes flu season, but having an egg allergy is not a reason to avoid getting the 2010-2011 flu vaccination. According to a new paper published on the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) website, recent studies show that most egg allergic individuals can receive the flu vaccine safely under the…
