Myth Busting Asthma!

[nemosmum]

Hi

I just heard that there will be a news story on channel ten news tonight at 5pm on asthma....Mybusting asthma- the truth about asthma and our children.

Should be interesting.......will definately be checking it out!

Thanks

[Miaow]

Saw this this morning and this was on Sunrise also if i remember - it may be on this ?


Dust mites, diet not linked to allergies
Wednesday Jun 28 01:01 AEST

Ridding the house of dust mites and making dietary changes does nothing to stop children developing asthma or eczema as was commonly thought.

The surprising research results prove that popular steps taken by parents to prevent the onset of allergic conditions simply don't work.

A team of Sydney researchers tracked 600 children from birth to age five to test whether avoiding dust mites in the home had any benefits.

"Basically, there wasn't any reduction in the risk of allergic disease or asthma, which was unexpected," said Dr Guy Marks, a researcher at Sydney's Woolcock Institute.

Scientists also tested the commonly held belief that boosting levels of omega-3 fatty acids in a child's diet could ward off allergic conditions.

Previous studies had shown that children who once a week ate fish, which has high doses of the special fats, were less likely than others to have asthma.

But this, too, was proven to have no preventative benefits, Dr Marks said.

"Once again we weren't able to demonstrate any beneficial effect," he said.

The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, involved children in western and south-western Sydney with a family history of asthma.

The result undermines popular beliefs and leave parents with no solid advice as to how they can protect their children, beyond the recommendation not to smoke around them.

"We're left with not having any strong evidence, apart from the avoidance of environmental tobacco smoke, about things that can be done to prevent the onset of asthma in children," Dr Marks said.

On the upside, the results prove parents should not blame themselves for failing to help their children dodge the conditions.

"Clearly, now there is no reason for people to feel that they should have been making major changes in the household."

But this does not mean asthma and eczema are purely genetic diseases, with Dr Marks saying some environmental factors very likely contribute to their onset.

"The fact is that at the moment, though, we don't know what they are, or how they affect us," he said.

More than two million Australians have asthma, with 15 per cent of children diagnosed with the condition.


©AAP 2006

_http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=109027

[kymmy]

Its 5 o'clock now in Vic.

[nemosmum]

Watched it and it wasnt much lol just saying that diet and cleaning doesnt help prevent asthma.....................great:rolleyes: well what does is what I want to know LOL

I have been recommended to give my son cod liver oil and vitamin A and D supplements to help boost the mucus membranes etc
Also have been told to take ds to a chiropracter as this helps asthma sufferers

Anyone else been given this advice? or any other natural remedies? as I hate the traditional steroid medication cure for asthma, allergies and eczema!


I have also been recently informed about how easily these steroid meds become addictive and how the body starts to crave the drugs and this is one of the reasons why we in australia have such a high rate of asthma?! Food for thought.

From personal experience i can say that yes these drugs are addictive as i have been on them since i was 16mths old.

[the_queen]

NM, I don't know any hard facts about asthma, thankfully we've never had to deal with it in our family - but the things you've mentioned (vitamin supplements, chiropractor) sound like fantastic idea's, and can't hurt DS in any way so if I was you I'd do those things. Improving overall health can only be a good thing!! Chiropractors seem to be able to work miracles, IME. It's definitely worth a try!!:thumbsup:

And I've been meaning to say, your bubba is SO CUTE, that avatar is just gorgeous, what a cheeky grin:D !!!

[jkate]

move out of sydney :D :p - the central coast is nice :D


seriously though, I am not sure of any natural remedies, but I will be watching this thread.

Hope your little boy is feeling better nemo:hugs:

[kymmy]

I have been recommended to give my son cod liver oil and vitamin A and D supplements to help boost the mucus membranes etc
Also have been told to take ds to a chiropracter as this helps asthma sufferers

I hate the traditional steroid medication cure for asthma, allergies and eczema!

I am with you nemosmum. I am very stressed atm dealing with my son's health problems - asthma, eczema and allergies.
What I want to know is how to stop the cycle :banghead: It just never ends.
We are forever trying to get it all under control...
It is so frustarting.
We have been dealing with this for 2 over years, starting with the development of the eczema. :crying:

[littlepickle]

NM - Its a difficult one hey! I have had asthma since very young and although it seems to have got a lot better since I got past puberty, all it takes is some damp weather or a cold or whatever to sart it all off again. For me, one of my biggest triggers is milk, cheese and dairy products. I think this is because they are mucus forming. I think the problem is that different sufferers have different triggers - which is a real pain as it is a bit of trial and error.
I really hope that it is not hereditory! Neither or my parents have it, one of my brothers does ... hmmmm I dont want DD to get it!:no:

[littlepickle]

And I've been meaning to say, your bubba is SO CUTE, that avatar is just gorgeous, what a cheeky grin:D !!!

