Children and Asthma - Discussion

by Webmaster, All4NaturalHealth.com

Consider the most common health conditions to strike children and asthma is perhaps one of the highest on the list.

Although asthma is an ailment which can affect people of all ages, children seem to be more susceptible to the disease, perhaps by virtue of the fact that their bodies are still in the developmental phase and also less able to deal with environmental toxins.

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, figures from the American Lung Association in 2005 estimated that some 20 million Americans have asthma. Of this number, a whopping 9 million children in the US under the age of 18 suffer from asthma, according to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. Figures from this same survey provided estimates that over 4 million children in the US had to endure an asthma attack within the past 12 months.

What is perhaps even more worrying, when considering the situation of children and asthma, is the quickly escalating rates. According to statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control, the overall prevalence of asthma rose by about 75% from 1980 to 1994. However, in the same period, the rate of asthma among children aged below 5 years went up by a staggering 160%.

What can we do to arrest and beat this slide? What are factors which are contributing so greatly to the association between children and asthma prevalence?

There are a few things we can look out for. Firstly, watch out for pharmaceutical drug medications and antibiotics, because the use of these substances can actually cause asthma. In fact, even asthma drugs themselves may worsen the condition in the long run!

One particular recent study found that infants who had received antibiotics to treat a non-respiratory tract infection before they turned one had double the risk of getting asthma when they were seven years old, as compared to children who did not receive such treatment. And, the more times they received such treatment, the higher their asthma risk. This study was conducted by the University of Manitoba and McGill University in Montreal.

Then there are household chemicals, cleaning agents, air fresheners, etc, to look out for when considering the issue of children and asthma. Studies have also linked these substances to increased asthma risk.

In this regard, one specific recent long-term study, conducted by the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, had looked at over 13,000 children from before birth to the time they turned 16. It found that exposure to chemicals found in household cleaning products early on in life, including during the period of pregnancy, was linked to 41% higher risk of getting asthma by the time the kids turned seven.

How about some good habits we can adopt to help children and asthma sufferers?

One study conducted at the Columbia University discovered that, for every additional 343 trees in every square kilometer, asthma rates among children in New York aged 4 and 5 decreased by 25%. Although the reasons for the association were not clear, having a more conducive environment for children to play outdoors as well as greenery helping to clean the surrounding air were touted as possible explanations.

Amazingly, the same antibiotic study mentioned above also found that having a pet dog in the house during the first year of an infant's life actually helped to cut asthma risk - by about 50%, too! Researchers speculated that germs brought home by the dogs helped the infants' immune system to better develop and become stronger.

Read more about news, studies and research regarding asthma.

Read more information and details on news, studies and research on improving the health of children.

More information on how to deal with children and asthma risk, on areas including environmental factors; food, diet and nutrition; herbs and herbal remedies for asthma; useful nutrients and supplements on how to treat asthma; as well as alternative remedies and treatments for asthma are discussed in the other related asthma pages.

Read More: More on Asthma | Natural Health Remedies for Various Ailments and Conditions | Home Page | Site Search

Click here to learn how to obtain natural allergy and asthma relief.

Would you like to know how to overcome asthma in just one week? Click here to find out more about a powerful 100% natural treatment for asthma, sinus and allergies.

Click here for natural, herbal and homeopathic remedies for asthma.

	Get Quality Natural Health Supplements at Reasonable Prices. $5 or $10 discount for new customers
Get natural, herbal and homeopathic remedies for hundreds of health conditions and ailments. GO.

New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read. Leave a comment in the box below.

Some Related Asthma Pages

Click here for more pages and articles on Asthma.