Washing dishes by hand could keep allergies at bay

The way you wash your dishes could have an effect on your children's health.A study released in the journal Pediatrics reveals that kids living in households in which dishes are washed by hand may experience fewer allergy-related illnesses. The Swedish questionnaire-based study looked at 1,029 kids aged 7 and 8 in two areas of Sweden and included questions on asthma, eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis taken from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire.


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Hand sanitizers did not cut down on asthma attacks, study finds – Chicago Tribune


Chicago Tribune

Hand sanitizers did not cut down on asthma attacks, study finds
Chicago Tribune
But in a new clinical trial, researchers found that kids at schools with a "hand hygiene" plan, including alcohol-based hand sanitizers, suffered asthma attacks just often as their peers at other schools. The findings are not, however, the final word

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Mental, Physical Health Go Hand in Hand – MedPage Today

Mental, Physical Health Go Hand in Hand
MedPage Today
Those who reported having any mental illness or a major depressive episode were more likely than others to have high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and stroke, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Mental Illness Tied to Higher Rates of Physical Problems: ReportMSN Health & Fitness
Mental illness tied to higher rates of physical problemsWSFA
Mental health and physical health are associatedExaminer.com
Medical News Today
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Asthma and Second Hand Smoke

Press reports reflect that new studies suggests kids who live with a smoker are more likely to wheeze or get asthma, providing more evidence for the link between secondhand smoke and breathing problems.

Researchers found that the biggest effect on wheeze and asthma symptoms was seen in babies and toddlers whose moms smoked while they were pregnant or soon after kids were born.

The findings don’t prove that secondhand smoke caused kids to get asthma, but they add to other research suggesting smoke exposure may trigger respiratory problems in youngsters, researchers said.

“What this really clearly demonstrates is that the research and data documenting the adverse effects of tobacco smoke exposure on children’s asthma is very strong,” said Dr. Harold J. Farber, who studies smoking exposure and asthma at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

He said kids’ lungs may be weaker when they’re exposed to smoke in the womb, and asthma drugs may not work as well in those children.

“Eliminating our children’s tobacco exposure has got to be a critical public health priority,” Farber, who wasn’t involved in the report, told Reuters Health.

Researchers from the UK analyzed more than 70 studies published between 1997 and 2011, all of which asked about smoking by parents or other household members and then tracked which kids were diagnosed with wheezing or asthma going forward.

Those studies showed that when moms smoked while they were pregnant, their kids were 28 to 52 percent more likely to wheeze, depending on the age they were assessed. The effect on asthma symptoms was greatest in babies and toddlers, who were 85 percent more likely to have asthma if they were exposed to smoke in the womb.

When moms or non-parent household members smoked, kids had up to a 70 percent higher chance of wheezing through age four, but the link to full-on asthma was less clear. The effect of maternal smoking was weakest in kids age five to 18.

There was limited data on how smoking by dads affected kids’ chances of wheezing or getting asthma, according to findings published Monday in Pediatrics.

Tricia McKeever from the University of Nottingham and her colleagues said their findings suggest that secondhand smoke has more of an influence on wheeze and asthma than researchers had previously estimated.

“Before, (secondhand smoke) was known as triggering an attack or exacerbating asthma,” said Geoffrey Fong, a tobacco researcher from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

“This study shows that secondhand smoke may cause the development of asthma,” and not just trigger attacks in kids who already have it, said Fong, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

Day camp gives kids the upper hand on asthma – The Salinas Californian

Day camp gives kids the upper hand on asthma
The Salinas Californian
To apply for the 2012 Asthma Day Camp, call Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System's Respiratory Care Department at 831-755-0782 between 8:30 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday. Cost is $55; Scholarships are ®available. Website: www.svmh.
NEED TO BREATHE: Asthma camp helps kids copeMonterey County Herald

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