I was thinking the same thing! Soo cute!:D

[nemosmum]

awwww thanks Queen and lil pickle for the compliment I'd love to take credit for that cheeky grin but unfortunately ds is a clone of dh LOL :laughing:


Lil Pickle- um sorry hun but it is hereditary bummer huh!
I am the only one in my immediate family with asthma but my mum had an uncle with it so Im assuming i got it from him....thanks LOL

DH had eczema and his mum had allergies so DS coped a double dose of bad genes, im just praying that this next bub bypasses all those allergy genes...i can dream:rolleyes:

Kymmy- I so know what your going through :hugs: , it feels very over whelming sometimes......we have tried heaps of stuff and alot of it has worked but then ds's immunity gets run down (he has gastro a couple fo weeks ago) and then suddenly the asthma is back after almost 3mths healthy! Frustrating................but im not giving up Im going to try verything and anything (natural) to help my son beat this and not have to rely on steroids to breath normally!

Still searching..........................

[kymmy]

No way am I giving up !
:fingerscrossed: i know there is something that will help him somewhere

[Mamaduke]

Jesse has asthma and has already been to Emergency twice since the beginning of June this year.
Last year his oxygen sat. levels were so low that he had to stay the night in the Short Stay Unit of the hospital...very frightening - the paed. told me had I waited 10 minutes longer to bring him in to hospital he could have been gravely ill.
After many and varied ideas from doctors & paeds. over the last year they have finally agreed that his asthma is severe enough to warrant a preventer.
He is now on a Seratide inhaler twice a day, which obviously has side effects, but for the moment we are treating the asthma and trying to avoid him having attacks.
His attacks come on very suddenly but also disappear quickly if managed properly and quickly.
The last time he was in Emergency they put him on a nebuliser which seemed to bring his levels up much quicker than the Ventolin/spacer method, yet not too many in the medical profession think the nebuliser is a better alternative...does anyone know why?
It's such a frustrating disease as everyone I speak to seems to have a different opinion on how to manage it.
Luckily for Jesse, his asthma is not caused by running around, it will always appear when he has a cold and his immune system is down...something that his paed. said is a good indication that he will probably grow out of it (just like I did).:fingerscrossed: My grandmother still swears my asthma was cured by the holy water a friend brought for me to drink from Lourdes...maybe it was!
I'm interested to know what a chiropractor could do in regards to asthma...I'm sceptical of chiropractors at the best of times, but I'm willing to try anything at the moment (which personally I think some of them have the tendency to prey on) to rid my poor little boy of this terrible disease.

[Vespera]

My DH used to get really bad asthma until we went to the Natropath and she suggest cutting out 1/3 to 2/3's of his carbs.

So far 6 months down the track and he has needed his puffer only once and hasn't had an attack.

She also put him on Fish Oil tablets daily as this is supposed to help.

If your kids already have asthma maybe its worth seeing a natropath and seeing what they say. Not sure about people wanting to stop their kids developing it tho.

Good luck :fingerscrossed:

[nemosmum]

I just found this stuff from Brauers Natural Medicines, homepathic products that you can get from selected pharmacist.

They come in a wide range from cold relief to the dry/congested cough range which my natropath told me is good when ds shows signs of the breathing problems (as he intially gets a cold and a cough/congestion and then the breathing troubles.)

Also found another product for those interested in homepathic stuff,
its called All natural for Kids, they are lollipops and they come in different types, one for colds, one for fevers, one for allergy symptoms and one for flu symptoms worth looking into as the children just suck the lollipop instead of having to take yukky meds plus they are all natural, no harmful stuff and they taste nice!

[FourAngelKisses]

Jacob was asthmatic for 4 winters, he couldn't walk the 10m from the house to the car in winter without spending the next hour or so coughing his lungs up. It was so sad because he wanted to go out in the snow to play but couldn't. :( Thankfully he outgrew it when he was 5, but I am keeping an eye on Matthew this winter. So far so good.

DH, MIL, and SILx2 are all severe asthmatics. :( For some reason, the town where I live triggers asthma and allergies in a LOT of people. People who have never had asthma or hayfever move here and they end up getting it. It's probably because of the cold weather or something. We don't have any industry here so it isn't pollution causing it.

[elissas]

In Europe they have been doing studies and have found some interesting links between asthma and exposure to chlorine.

