Monday, January 26, 2009

Why are doctors so stubborn with asthma relief?

What they don't know can hurt you.
Many asthma sufferers are starting to notice that there is more choice available than going from one inhaler to the next. A lot of research is currently being carried out regarding alternative forms of dealing with asthma relief. Unfortunately most doctors don't want anything to do with them.
But doctors are only partly to blame for this ignorance. True, there are doctors who do NOT like being told about alternative forms of treatment for asthma relief, especially by patients. These doctors are in the possession of a certain 'I am God', syndrome, and if that sounds familiar to you then you have my condolences. But not all doctors can be bad! There must be more to it than that. Oh, there is. For a start medical schools don't teach student doctors about alternative remedies, so your doctor wouldn't know what you were talking (or waffling) about. Then you have the AMA (American medical association) AND the pharmaceutical industry mounting a virtual witch hunt against all kinds of treatment they don't particularly agree with (and it seems that those treatments they don't agree with are the ones they don't receive any money for). Don't forget that your illness is big business. But wait, there's more. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is a body that regulates and approves all drug treatments in the United States, but as most alternative methods aren't covered by the FDA they aren't approved. Doctors are not permitted to administer any treatment that isn't approved by the FDA. In fact, doctors can have their licenses taken away from them, or they can be fined heavily if the system decides that they are not towing the line. Doctors can also lose the right to see patients in hospitals too. So you see, you might think your doctor is being pig-headed, arrogant and narrow-minded, but it could be he's just looking out for number one.
But it isn't all doom and gloom. With the advent of a new generation of younger, more open minded doctor, alternative treatments for asthma Relief
are being taken more seriously. Albeit very, very slowly. Experts predict that within some twenty years alternative forms of curing patients will be mainstream, common practice. But that's not much good to you now, is it?
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Is it me or is asthma in children becoming more frequent?

An increasing menace.
Go to any school in the United States or Europe these days and along with the mobile phones and gameboys, you will almost certainly find asthma inhalers. So why is asthma in children becoming so widespread? If we remember that asthma is a genetic disease that our forebears could have developed, it doesn't take a genius to work out that something has changed over the years. Studies show that there are various factors involved and none of them are good.
While pollution still hasn't been found to cause asthma, it has increased at the same rate and it does make the symptoms worse. There is an organization called the EPA which daily checks the quality of the air all over the United States. This data is then published in newspapers, on the internet and radio and TV. Look for the AQI, or air quality index in the weather sections. This uses a scale from 0 to 500. When it is more than 100 the air is considered to be unsafe. Pollution levels are also connected to the ozone layer. This used to be big news but the media seems to have gotten a bit bored of it recently, so it is not in the news much. But the problem is still there, which is why pollution levels are higher when it is hotter.
Another alarming study shows that children are smoking younger and younger than ever. This is the result of advertising, fashion, bad parenting, lax law enforcement, but pass every school and you'll get fifteen year old girls and boys with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. This didn't happen in the past, but back then children didn't have the money to buy cigarettes in the first place. These are just two factors in the increase of asthma in children, but there are more.
Smoking during pregnancy causes asthma in children, along with lots of other health problems. Why it hasn't been made illegal I don't know. But perhaps the most surprising reason for asthma in children is hygiene. Because we are more concerned with the cleanliness of our homes and children than we were a century ago, our immune systems are not as properly developed as they should be. In the past, with dirt all over the place and bacteria rampant, our immune systems had to be stronger. We should also take into account the vast number of cleaning products available these days. All are full of toxic chemicals that are known to trigger asthma attacks. Hell, you can even make bombs out of some of them! If you want a really clean home, then the first things to throw away are the cleaning products. The best cleaning products on the market today are good old-fashioned sodium bicarbonate and vinegar! These are just some of the reasons why asthma in Children
has grown so much over recent years. The question now is what do we do to reverse them?
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Finding the most effective asthma treatment

