Breathe a big sigh of relief – another flu season has come and gone. For people with asthma, the flu represents a seriously threatening illness. Our airways are already compromised from asthma. The flu can send us spiraling out of control quite quickly.

That’s why so many health experts recommend that people with asthma get an annual flu shot. We’re considered to be part of the “high risk” group. Getting a flu shot is a no-brainer, no pain way to stay healthy during flu season. I don’t know why anyone who has asthma wouldn’t get a flu shot.

But lots of us are NOT getting them, according to a recent article in the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (June 20th issue). The Healthy People 2010 project has set a goal that 60% of high risk people will get their annual flu shot. In 2005-2006, only 36.2% of adults in the high risk group of asthma got the shots. That’s not too good, is it?

You may recall that we have frequently had shortages of flu vaccine in the last few flu seasons. So I suppose that could account for some of the poor showing. But I doubt that’s all of it. Other reasons might be the cost (I spent nearly $30 this past year!), or not having access to flu clinics or a doctor, especially in rural or remote areas.

I wonder, though, how many people with asthma fail to get vaccinated against the flu simply because they don’t know it’s important. I urge all of my fellow healthcare professionals to be be diligent in recommending the flu shot, beginning early in the autumn and on into January or February, which is still not too late. For my fellow asthma sufferers, please consider getting your flu shot this coming fall!

Yes, it hurts a little, especially if you’re a “baby” about needles like me. But, it’s over in a flash, and NO, it cannot give you the flu, since the vaccine is made from dead virus only. As for the cost, it’s a lot less than the value of your lost time, lost work hours or lost school time, believe me. Plus, who doesn’t want to stay healthy and asthma-symptom free year-round?

Masks for California Wildfire Pollution

As I write this, more than 12,500 firefighters are battling 1,088 fires across Northern California - and windy weather over the weekend could make the situation even worse.

“It is increasing almost hourly,” said Carol Jolley of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as reported by USA Today. “We have so many fires… There’s a logistical problem just getting to them.”

The fires have consumed 159,000 acres so far.

A 100-mile endurance foot race in Northern California had to be cancelled because of air pollution.

“I’ve been working for this agency for 22 years, and I’ve never seen a level of pollution this high,” said Andy Goodrich, director of the Air Quality Management Division of the Washoe District Health Department in Reno.

Residents in polluted areas are urged to limit outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible.

Christina Ragsdale, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said, “We’ve got more than 1,000 fires burning. No matter what direction the wind is blowing, we’re going to be getting some smoke from the fires.”

If you live in an area affected by the fires, wear a mask if you must go outdoors, especially if you have a respiratory condition like asthma.

Air purifiers will eliminate polluted air if it’s getting inside your home or office.

Dyson DC25 Vacuum Review

I hate vacuuming. My girlfriend has two long-haired cats, and the hair gets everywhere. (And, yes, I am allergic.)

We’ve had an older Dyson DC14 Animal vacuum for the past couple of years, but I recently got the chance to try out a new Dyson DC25 vacuum. It was great! It was so much lighter than the Dyson Animal - without any loss of suction.

The Dyson DC25 vacuum is only 16 pounds, and it has The Ball technology exclusive to Dyson, so it offers unprecented cleaning reach. I thoroughly vacuumed every inch of the carpet without having to move furniture or even strain my wrist. The ball allows the vacuum to tilt and twist like some sort of enlightened yogi vac. It even cleans that little crevice right next to the wall - amazing edge cleaning. The Dyson DC25 vacuum almost makes vacuuming fun.

Atlanta Journal Constitution Reviews Allergy Armor Pillow Covers

A team of Atlanta Journal Constitution readers reviewed our Allergy Armor Ultra pillow covers in the Better Health section of the June 18 newspaper.

Robby Cantrell of Cumming, GA, said, “After using Allergy Armor pillowcases for a few nights, it was hard for me to know if the pillowcase had really done much. So when I mentioned my inability to really rate the product to my wife, she informed me that during allergy season I tend to breathe hard or snore, but since using the pillowcase, all of that has stopped.”

Note that it takes more than a few days for an Allergy Armor pillow cover to drastically reduce the dust mite population in your pillow; it normally takes two weeks to a month. When you zip up the pillow cover, you trap any dust mites inside and cut them off from their food supply (which is primarily your dead skin).

We also recommend that you use an Allergy Armor mattress cover in conjunction with the pillow cover for complete protection. See How to Allergy-Proof Your Bedroom to learn more.

Another reviewer, Kristine Galinis of Atlanta, GA, was not experiencing any allergy symptoms at the time of the review, and she normally suffers from seasonal allergies only during the spring, but she “will continue to use [the pillow cover] in hopes of preventing or taming any future allergy-related problems.”

The final reviewer, Rosalyn Jordan of Fayetteville, GA, slept directly on the pillow cover instead of placing her regular pillowcase over the Allergy Armor cover, and she complained that it was hard to adjust against her head. She also compared it to sleeping on a polyester leisure suit. The pillow cover is indeed made from microfiber polyester, but when used properly, it is imperceptible beneath your regular pillowcase.

