Wow, another argument to limit TV times for our kids. Prolonged TV times has been linked to childhood obesity, poor performance at school, sleep problems, and increased blood pressure. Now it’s also been linked to asthma and wheezing!  A British study looked at more than 3000 children from birth up to their 11^th birthday. Respiratory health of the children was monitored and the parents were interviewed regarding their children’s TV watching habits and observed symptoms of wheezing.

The results showed that children who spent more than two hours in front of the TV were almost twice as likely to have asthma as those who spent less time watching TV. The gender and the weight of the children didn’t make much of a difference.

It’s not the TV itself that causes the asthma, the researchers explain. It is the time spent in front of the TV that amounts to sedentary behavior. However, the link between physical activity, sedentary behavior and asthma is not that simple and generalizations are hard to make. However, evidence from previous studies suggested that sedentary behavior can induce breathing patterns that in turn trigger developmental changes in the lungs. Physically active children, for example, tend to inhale deeply and regularly, an action that stretches the airways, making them less prone to inflammation.

The study only looked at TV time but not at other sedentary activities such as playing video games or sitting in front of the computer. In addition, it should also be noted that time spent in front of the TV is time spent indoors. Being outdoors and breathing fresh air is another way of preventing respiratory problems in children.

But the message is clear enough. We’ve been wondering why the incidence of asthma has increased dramatically during the last 20 years. We don’t have to look any further than our living room to find out why.

While many studies have shown that breastfeeding reduces the chances of children developing asthma, a new study led by a University of Alberta professor has found that eating fast food more than once or twice a week negated the benefits of breastfeeding.

Several different findings led researchers to make links between fast food and asthma, breastfeeding and asthma and all three together.

According to Dr. Anita Kozyrski, the senior author of a related article published in an international journal based in London, England, breastfeeding for too short a time was linked to a higher risk of asthma, or conversely children breastfed exclusively for 12 weeks or longer as infants had a lower risk.

This benefit, however, was seen only in children who did not eat fast food, or who only ate it occasionally.

The study suggests that the prevalence of fast food in today’s society may explain why asthma rates keep rising even though more mothers are breastfeeding. While there is no clear-cut reason for the link, researchers suggest that high fat content and salt levels may be to blame.

Kozyrskyi was recruited to the University of Alberta from the University of Manitoba to assume the position of Research Chair, Maternal Health and the Environment. Her study was conducted while at Manitoba with Dr. Allen Becker. Together, they examined 700 Manitoba children, about 250 of whom had asthma and 475 of whom did not. They noted that nutrition is only one of the many factors involved in asthma. They do, however, hope that the study will stimulate other researchers to follow up with related, more in depth research.

Other interesting research conducted by Kozyryski in the past year suggested that girls who do not drink enough milk and are overweight may be at greater risk for asthma.

She was also part of the team whose research found a link between antibiotics administered in a child’s first 12 months and an increased risk of asthma.

It’s a known fact – smoking, first or second hand – is bad for our health. It has been shown to have adverse effects such wheezing and allergies among young children.

This latest study, however, showed that second hand smoking, passive smoking, environmental smoke, whatever you call it, can cause behavioral problems in children, especially boys with asthma. Kimberly Yolton, a researcher at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center looked at data on children 6 to 12 years of age who were exposed to an average of 13 cigarettes a day. She found that male children with asthma showed increased symptoms of hyperactivity, and aggression, mood swings, depression and anxiety.

The reasons for the behavioral problems are not known. However, these findings suggest that environment, especially family environment, is a very important factor in diagnosing behavioral problems in children. It is sad, because in these days of smoke-free surroundings, more and more smoking occurs within the four walls of  the home, thus increasing children’s exposure. Sad and bad.

Are you shopping for winter clothes for your baby? And has your child ever had a rash you couldn’t work out was the cause of? Read this before you hit the shops.

