Des Moines project’s home visits seek root of asthma attacks

The Washington Times

By Tony Leys

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Kevin Ochoa’s family is getting unusual help in answering a vexing riddle: Why is he having so much trouble breathing?

The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/1SSfVNr ) reports that the local sixth-grader suffers severe asthma attacks, which routinely send him to the hospital. The situation is frightening, painful and expensive...

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How Antibiotics Could Be Changing Your Kids' Gut Bacteria For The Worse

LiveScience

By Agata Blaszczak Boxe

Children who take certain antibiotics called macrolides to treat an infection may experience changes in their gut bacteria, a new study suggests.

And children given more than two courses of macrolides during the first two years of life may face an increased risk of developing asthma and becoming overweight later in childhood, according to the findings...

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Early antibiotic use 'may predispose children to weight gain and asthma'

The Guardian

By Mark Tran

The use of antibiotics in young children may alter the natural populations of gut microbes in a way that leaves them predisposed to weight gain and asthma in later childhood, according to new research.

The study of 236 children aged between two and seven, with a median age of five, backs earlier research on mice and children indicating the negative consequences of early antibiotic use. Antibiotics are the most commonly used drugs in childhood populations of western countries...

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Autism risk may be increased by prenatal exposure to asthma drugs

Chicago Tribune

By Amy Norton

Children whose mothers took certain asthma drugs during pregnancy may have a slightly increased risk of autism, a new study suggests.

The study, published online Jan. 6 in Pediatrics, found a connection between autism risk and prenatal exposure to drugs called beta-agonists. They are most often used to control asthma, and include inhaled medications such as albuterol, salmeterol (Serevent) and formoterol (Foradil)...

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Understanding ‘exercise-induced asthma’ in kids

Philadelphia Inquirer

By Christopher C. Chang

1/6/2016

Although this winter has been relatively mild so far, at least on the East Coast, cold weather is inevitably going to come. When it does, how will this affect your ability to exercise? Does exercising in cold weather pose difficulties for you? Does it cause you to have wheezing, or cough, or shortness of breath? Many of our young elementary school and high school students are involved in a variety of sports activities in the winter time. What is the best way to get through the cold months?

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) or “exercise-induced asthma” is a well-established condition with strict diagnostic criteria.The diagnosis is established by changes in lung function which are provoked by exercise, and is not based on symptoms. The condition involves acute narrowing of the airway occurring as a result of exercise...

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