Most people don’t like taking asthma medicine, even if they know it is helping them. I know I don’t. After all, asthma medicine is expensive and it seems “unnatural” to put man-made chemicals into our bodies. Especially since so many medicines have side effects.

For those reasons, many of us look for “natural” alternatives to treating asthma. Unfortunately, so-called natural approaches don’t really work, despite wild claims you may hear. But how are you to know what works and what doesn’t?

Probably the best way is to visit our Alternative Medicine site here on About.com, where Cathy Wong cuts through the chaff to tell you what alternative treatments work best in relieving asthma symptoms. Cathy discusses special breathing techniques, use of supplements and more. She’ll even teach you 5 Tips on Being a Smart Consumer, so that you don’t get burned by some quack approach.

But I’ve also found a promising new website called RVita.com. I say “promising” because I don’t think there’s a whole lot there yet. But I do like how the site is set up and hopefully, over time, they’re going to develop their content more. Their promotional materials say that they’ll help in “separating the science from the snake oil.” Key features on the site include:

• A basic overview of conditions and remedies (the asthma one was adequate)
• Tables comparing therapies’ effectiveness, compiled using scientific data derived from Natural Standard (a leading resource in integrative medicine)
• Recommended treatments based on the experience of the site’s medical advisers and consumers, expert reviews, blog posts, articles, links to trusted practitioners, practitioner Q&A, and the latest news

By using these tools, you can compare treatments , gather information, and make more informed decisions about alternative treatments. I’ll monitor this site over time and give you more feedback. But, for now, it looks as though you may be able to use it as one tool to gather information.

In previous posts on this blog, I’ve covered the forced switch from the traditional CFC inhalers to the newer, supposedly more environmentally-friendly HFA inhalers. It’s all about the propellants in your inhalers and what they might be doing to the ozone layer. I’ve polled you more than once to get increased clarity on asthma sufferers’ issues with the switch and I’ve tried to educate you on how to get the most out of the new inhalers, since we’re not going to have any choice about using them by the end of 2008.

But recently, I discovered a blog by a practicing physician named Dr. Matthew Mintz. Dr. Mintz blogs about a wide variety of healthcare issues, but unsurprisingly, he’s devoted a few posts lately to issues relevant to people with asthma. One of them deals with the CFC to HFA issue in quite a bit of detail. I highly recommend you take a look:

Read Dr. Mintz’ post here

Asthma has been growing by leaps and bounds the last couple of decades. So, scientists have been looking for answers as to why. Many theories have been proposed, including the modern Western diet, which tends to be lower in the intake of dietary antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, than in previous times.

One way we can test theories is to conduct research, but that can require a lot of time and resources. So, another way that scientists gather information is by studying the results of previous studies from a different perspective. Often, many different studies are analyzed. This is called a retrospective analysis.

This was the method used recently in a new study to try to gather information about diet and asthma risk. Here are the highlights:

• 10 studies involving 13,000 people were used
• Dietary vitamin intake was compared with asthma rates and lung function
• Analysis did not show a significant link between intake of vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene and risk of developing asthma
• Higher intake of vitamin C DID seem to be linked to better lung function

Researchers concluded that modern diet did not appear to be a factor in the risk for developing the asthma. They went on to suggest that the importance of vitamins C & E to ameliorating or avoiding disease might have been inflated, and that other factors that are as yet unrecognized might actually be having a greater impact.

Learn More:

• Risk Factors for Asthma
• How Asthma Is Diagnosed
• Asthma Effects on Lungs

No pregnant woman would ever want to take a medication that might hurt her unborn child. However, sometimes medications are needed during pregnancy, especially for asthma and allergies. The most common mistake a pregnant asthmatic can make is to stop all of her asthma medications, thinking that this is the safe thing to do for the baby. In most cases, the risks of untreated asthma in a pregnant woman are far worse (to the mother and to the unborn child) than the small risks of taking most asthma medicines.

Learn more:

• Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma during Pregnancy
• Safety of Asthma Medicines in Pregnancy
• Safety of Allergy Medicines in Pregnancy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with persistentallergic rhinitis — better known as hay fever — may experience aprogressive worsening of nasal airflow depending on how long theyhave the disorder, according to Italian researchers.

Dr. Giorgio Ciprandi, of Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria SanMartino, Genoa, Italy, and colleagues assessed nasal function(i.e., nasal airflow) in 100 patients with persistent allergicrhinitis. Half the patients had short-term rhinitis (not more than2 years) and half were long-term sufferers (rhinitis of at least 6years’ duration).

Those with long-term rhinitis had significantly lower nasalairflow values than those with short-term rhinitis; the averageairflow rates were 348 versus 466 milliliters per second, the teamreports in the medical journal Otolaryngology-Head and NeckSurgery.

LONDON (Reuters) - Soul singer Amy Winehouse hasdeveloped the lung condition emphysema and has been warned bydoctors that she will die if she continues smoking drugs, herfather said in an interview on Sunday.

Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leavessufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughterhad series of health checks in hospital.

“The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs itwon’t just ruin her voice, it will kill her,” he was quoted assaying in the Sunday Mirror. “The doctors have said that if she hadcontinued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid– she wouldn’t have been able to breathe.”