In recent months, several parents of children with mysterious rashes on their necks and shoulders have been blogging about what they suspect is allergic reactions and chemical burns caused by tagless shirts and dresses.

Tagless shirts, the ones with the size and the care instructions printed on the inside of the shirt, instead of the traditional tag, have become increasingly popular recently, as they are supposedly more comfortable to wear.

But parents have been speculating that their childrens’ rashes are caused by phthalates in the ink used to print the label onto the inside of the shirt. Phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals, components of many plastics, that have garnered much bad press lately for their potential health risks. Phthalates make the plastic ink softer, and easier to print onto baby shirts. But phthalates are also reputed to be skin irritants, and have been linked to asthma and in large quantities, liver damage.

Carter’s tops have been blamed in most cases, and reportedly Carter’s have said that the problem, what they call a “rare allergic reaction,” is isolated to Fall 2007 clothing. A quick internet search reveals many cases of rashes before and after that date, caused by summer and fall clothing.

One mom blogger has photographs of her poor little daughter’s red neck she says is caused by Carter’s clothing worn this July. Another blogger needed medical attention for her daughter’s rash from a summer 2007 Carter’s dress.

And then there’s all these parents posting on a message board with tales of their children’s reactions to tagless clothes. It seems to be mainly Carter’s clothes, but Circo (sold at Target) appear to cause similar problems.

Has your child had a mysterious rash on their neck or shoulders?

I’m packing away my son’s summer clothes and thinking about what new sweaters and shirts he’ll need for his winter wardrobes, and I expect you are doing the same for your little one. I think that I’ll be looking for shirts with traditional labels, at least in shirts and pajamas he’ll wear next to his skin.

And before you scream at me, I think that’s a scummy title for a news report too.

ABC News reports that Harvard doctors seem to have found an increased risk of allergies and asthma in babies born to moms who were stressed during their pregnancies, and the effect was exacerbated by having dust mites in the mother’s houses. So, says ABC News to moms – listen up. De-stress, pronto, and clean up your filthy, bug ridden house.

Or perhaps, news reporter who wrote the title to that story, please consider other information about this study. Only 315 women – a very small amount for a scientific study – were involved in the research. The doctors noted a small (about 12%) increased risk of having a blood marker which might predict future asthma and allergies only in moms who were very stressed.

The claim that “stress causes asthma, allergies” is actually more accurately put as “some very stressed moms have babies with a blood marker which may (or may not) be an indicator of allergies and asthma in the future”.

And, the doctors who performed the preliminary study aren’t wiping their hands, satisfied they’ve placed the blame squarely on mom for baby’s ills. They plan to follow the babies born in the study for five years to see if they actually do go on to develop asthma or allergies.

I’m not advocating living in filth or becoming a stress ball while pregnant, and of course it’s generally a good idea for pregnant women, and non-pregnant women, to minimize their stress levels.

But that’s not always possible. Pregnancy is a stressful time for many – unplanned pregnancies, health worries, financial worries, insurance worries, work worries, partner worries, first time mother worries, second-third-fourth… time mother worries…. it doesn’t need to be compounded by totally unnecessary stress from stupid news reports hysterically rushing to condemn mom for her unborn babies’ potential health problems.

(Aside: my mom is the most houseproud, chilled out person I know. My younger sister is allergic to life, the universe and everything else. And asthmatic too.)

German researchers claim that having a dog in your home during your child?s infancy, reduces your child?s risk of developing allergies. Their findings were based upon a 6 year study of 9,000 children and were published in the European Respiratory Journal recently. The findings show that having a dog in the home is associated with a significantly lower level of sensitization to pollens and inhaled allergens.

Scientists admit that they aren?t totally sure how the presence of a dog would reduce the risk of allergies, but theorize that perhaps the results give credence to a theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever. Scientist believe that perhaps youngsters may get beneficial early exposure from the germs carried into the house on the animal?s fur, which helps their immune system develop.