Know what asthma treatment is the right one.
Let's imagine that your child has just been diagnosed as having asthma. After the initial shock has passed, the first thing you will have to start thinking about the best possible asthma treatment available. No, that's the second thing. The first thing you have to do is stop panicking. With the right treatment and armed with the right knowledge, your child will be able to have a normal, happy life with their asthma under control.
Now, what types of asthma treatment are there? Your doctor will most certainly show you two kinds; relievers and preventers. Everybody who has asthma has a reliever. It is the typical inhaler that is becoming extremely popular in most schools. Did I say extremely popular? Make that alarmingly popular. You can tell that asthma is reaching record levels just by the number of reliever inhalers you see at schools these days. As their name suggests, the job of the reliever is to relieve each and every asthma symptom. There are side effects, though. Muscle shakes could occur, or the heart beat could increase.
Preventers are also inhalers but these aren't so much for attacks but to help to control the swelling and inflammation in the airways. They also make the airways less susceptible to asthma triggers (pollution, for example). They have to be taken every day because the aim of the preventer is to build up a protective effect in the sufferer. You can easily distinguish preventers from relievers by their color. Relievers are blue whereas preventers can be orange, brown or red. Although preventers contain a type of artificial steroid found naturally in the body called Cortisone, your kids are not going to develop huge muscles. It has nothing to do with anabolic steroids. What could occur is that the user might get a small mouth infection which is known as thrush.
Other known side effects of Cortisone are stunted growth, weight gain, and infections are allowed to spread which wouldn't otherwise. In some cases death (the worst side effect) occurs if the medication is stopped very abruptly. Not something you'd want to give your child, now is it?
As well as having the same side effects as the reliever, preventers can also cause cataracts, diabetes, and mood swings. All in all these asthma treatment
are probably not the best thing for your kids to be taking, but there do exist other free, reliable, and above all safe methods of preventing and even eliminating asthma.
To Learn More Visit Cure Your Asthma In Just One Week

Thursday, January 8, 2009

A typical asthma symptom

What are asthma symptoms?
The main problem with diagnosing asthma is that the typical asthma symptom can easily be confused with a common cold or flu virus. If you suspect yourself or your child to be displaying one of the following symptoms, go straight to your doctor. It's amazing how many people don't bother making an appointment with their GP, preferring to put it down to 'just a cold'. DON'T! This is a big mistake and can have serious repercussions, especially for children. You can risk anything you want, but never your child's health.
As is per usual, a typical asthma symptom in one person can vary to another. But there are specific things we can look out for. Wheezing, which is when you breathe with a whistling sound, might well be an indicator of asthma. If this happens to you or your child during the night, after doing exercise or while suffering from a cold it could mean that asthma is developing. It could also mean you are suffering from a viral lung infection, so get it checked out straight away. Remember though, that not all asthma sufferers have to endure wheezing.
Does your child have a persistent cough that just will not go away? Again, it could be nothing or it could be an asthma symptom, so don't risk it. A very common asthma symptom is finding it difficult to breathe or the feeling of breathlessness. If your child also complains or a tightness in the chest then this could well be an indicator. Remember that younger children aren't much good at anatomy, so they could say they have a stomach ache when really the problem is higher up. When in doubt what do you do? Exactly, take junior to the doctor.
Children are famous for wanting cuddles, and quite often they say they 'need' to be carried. However, if on occasions they seem more earnest than usual (but don't forget they are extremely good actors) you might want to check it out just to put your mind at ease. The feeling of being tired is another asthma symptom.
If you suspect your child might be developing asthma, or when your child is showing an asthma sumptom
, (or any symptom for that matter) try keeping a note of anything (or a combination of different elements) that is present on these occasions. You may be able to notice patterns and identify what is triggering their asthma
, and this will be a great help when you tell the doctor.
To Learn More Visit Cure Your Asthma In Just One Week

Friday, January 2, 2009

Is asthma another reason to quit smoking?

Do away with cigarettes before they do away with you
If ever you needed a good reason to stop smoking, developing asthma would be the most dramatic and unfortunate. We all know that smoking causes cancer of the lungs, chronic bronchitis and will also complicate viral infections. For the asthma sufferer the effects are ten fold. A person who is allergic to peanuts doesn't eat peanut butter for breakfast every morning, and if you have or develop asthma the cigarettes should be the first things thrown out the window.
The smoke we inhale from a cigarette is full of pollutants and nasty chemicals. These can cause an allergic effect to occur in an asthma patient, causing the lining of their throat to inflame and make breathing extremely difficult.
Even if the asthma patient doesn't smoke, the effects of passive smoking can often be just as bad. Why do you think that smoking is forbidden on planes and other forms of public transport in practically every country? At least the governments are beginning to listen to the doctors and introduce new laws. But that doesn't stop people smoking in their own homes (and for the foreseeable future won't). It has also been proved that parents who smoke will have children who start the habit. Charity begins at home but so does good health education, it seems.
Making the decision to stop smoking is probably one of the best ideas you'll ever have, but unfortunately it is also one of most difficult to accomplish. Don't try to stop smoking on your own. Nine out of ten times you will fail. Go to see your doctor who will be more than happy to advise you on the best course of action. These days there are plenty of methods available, from patches to chewing gum, and with a little sacrifice and a lot of patience you can be able to beat nicotine. Thousands already have, so why should you be any different?
Make sure that there is plenty of fresh air circulating in your home, but take care you're not living near any points of dense pollution. Make your house a smoke free zone by not allowing any guests to smoke. Offer them some sweets or even a nicotine patch instead. Remember that children are much more susceptible to cigarette smoke than adults. Be informed about asthma
and how new approaches can protect them in a smoky environment, and even make their asthma to disappear!
To Learn More Visit Cure Your Asthma In Just One Week