Lung Diseases
Asthma
Sites for Receiving Flu Shots - [10/26/08]
Summary: The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America is providing a free service to help people with allergies or asthma find clinics that provide flu shots. The Flu Shot Finder uses zip codes and links to a database of over 35,000 flu shot clinics nationwide. Patients are provided with clinic names, phone numbers, dates, hours, and addresses of the clinics.
Comment: Over 20 million Americans have asthma, and about 50 million have allergies. Chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma or allergies can make these people especially susceptible to catching the influenza virus. By using the Flu Shot Finder it will be easy for people with these conditions to receive a flu shot. Getting a flu shot every year is important to the overall health of those with allergies or asthma.
Read article - HealthNewsDigest.com October 26, 2008
Advertisement
Patients Misunderstand Written Screening Tests - [10/14/08]
Summary: The majority of physicians require patients to answer written questions while in the waiting room to visit the doctor. However, a new survey has revealed the gap between doctors and patients in the process of answering the written questions. Because of the difference in literacy between patients and physicians, most patients are confused, or don't understand most of the questions. According to Dr. Master, one of the authors of this survey, the predominant reason for this is illiteracy.
Comment: Illiteracy is becoming more common in American which is causing great problems to physicians. Not only is there a problem with illiteracy but also with patients who are innumerate. By answering the surveys to the best of your abilities, you will receive better diagnosis or treatment of asthma.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 14, 2008
Internet Consulted More Often Than Doctors - [10/12/08]
Summary: New market research shows that over the past year more adults went to the internet to get health information than consulted a doctor. This trend may likely be the product of an increasing consumer comfort in using the web to find reliable medical information. In addition, rising costs of healthcare coverage and visits to the doctor may be adding to the preference for first looking for information online.
Comment: The impacts of this trend, as well as others, will be discussed in an online seminar entitled "Is TV Dead? How the New New Media Changes Pharmaceutical DTC Advertising". The event is scheduled for October 14th at 11am EST and October 16th at 3pm EST.
Read article - Medical News Today. October 12, 2008.
Read article - Register for the Seminar
Vitamin D Linked to Overall Health - [10/10/08]
Summary: Vitamin D has been linked to improved overall health. This vitamin affects 36 organ tissues in the body including bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and uterus tissues. It has also been linked to improving immune systems, insulin secretion, heart health, blood pressure, muscle strength, brain activity, and decreased risk of cancer. For most adults 200-600 IU of daily vitamin D is recommended, but some experts recommend up to 2000 IU daily.
Comment: Vitamin D has previously been thought to improve bone health, but this study shows that it can affect all areas of health. By increased intake of vitamin D people with asthma can experience improved health.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 10, 2008
Respiratory UPLIFT Trial Improves Lung Function - [10/10/08]
Summary: A recently conducted trial title the UPLIFT trial showed healthy sustained lung health in those with respiratory diseases for up to four years. The drug tiotropium was administered to these patients. This study proved the safety of the drug tiotropium and reduced the risk of exacerbations which declined the number of hospitalizations each year.
Comment: This new study has discovered the safety of a new drug that may lead to a cure for lung diseases. This trial that was conducted has been the largest COPD study done so far, and has proved very successful. Because most lung diseases are permanent, this trial will help improve survival rates because of the sustained lung health that was found.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 10, 2008
Hand Washing Most Effective way to Prevent Common Cold - [10/09/08]
Summary: Research has shown that taking vitamins and antioxidants are not as effective as washing your hands when it comes to preventing colds. Many have thought that taking vitamin C will protect against respiratory infections and even cancer. Antioxidants have been proved to not prevent cancer, and maybe even cause death earlier. Ways to prevent colds include frequent hand washing and not touching your face with your hands.
Comment: Common colds can sometimes take a prolonged period of time to recover from, making it important to know what can and can't prevent it. Vitamin c was thought to prevent the common cold for a while but has been recently proved very harmful in high doses. Washing hands is the most effective way to prevent the common cold.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 9, 2008
Wheezing in Children Often Misinterpreted - [10/07/08]
Summary: Wheezing in children can often be interpreted as a cold or a non-serious lung condition, but studies show that physicians often underestimate the potential asthma. Symptoms that can indicate asthma in young children include recurring wheezing, cough, chronic bronchitis, recurrent pneumonia, and a cough or wheezing with mild exercise.
Comment: Asthma can be difficult to diagnose in children, but diagnosis is important to the health of the patient. When children have asthma that goes undiagnosed they can experience more health problems. The symptoms that indicate asthma can also have other causes, so it is important for physicians and patents to analyze and look for patterns in the symptoms.
Read article - Science Daily October 7, 2008
Parental Expectations Affect Asthma in Children - [10/06/08]
Summary: Children who have parents who highly expect their children to act normally even though they have health problems are less likely to have symptoms than other children dealing with the condition. "Our findings suggest that parents' expectations and perceptions are key factors influencing how well their children's asthma is controlled, and how effectively they use medications," said Dr. Tracy Lieu, the study's senior author.
Comment: It is important to be supportive of your child's conditions or health problems, but being too protective of them may not be beneficial to their condition. Asthma is among the top reasons that children are hospitalized. Asthma can be a limiting health condition making it important to be supportive of your child.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 6, 2008
Medicare Eliminates Coverage for 10 "Reasonably Preventable" Errors - [10/02/08]
Summary: New regulations, which will take effect next Wednesday, have Medicare halting payment for 10 errors which they have deemed "conditions that could reasonably have been prevented." Expected to affect hundreds of thousands, the new rules will mostly likely not result in a major reduction in expenses.
Comment: This new decision comes on the heels of announcements by four state Medicaid organizations last year in which they eliminated 28 "never events", preventable errors, from coverage. The trend seems to be growing and could have negative ramifications for millions of Americans. Among others, healthcare professionals have begun expressing concern about the decision.
Read article - Medical News Today. October 2, 2008.
Asthma Sleep Study in Teens - [09/29/08]
Summary: Angeles Sanchez-Armengol (Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, Seville, Spain) and colleagues recently conducted a study on sleep related breathing disorders and other conditions. The concluding results were that 20 percent of 267 teenagers snored frequently or often. Those who snored were more obese than the non-snorers. They also found that sleep-related breathing conditions were often related to obesity. Those who are obese have a fat deposit on their neck, causing breathing conditions.
Comment: Well known disorders such as sleep apnoea, snoring, and sleep related breathing disorders have been very poorly researched thus far. Because conditions that are connected to obesity and poor sleeping often affect a teenager's education, it is important to diagnose and treat any sleep related conditions that are found.
Read article - Medical News TODAY September 25, 2008