When I came across this study recently, my husband and I joked that our dog isn?t quite up to snuff as our son has developed both allergies and asthma. Then again, we?re in the middle of home renovations which our doctor pointed out can stir up dust and mold which could cause the allergies and asthma.

So, do the negative effects of home renovation outweigh the positive effects of having a dog? Sounds like someone should research that!

A new study published in Thorax Online suggests that eating apples while pregnant may help prevent asthmas later for the babies. Researchers in the Netherlands and Scotland tracked nearly 2,000 pregnant women and found that mothers who ate apples produced children who were less likely to develop asthma and childhood wheezing than those who didn’t. They found this positive association between apples and reduced risk of asthma by tracking the pregnant women’s diet, and then later evaluating the children at five years old for wheezing, asthma, and other asthma related symptoms.

Aside from apples, there were no other consistent associations found between prenatal consumption of other healthy foods and preventing asthma in the children later in life. However, the researchers did find a lower incidence of eczema in children whose mothers consumed fish while pregnant.

So moms-to-be, fill up on the apples (and maybe fish too). Fuji apples happens to be my favorite and I’m happy to say I did eat them in abundance while pregnant. Hopefully my 8 month-old won’t inherit her Dad’s history of asthma.

Note: it is not known whether apple juice, even freshly squeezed ones, has the same effect as it was not evaluated in the study.

Moms who use more cleaning products when pregnancy have a greater change of having a child with asthma. 7-year-old children were up to 41% more likely to have wheezing or asthma if their moms used a lot of products like bleach or air freshener while pregnant.

It’s hard to resist the nesting urge, and the desire to have everything as clean as possible before baby arrives. If you have to clean, use natural products (like vinegar, and baking soda) when possible, or do things like vacuuming which don’t need chemicals.

Use your domestic energy making and freezing meals, which I wish I had done more. Instead, I had a mania for cleaning the kitchen floor, and lived off takeout and frozen pizza after my son was born.

Do the cleaning that needs to be done, then put your feet up. The best thing you can do is, instead of looking after the house, look after yourself. It’s totally chemical free. Take care of yourself mama!

Source – Medical News Today

Our fifth child is now 11 months old. I’ve been doing this parent thing for over 14 years and I thought I’d seen/done/experienced it all. I was wrong.

I’ve been lucky I guess. I have never had a child with breathing problems. We’ve dealt with autism, blindness, brain damage, handicaps, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and a whole host of other things, but we haven’t dealt with breathing problems.

One of my daughters had RSV, but it was a pretty mild version and she was fine within a week or so. One child had bronchiolitis, and although I took her to the emergency room once with the virus, she didn’t need to stay.

My son is having a difficult time of all of this. I’ve been told it’s bronchiolitis by one doctor;the ER doctor told me he was developing asthma; the family doctor told me he had viral pneumonia which might indicate a weakness which could mean he would get asthma when he became older. Frankly, I’ve given up trying to identify what “it” is. “It” is making him have trouble breathing and when he wheezes in that certain way, I know he needs a treatment.

It’s not easy containing an 11 month old, even when he or she is sick. It’s certainly not easy to immobilize one on a regular basis to give him a nebulizer treatment. I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to outsmart my 11 month old and get him to endure these treatments. It appears he is smarter than me.

While I’m hoping that no one will actually ever have to use the following information, I’m going to pass it along just in case.

