Justines Asthma pages

                  The National Jewish Medical and Research Centre has published a report that smoking does not cause or bring on asthma. A three year study focusing on minority children in urban areas found that respiratory infections, such as colds rather than particulate matter, such as found in secondhand smoke, is responsible for triggering asthma attacks.The press release ended with some common sense advice for parents not to worry about air-pollution but pay closer attention to 'preventing and treating the real wintertime threat to their childrens health- colds and other respiratory infections.' For years the tobacco control industry attempted to fool the public into believing that smoking and second-hand smoke causes asthma. That dead end wasted millions and deflected attention from the real cause of asthma. Legitimate researches have moved on to more productive pursuits. Asthma and smoking is one of many cons that have been foisted on the public. So intent in linking all ill health with tobacco real research has suffered with neglect. Anti-tobacco owes us all a huge apology. I think personally that it's too much clean homes that maybe cause asthma and when exposed to dirty air outside asthmatics become really sensitive. (we'll maybe). Cold air, allergies, stress, asprin, exercise and infections are just a few proven causes of asthma.

Every time an asthma patient see's a Doctor his asthma should be assessed to determine if it's being properly controlled. Asthmatics symptoms change overtime and need to be constantly monitored by the Doctor to ensure that a patients asthma is under control. Asthma is a chronic disease and needs to be continually reassessed. Asthma is not a static disease, and each patient reacts differently to medication, the enviroment and different triggers that affect their asthma symptoms. My own asthma was never controlled properly (due to me smoking) and this CAN lead to lung scarring . 

  Asthma control should always be assessed at every doctors visit.

  Asthma management should always be individualised. 

  Uncontrolled asthma requires more medication. 

  A closer patient doctor partnership. 

Bleaching agents widely used in hair salons are putting hairdressers at risk of asthma. A new study claims that asthma in hairdressers is on the rise along with skin allergies. Half of the hairdressers in the study had occupational asthma. A chemical in the bleaching agents and latex gloves where thought to be the cause. I was working in my family hairdressers from I was 12yrs old and lived in a flat above it from I was a few days old until I was 2yrs. I am beginning to wonder if this was the cause of my severe asthma?

Bacteria lurking in household dust could produce chemicals that may trigger asthma and related symptoms such as wheezing. These bacterial chemicals, called endotoxins, particularly those found on bedroom floors, were linked to increased respiratory problems in adults. Researchers found a strong association between endotoxin levels and the prevalence of diagnosed asthma, asthma symptoms, asthma medication use, and wheezing. The relationships were strongest for bedroom floor and bedding dust. Households with higher concentrations had higher levels of respiratory problems. Because the bacteria can be found anywhere in the home the likely hood of their release is high. The higher levels of dust endotoxins in the home, the more asthma symptons where found by the persons living there. Exposer definately wosens asthma symptons whether the individual is allergic to them or not.

New research has found that women are uniquely disadvantaged in the breathing department and more so if they have asthma. This probably comes as no surprise but it also shows that women with asthma experience a greater intensity of breathlessness and shows why they are higher consumers of medicine than men. This may also show strenuous exercise is harder for women because they have smaller lungs. Even if the physical size of a women is taken into account it still shows smaller lungs. They also have narrower airways compared to mens and much weaker breathing muscles. Could respritory muscles weakness be a more significant factor in asthma. Well maybe. Researchers say training of these muscles may help or improve symtoms.

The older an asthmatic gets the more likely they are to suffer from other chronic conditions. ASthmatics are nearly twice as likely to suffer from at least one other chronic disease besides asthma, ranging from arthritis to osteoporosis. There is also significantly elevated risk of cancers and heart diseases also. Does asthma its self lead to these conditions or is there something else coming into play here?

Children who catch viral infections during their first year of life are prone to allergies and developing asthma. Experts believe that a viral infection may make the immune system see allergies as a threat. This then leaves children highly sensitised to an allergy which can lead to asthma attacks.

Stress linked to asthma

Emotionally stressful experiences, such as death or end of an relationship may lead to worsening asthma. Yes thats a fact.

Sometimes one of incidents can cause asthma attacks. In June 1994 in London, 640 people were rushed to hospital after having asthma attacks. Many were hayfever sufferers but most had never had an asthma attack before. A similar inccident happened in Melbourne Austraila. Scientists believed weather conditions could of cause the attacks as thunderstorms could of broken up pollen grains that caused asthma attacks.?