Asthma Healing

Q: I'm exposed to polluted air at work that worsens my asthma. What can I do to prevent this?

Q: How can I prevent coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness after exercise?

Q: My child has asthma. Shall we get rid of our cat and dog?

An estimated two million children in the U.S. with moderate to severe asthma may not be getting the care they need, making them sicker than they need to be, according to a study in a supplement to this month's edition of the journal Pediatrics.

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in painkillers such as Tylenol, may worsen breathing difficulties in people with asthma and may make it more likely for anyone to develop symptoms of asthma, according to a new study. Researchers found that daily users of the painkiller were more than twice as likely to have an asthma attack as people who did not take the drug at all.

Children who eat fruit high in vitamin C may experience less wheezing and asthma, say the authors of a large study published in the medical journal Thorax. But other experts say parents might not want to go running to the fruit stand just yet.

The trick with asthma is catching it early, especially in the very young. More than half the cases in kids under 5 go undiagnosed, and untreated asthma can make the condition worse. "Asthma is very hard to diagnose in young children," says Robert Nathan, MD, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and a member of the board of directors at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. "Infants can't tell you their chest feels tight." Therefore, parents of the youngest kids need to be especially vigilant for the early warning signs of asthma.

For people living in the older homes of the inner city, mice are an annoying fact of life. To add insult to injury, they may join cockroaches as part of the inner city asthma problem: People exposed to them are likely to develop mouse allergy, especially if they already have allergies, and allergies often go hand-in-hand with asthma.

Accolate, a popular drug used to prevent asthma attacks, may cause severe liver damage in some users, according to drugmaker AstraZeneca. To be safe, people who take the drug -- especially women -- should have regular blood tests to monitor their liver function, David Quan, PharmD, tells WebMD.

Flu season is upon us but people with asthma might not realize how much they could benefit from the flu vaccine. And it's safe for children and adults with this common condition, despite some common misperceptions.

Medical research has long sought the link between asthma and the mind. Two new studies of how our psyche can affect our breathing show that a particular type of yoga might help, but the final answer still evades us.

Your child's asthma inhaler is a lifesaver, but it makes her heart race. Well she may soon have an alternative. Researchers are now testing a drug that's already on the market for adults, to see if it can be safely used in kids under 12.

It's a deadly lack of sensitivity. One in four asthma sufferers can't tell when they're about to have an attack. They don't know they have this problem. They don't get help in time. They're much more likely to die.

Common allergy stimulants such as dust mites and pet dander may work together with respiratory viruses to make asthma worse. A new study suggests that not only are asthma sufferers more likely to get viral infections, but their chance of going in the hospital with severe asthma attacks rises dramatically if they have problems with allergies.

A common antibiotic can improve breathing in some people with asthma. And although doctors may not be ready to hand out antibiotics to everyone with asthma, researchers say this shows that an underlying bacterial infection may be tightening the airways of many asthmatics.

Regular Use Keeps Asthmatics Out of the Hospital

Melatonin, a popular sleep aid often used to treat jag lag, may worsen asthma, according to a new study. And, it doesn't seem to take much to cause an effect - even small amounts of the supplement could cause problems.

Many people suffer from serious asthma problems -- and the negative effect on their everyday life is "substantial," a new report shows.