Asthma Treatment Today
Asthma Patients Are Over-Prescribed Antibiotics
Asthma treatment often results in unnecessary antibiotics being prescribed to children, says a new study.
One in six children with asthma are prescribed roughly 1 million unnecessary antibiotics to US children with asthma. Another study published in the same issue of the journal Pediatrics noted the similarities between the United States’ over-medication and Belgium, where children with asthma were found to be nearly twice as likely as other children to receive an antibiotic.
“You must have a good reason to prescribe both an asthma drug and an antibiotic,” study author Dr. Kris De Boeck of the University Hospital of Leuven told Reuters Health.
The “overuse” and “incorrect use” of antibiotics will “put pressure on bacteria and drive them to develop survival strategies,” which could prompt new drug-resistant bacteria to emerge, added De Boeck.
For the study, Dr. Ian M. Paul at Penn State Colelge of Medicine and his team examined information collected as part of national surveys about US doctor’s visits. They looked at more than 60 million visits involving children with asthma that had no symptoms presenting suggesting the use of an antibiotic. In one in six of those visits, the children received a prescription for an antibiotic.
De Boeck’s study involved a database from the insurer that covers over 40 percent of the Belgian population and found that 75 percent of children who received asthma drugs also got an antibiotic, which occurred in less than 40 percent of kids who were not given any drugs to treat asthma.
Many doctors are likely offering antibiotics “out of fear, out of habit,” wrote De Boeck in an email to Reuters Health.
“Some physicians state that parents do not want to leave the consultation room before they get a medicine.”
Bacteria May Have Role in Asthma
People with severe asthma are more likely to have antibodies against the disease-causing bacteria Chlamydia pneumoniae than the general population and in some cases antibiotic treatment can greatly improve symptoms according to research presented today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“We conclude that a subset of severe asthmatics harbor infectious C. pneumoniae in their lungs, resulting in antibody production and increased asthma severity,” says Eduard Drizik of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who presented the study.
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, whose causes are not completely understood, affecting over 300 million people worldwide, including almost 24 million American children and adults. There is no cure for asthma and the disease is managed by controlling disease symptoms. The recognition that asthma pathogenesis involves chronic inflammation has led to a flurry of studies exploring the prevalence of various infectious organisms in the asthmatic condition.
Having previously demonstrated an increased prevalence of C. pneumoniae in the lungs of children and adults with asthma, the researchers conducted a study designed to determine if the presence of Chlamydia-specific antibodies could predict asthma severity and if these antibody-positive patients would benefit from treatment with antibiotics.
“The data revealed a statistically significant link between Chlamydia-specific IgE antibody production and the severity of asthma,” says Drizik. “Of the asthma patients analyzed, 55% had Chlamydia-specific IgE antibodies in their lungs compared to 12% of blood donor controls.”
Moreover, patients who were treated on the basis of asthma severity with antibiotics had significant improvements in asthma symptoms and some even experienced a complete abolition of these symptoms.
“Physicians should therefore fully explore the involvement of microbes in difficult to treat asthma cases, since there might be a cure for some types of asthma after all,” says Drizik.
Medical Advances in the Treatment for Asthma
Medical Advances in the Treatment for Asthma, have advanced so positively in the last 10 to 15 years. The treatment is now so effective that some of the world’s top sports star play sport at the highest level, but at the same time need to take preventive medication to suppress and stop any chance of an Asthma attack.
Some of the current inhalers are so beneficial all one does is take a micro dose inhalation maybe one – two or three times a day, that’s it you get on my life and work and exercise with no side effects.
Plus once you know your prescription as prescribed by a bona fide medical practitioner and/or doctor you now have the option to buy the Asthma medication you need online. Some remedies for the treatment of Asthma are – Homeopathic Spray – Respitrol Oral Drops – Asthma Home Remedies.
One of our work colleagues suffers from Asthma and they tried out the Homeopathic Spray and they found the treatment very effective, the explained the results to their doctor and he concurred no they just use the Homeopathic Spray.
Medical Advances in the Treatment for Asthma are so intrusive and effective now in 2011.
Rise in mercury, dust can trigger asthma attacks
GURGAON: Frequent fluctuation in temperature, dust storms and exposure to grain dust can trigger asthma attack especially during this time of the year. City doctors said that the frequency of asthma attack can go up by 25-30%.
Experts warned that asthma is often wrongly diagnosed as a seasonal cough or cold. This, in turn, leads to a large percentage of patients missing out on proper treatment that can result in a full blown asthma attack.
According to Dr Sushil Upadhyay, Sr Consultant Pulmonology at Artemis Health Institute, “With a change in season, there is a 50% rise in the number of patients who come with asthma or allergy symptoms. Every year, around 10-15% of new asthma cases are reported around this time period.”
As per the doctors, these symptoms may vary with time and also from individual to individual. Doctors also advise that one should look out for warning signals for first timers to prevent an attack. “Patients might experience breathlessness, wheezing and tightness in the chest. A few people may experience episodic coughing which is severe during early morning and late night,” added Dr Upadhyay.
Doctors also advise that patients who have a history of asthmatic attacks must take preventive measures to stay in good health. “People with asthmatic tendencies should avoid a sudden change in temperature like directly stepping into the sun from an air conditioned room or vice versa. One should stand in the shade for some time after coming out of a cool place into the sun and/or switch off the car air conditioner a couple of minutes before reaching office, so that the temperature change is gradual,” said Dr Vivek Singh, consultant pulmonologist at Colombia Asia hospital.
The other seasonal problems at this time of the year include those like allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and allergic asthma. “These differ from patient to patient. While some have a runny nose, others have red, watery, itchy eyes coupled with breathing problems,” said Dr Nevin Kishor, senior consultant, Pulmonology, Max Hospital, Gurgaon.