I’ve discovered that the following things help in distracting my son enough in order to be able to give him a breathing treatment:

1. Schedule the treatment around nap-time, unless the medicine makes your child hyper. If treatments make your child hyper–try the other suggestions.
2. Enlist the help of an older sibling to entertain the child while you concentrate on the treatment. My older children read, sing and dance for my son. This only works for a few minutes, but, you know a few minutes is a few minutes.
3. Try using the mask or just holding the nebulizer in front of the child’s nose, depending upon your child’s mood.
4. Try the “sneaky” method. Put your child down for a nap and while he is drowsy, hold the nebulizer in front of his nose. This was suggested to me by an older mother when I went to pick up the nebulizer. Her advice has helped in a pinch.
5. Sing songs in a whisper voice in his ear. Sometimes, a child will quiet down to listen to what you are saying.
6. Finger plays make great distractions! Then again, my son is fascinated with fingers. I’ve also used finger puppets to put on plays or I’ve had his older sisters put on the plays with the puppets.
7. If your child is not allergic to animals, having a pet near him during the treatment can distract him and calm him down.
8. If all else fails, you just might have to give your child a firm bear hug and have your spouse hold the mask in front of your child’s face.

The doctor tells me that most children who need to have regular treatments eventually learn to tolerate them. Eventually is a pretty vague term though. Until then, we’ll be using the above to get us through!

It seems that the incidence of asthma in children is on the rise ? especially in low income neighborhoods in urban areas. And it`s not only pollutants and other chemicals that trigger the attacks.

The link between air pollution and asthma is well-established. However, researchers at the American Lung Association thought there may be other factors that makes people, especially in specific areas, susceptible to environmental pollutants, they therefore looked into the role that social stressors play in asthma onset.

Their results show that traffic related air pollution is a strong predictor of asthma onset, but even more so among children with previous history of violence exposure.

These findings indicate that diagnosing asthma in children shouldn`t be restricted to physical and laboratory findings only. And that for asthma management, we shouldn`t depend on medications and dietary restrictions only. The social environment in which a child lives in (family, school, neighborhood) should also be taken into consideration. Only then can we truly determine what really triggers asthma attacks.

Source:
American Lung Association. The Promise of Research. Special Edition 2008.

My son was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia when he was fifteen months old. You would think that getting a diagnosis of anything would make a parent’s heart sink, but this particular diagnosis came after several other mistaken diagnoses that turned out to be wrong: asthma, RSV, pneumonia, and plenty of other interesting theories. It also came after a four day hospitalization where the doctors spent a lot of their time scratching their heads and wondering aloud why my son wasn’t breathing like he should.

Laryngomalacia has something to do with the cartilage within the trachea, although I’m not entirely sure on all the specific details because I never went to medical school (who am I kidding…I didn’t even take anatomy class in high school). This makes my son’s breathing sound crispy whenever he gets a cold, and this crispy breathing lasts long after the cold has gone away. It was maddening before the diagnosis was actually made, because I had a bunch of doctors and specialists telling me so many different things. All I knew was that something wasn’t right.

I could have merely accepted the asthma diagnosis, but it concerned me that he was unresponsive to medicines and treatments that usually help asthmatics. Every time a doctor told me in a concerned voice that my son may have pneumonia I was polite and went along with the x-rays, but I knew that wasn’t the problem. My son’s breathing problems started when he was around three months old, so we went through this for a year before one brilliant doctor finally figured out what was the problem. It was the most frustrating year of my life.

My son will outgrow Laryngomalacia, probably when he’s around five or six years old if the doctors are right. I learned a lot from the experience though:

1. Trust your instinct. I knew he didn’t have asthma, and no matter how many doctors told me he did I kept saying there was something else going on.

2. Kids are hearty. My son wound up in the hospital, strapped to oxygen tubes and too exhausted to move. Now he’s a whirlwind of toddler activity.

3. You’re never alone. I had never heard of this condition in my life, but once I started talking to other moms about it I found that there are plenty of other kids with this condition. They all went through the same things my son did: improper diagnoses, frazzled parents, and hospitalizations.

My son is healthier this year than he was last year, and I’m hoping that each year is healthier and healthier for him until this whole debacle is nothing more than a distant memory. If your child gets this diagnosis then you can take comfort in knowing that you’re not the only one who has dealt with this, and if you’re like me you’re probably jumping for joy that a diagnosis was finally made.