They found that there was a direct increase in asthma in children who spent considerable time in swimming pools.

The other thing to consider is that, if it is true, our water supply is "cleaned" using chlorine, so our children are ingesting and bathing in it every day.

Perhaps a contributing factor to "epidemic" rates of asthma some medical professionals are talking about?

[jessgray]

i wasnt surprised by the myth bustings that where on the news to do with asthma. my mum had 5 kids including me and she did everything you can think of to stop asthma coz we have it on her mum's side. but 4 of us have it.
i was surprised about the part that said a very sanatised enviroment leads to eczema though.

according to the study that was on the news which this thread is about, just for all the people who are giving thier kids fish oil or taking themselves to stop asthma attacks it doesnt work. but fish oil can help give you shiny locks :D

[FourAngelKisses]

i was surprised about the part that said a very sanatised enviroment leads to eczema though.

That part doesn't surprise me at all. Because we are too clean these days, the kids immune system doesn't learn to recognise good things from bad things. So if they aren't exposed to dirt and grass, their immune systems will think it is a bad thing when they are exposed to it.

[jessgray]

i always thought eczema was an allergy related repsonse.
you cant win lol if you want a really clean home and no asthmatics you get eczema lmao

[FourAngelKisses]

I also heard that a really clean home causes asthma for the same reason. They don't get exposed to the dirt, pollens and pets etc so the body thinks those things are foreign and reacts to them.

[kymmy]

i always thought eczema was an allergy related repsonse.
you cant win lol if you want a really clean home and no asthmatics you get eczema lmao

As far as I understand with the experience with my son, there is no real answer.
My boy suffered from eczema from around his first birthday. Then this year at his 3rd birthday he was diagnosed with asthma.
It just goes around and around.
And to be honest I am dizzy....:banghead:

[nemosmum]

Well I was actually born covered in eczema (it was pretty bad till around 16mths of age) then it went away and I developed asthma.

My son started getting eczema around the 6 week mark so i dont know how far the "not exposed to dirt" theroy goes as who would expose their newborn to dirt? lol

I think its hereditary and also an allergic response(eczema) as for asthma i also think its hereditary and allergy based.

I have tried everything from day dot with ds as I have alot of allergies etc and nothing has really prevented him from having asthma episodes, however his eczema went away once we put him on a strict elimination diet and if we steer clear from certain foods...then his skin remains clear.

We are at the moment doing everything to help boost his immune system and keep him well so as he doesnt get run down and more prone to getting infections etc which seem to trigger asthma episodes (his on cod liver oil, homeopathic drops,multivitamins and of course all the natural immune boosting fruits and vegs....like Blue berries, spinach,pawpaw etc)

:fingerscrossed: all our bubs stay well this winter!

[jessgray]

this is a bit off track but i read in what to expect during the 1st year and it says babies and toddlers who get lots of repitory infections are more likely to get asthma. DS1 seems to have a repistory infection every month since start of this yr :confused: is there a test i can get for asthma?

[FourAngelKisses]

Take him to see your GP or pediatrition, they should be able to diagnose it.

[nemosmum]

My son has only had two chest infections in his whole life (2yrs) so I dont know about that one Jess.

But if he does have an asthma episode (hopefully he never will:fingerscrossed: ) but if he does you'll know, drs cant really diagnose asthma unless the child is displaying the symptoms of an attack (like wheezing, rasping breathing, tummy breathing, cough etc)

I wouldnt worry about it until it happens BUT I would suggest you boost his immunity to help keep him healthy and less prone to infections.

Good luck with it

[elissas]

A chinese doctor told me that asthma and eczema are actually the same disease - one with internalised symptoms and one with externalised symptoms.

I have a friend who is an identical twin. Both her and her sister had chronic eczema since birth. When my friend was 23 her eczema cleared up and she immediately developed asthma, which she has to this day (5 years later).

Her sister still has eczema, but has never had asthma at all.

[Illusional]

Asthma can be triggered by all kinds of home situations/hereditary/medical issues

asthma details (http://www.lungdiseasefocus.com/asthma/asthma-causes.php)

I have asthma - and my son just got diagonsed with it.. but my daughter is clear of it - but has exzema -so does my sister

[kymmy]

I have found the cold air has triggered asthma and eczema in my boy.
I feel devastated about my boy's health.

[jessgray]

i'm yet to figure out what triggers it in my ds :( we are just going through the first 24 hours of being diagnosed

[FourAngelKisses]

Cold air triggered Jacobs asthma really bad. He just had to walk the ten meters from the house to the car and he would spend the next 2hrs coughing his lungs up. :(