Posts Tagged ‘Asthma’

Do You Need a Flu Shot?

Comments: 0October 20th, 2011 by admin



Who Should Get Vaccinated

* Children between 6 months and 5 years old

* Women who will be pregnant during flu season

* People over 50

* Anyone with a chronic condition such as diabetes, asthma, heart problems or blood disorders

* Anyone with a weakened immune system from HIV/AIDS, long-term steroid treatment, or cancer treatment with X-rays or drugs

* Residents of long-term care facilities such as nursing homes

Those who work in health care, take care of elderly people or care for children up to 5 years old should also get the shot. If you have a medical condition that could cause higher risks from the flu, then you should get one too.

Everyone else needs to just assess their situation and decide. If you work in the community, live in a dorm, travel to the Southern Hemisphere between April & September or anytime to the tropics or anywhere with tour groups, then you might consider it. Anyone who wants to reduce the chances of catching or spreading the flu – go ahead and get one unless you fall into the “don’t get a shot group”.

Don’t Get Vaccinated If:

* You have any life threatening allergies

* You have a severe egg allergy (the vaccine is grown in eggs)

* You have ever had Guillain-Barre Syndrome (actually, you may be able to get one but ask your doctor first)

* You are ill at the time the vaccine is administered

Even if you get the shot, it is not 100% effective, nor does it work against all flu strains. The vaccine researchers just don’t know what kind of bug will show up every year despite their best forecasts. Only about 1/3 of the population even get the shot.

Whether you get vaccinated or not, everyone should try to avoid spreading germs. Here are 10 Easy Ways to Prevent Colds & Flu

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in flu

Understanding the Different Types of Asthma

Comments: 0July 27th, 2011 by admin



Traditionally, asthma is often classified into two types – intrinsic asthma and extrinsic asthma. However, as per the modern medical world, there can be so many different types of asthma, such as steroid-resistant asthma, occupational asthma, nocturnal asthma, exercise-induced asthma, intrinsic asthma, and allergic asthma. Besides that, doctors now use four basic classifications to determine the severity of asthma, including severe persistent, moderate persistent, mild persistent, and mild intermittent.

Allergic Asthma
More than 90% of the patients suffer from allergic asthma. This is the most common type, which can be diagnosed when asthma attacks are triggered by specific allergies. The good thing here is that such allergies are easily avoidable and identifiable if you get the treatment at the right time. So, make sure you contact your doctor immediately once you experience any such thing.

Intrinsic Asthma
This is one of the most common types of asthma that usually affect people aged 40 years and up. It does not normally occur in children. The cases where children have been affected by intrinsic asthma are rare. It is mainly caused by regular inhalation of irritating chemicals, such as cleaning products, smoke, and perfumes. It is not an easy condition to treat. Therefore, it is very important for you to be very alert and talk to your doctor about every symptom that you are experiencing and that might indicate to such problems. The basic idea is to prevent the condition from worsening.

Exercise-Induced Asthma
This is also one of the common types of asthma and it occurs usually in people who practice heavy exercises regularly. One of the important signs of this condition includes coughing fits caused by exercising heavily. So, you must monitor your coughs while you exercise. When you work out heavily, your lungs lose the necessary moisture and heat, which eventually results in asthmatic attacks and breathing difficulties.

Nocturnal Or Sleep-Related Asthma
In these types of asthma, the asthma symptoms occur in the patient during the night hours. This can be a very situation especially of children are experiencing this. You must consult your doctor immediately if you notice any such thing. Some common possible causes for nocturnal or sleep-related asthma include gastroesophageal reflux disorder, Allergens in the lowered room temperature, and Allergens in the bedroom.

Occupational Asthma
Occupational asthma has also become increasingly very common these days – probably because of the increased level of pollution in the air. These types of asthma occur by prolonged exposure to allergens or industrial chemicals. Inhalation of chemical fumes and dust is the major reason for these types of asthmatic attacks.