Genetics and the environment play an important role in acquiring asthma. But did you know that apart from smoking, stress levels especially for women who are expecting increases their children?s risk of asthma? Not only that, mothers who are experiencing bouts of depression or anxiety heightens the possibility of children developing asthma later in life.

According to a study conducted by Canadian researchers spearheaded by Anita Kozyrskyj of the University of Manitoba in Canada, maternal distress beyond the postpartum period is associated with an increased risk of asthma in children of school-age. The group analyzed medical records of children born in Manitoba from 1995 to 2003 and likewise, gathered data on the mother?s medical history on the same period. Results show that there?s a correlation between the effects of a mother?s persistent stress and the increased risk of asthma in children as the year progresses.

Stress is a fixed hurdle to be dealt with everyday. We all experience stress. No doubt about that. Moms, especially, have to put up with quite a lot of it, ranging from household matters, career, finances, relationships, and of course, our children. We can either deal with it in a positive fashion or allow ourselves to succumb in the sad realities of depression.

Having suffered from allergic rhinitis most of my life and having required emergency care several times for allergic reactions to pain relievers and, of all things, pancakes, my husband and I have talked about what my allergies could mean for a pregnancy.

Fortunately, I was one of those whose allergies got better while I was pregnant. Pregnancy Weekly estimates that about a third of pregnant women suffer worse allergies during their pregnancies. Another third observes some, or a lot, of improvement while another third do not notice any change in frequency or severity at all.

However, I was not exempted from suffering from non-allergic rhinitis, which most pregnant women experience around the first trimester, when pregnancy hormones are at its peak. At least, it was only mild nasal congestion and not the runny nose, watery eyes and migraine headache type of rhinitis that usually besets me. Imagine having to deal with that while also dealing with all the other pregnancy symptoms!

But what does one really have to keep in mind about allergies during a pregnancy?

Regardless of whether one’s allergies have improved or not, authorities would always advise that you inform your doctor/midwife of your allergy history. Managing allergies during pregnancy is more than possible, it is also very doable. One may not possibly avoid all the triggers but keeping your surroundings clean, from your home to your office desk, is a good start. Use of hand held vacuums will not be backbreaking for the infanticipating mother but will also usually take care of dust and dander.

Minimizing intake of foods that commonly cause allergies, like dairy products and seafood, may also be beneficial provided that a pregnant mother still gets all her caloric requirements and finds other sources for calcium, protein and other minerals. Highly allergic mothers, however, should probably consider avoiding these foods altogether during the pregnancy but should only do so with the supervision of their OB especially since they may require supplements.

Minimizing stress through better time management, task delegation, adoption of calming hobbies, yoga and regular exercise, if allowed by the doctor, will also boost the immune system. Carrying allergy cards, or allergy translation cards when travelling, may also come in handy in case of emergencies where the mother cannot provide an allergy history or other pertinent information.

Although pregnant women are discouraged from taking drugs unless absolutely necessary and without the okay of their doctor, it is also imperative that allergy sufferers do not unnecessarily compromise their bodies, and therefore, their babies. Compromise happens when the allergy gets so bad that one cannot eat or sleep or function properly anymore. Untreated asthma may also result in high blood pressure, toxemia or premature delivery. Given that pregnancy hormones may aggravate allergic reactions, one should also be on the lookout for possible anaphylaxis.

Treatments for rhinitis like nasal saline, antihistamines and decongestants can go a long way in providing relief for the pregnant mom. Asthma medications’ risks to the fetus are also lower compared to the risks of an uncontrolled asthma.

Pregnant women and their partners, should know the fastest way to the hospital in case of an allergy emergency. Lastly, pregnant highly-allergic women should also follow my doctor’s advice and have a slip ready bearing “strong history of allergy” upon admission for the delivery to forewarn the medical staff.

Managing allergies requires a lot of caution and managing allergies while pregnant will require a more constant kind of vigilance. But again, managing allergies during pregnancy is possible and very doable.