Steroid-Resistant Asthma
You are strongly recommended to take your medications as directed by the doctor. If you don’t take medications in time or take overdose of medications, you are always at the risk of developing a more serious condition, which is known as steroid-resistant asthma. In this case, the patient stops responding to the medications.

All these types of asthma need urgent medical assistance regardless of their severity level.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Allergy And Sinus

Is it Possible to Cure Asthma?

Comments: 0March 29th, 2010 by admin



If you are an asthma sufferer, chances are you fear the onset of another attack. After experiencing your first of many attacks, you start wondering if it is possible to cure asthma. Unfortunately, until today, scientists have not yet established if it is possible to cure the said disease.

Asthma is basically an inflammation of the air passages. Once your air passages start to constrict, you will experience the different symptoms like wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain and tightness. Asthma treatment is focused upon resolving the inflammation of the air passages. Anti-asthma medications cannot cure asthma because these simply prevent an attack from occurring and exacerbation of symptoms. The said medications are for prevention and control, not cure.

Some people say that certain herbs are possible to cure the said disease. These herbs like angelica, anise, and turmeric are like anti-asthma medications. These address the inflammation and symptoms. These remove the symptoms but not permanently. This is the reason why an herb is not a possible cure to asthma.

Is breathing treatment possible to cure asthma? There are many different breathing exercises used. Examples of these are the Pranayama breathing exercises and Buteyko method. Unfortunately, any of the breathing exercises is not possible to cure asthma. Like herbs and anti-asthma medications, breathing exercises are for control and prevention. Even if you do breathing exercises everyday, you are still at risk of experiencing an attack when you are exposed to an asthma trigger.

These natural ways to treat the said disease are effective although not one of them is possible to cure asthma. The incidence of an attack is lowered if breathing exercises are used in conjunction with anti-asthma medications. Even the use of anti-asthma medications is reduced if these natural remedies are used. But, doctors warn against using breathing exercises and herbs in place of anti-asthma medications. Since anti-asthma medications have sufficient data that establish their safety and effectiveness, asthma sufferers are advised never to stop taking these medications as prescribed.

Once you have asthma, you cannot completely get rid of the symptoms through any form of treatment. This is because once you get exposed to the trigger, you will definitely experience an attack. Therefore, the only way to get rid of the symptoms is by completely avoiding exposure to the trigger.

It is really unfortunate that like cancer, there is no cure for the said disease yet. To date, the only promising possible cure is complete non-exposure to the trigger. No asthma sufferer has done this so far. If you cannot guarantee complete non-exposure to the trigger, you always have to bring your anti-asthma medications with you in case of an asthma attack.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Allergy And Sinus

Asthma Medicines

Comments: 0November 5th, 2009 by admin



There are various medicines that are used to treat asthma. These include tablets, syrups, inhalers. Asthma medicines are given to control an asthmatic condition, this is because asthma is not curable and the treatment given is wholly to control the situation from getting worse. This disease affects the respiratory system.

It therefore affects the lungs by blocking the airways that transport air in and out of the lungs. The airways usually swell when affected and therefore sufficient air is not transported. Asthma medicines come in different forms such as tablets and inhalers. The inhalers come in two types. Preventer inhalers which is used to prevent asthmatic attack from occurring.

The inhaler is used on a regular basis as this helps to keep the airways clear of any type of congestion that would hinder the flow of air. Reliever inhalers are used during an asthmatic attack. This helps to give the patient relief. The airways are able to relax from the relief. Syrups for asthma are also available. The medication helps to bring relief to the patient. When medications are not taken regularly, the condition can become severe.

This develops slowly with time and is due to get worse. The medicine helps to maintain a level of normally in the patient. Daily medications are good for patients with severe asthma to tone down the level of attacks. While those with a mild asthma can have irregular intakes of medicine. As long as a strict follow up of this is taken, chances of attacks reduce.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Allergy And Sinus