Have you thought what your New Year’s Resolution will be this January? Tired of the same old resolutions: lose weight, get organized, start exercising? Why not get control of your allergies and asthma? Get allergy tested, and find out what the triggers are for your allergies. Once you know the triggers, you can better control your allergy symptoms. Don’t let your allergies and asthma control you — resolve to get control of them!

Have you already had allergy testing done? Share your experience!

Learn more:

• Allergy Testing
• Watch Skin Testing Being Done
• Seeing an Allergist

What happens to your asthma if you drink alcohol?

Research has been mixed with some studies showing benefit and others showing alcohol makes asthma worse. On the benefit side, alcohol may:

• Directly act on the smooth muscle of your lungs causing bronchodilation.
• Decrease airway sensitivity making triggers less irritative to your airways
• Depress your immune system and decrease antibody production

On the other hand, as many as 33% of asthmatics report developing symptoms following alcohol consumption. While a number of different alcoholic drinks caused symptoms, wine was by far the biggest culprit. While sulfites are known to trigger asthma in susceptible individuals and are in high quantities in may types of wine, other components of wine may also cause asthma exacerbations.

If you plan to have a holiday drink in celebration of the new year, you might do better with something you have had before. Make sure you know how it might affect your asthma and, as always, be prepared.

Does alcohol effect your asthma? What do you about it. Leave a comment here or go to the forum to participate in the discussion.

Happy New Year!!!

Sources

Robin Cuddy, Guohua Li. The role of alcohol in asthma: A review of clinical and experimental studies. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 19, Issue 6, October 2001.

Learn More About Asthma Research

• Do Asthma Specialists Improve Quality Care in Asthma?
• Asthma Inhaler- Can One Asthma Inhaler Treat My Asthma?
• What Is the Relationship Between Asthma and GERD?
• Find An Asthma Clinical Trial

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Are you making any New Year’s resolutions related to your asthma this year? Keeping your asthma New Year’s resolutions is no easier than any of the other resolutions you might make and according to Professor Richard Wiseman, keeping your New Year’s resolutions can be really difficult. In fact, only 12% of 700 people participating in his 2008 experiment achieved their New Year’s resolutions.

Let us know about your New Year’s resolutions and check out the following articles that will help you set and keep your asthma New Year’s resolutions:

• 5 New Year’s Resolutions For Your Asthma
• Strategies to Set and Keep Your Asthma New Year’s Resolutions
• Tell Us About Your Asthma New Year’s Resolutions

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How was your asthma control over the holidays? I hope the recent worsening of winter weather has not worsened your asthma.

There is a risk of developing shingles after getting the chicken pox vaccination but that risk is very low. A recent study showed that children who received the vaccination later were at a higher risk of developing shingles.

The first chicken pox vaccine is normally given after a child’s first birthday, and the second vaccination is given between 4 and 6 years old. The second vaccination can actually be given 3 months after the first.

The study also showed that children with asthma and developmental disorders were also at a higher risk of developing shingles.

How much time does your child spend on the internet? Why not try and turn some of that time into an educational experience for your child’s asthma?

The Quest for the Code® is an online asthma game produced by the Starlight Children’s Foundation that incorporates an an engaging story while promoting asthma knowledge. Cuba Gooding Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Kelsey Grammer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Glenn Close, Shaquille O’Nea, and General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, have all contributed to this engaging story to help kids learn how to manage their asthma.

Quest for the Code® teaches kids and teens about:

• Early warning signs and symptoms
• Identifying and avoiding asthma triggers
• Myths about asthma
• Proper use of asthma medication devices
• Long-term control medicine and quick-relief medicine
• Measuring and monitoring peak flow
• How to answer questions from peers about asthma

Study: Efficacy of Quest for the Code

According to a press release from the Starlight Foundation, a team of researchers from the University of Miami School of Medicine, led by Alan Delamater, PhD, conducted a study designed to investigate whether use of Quest for the Code could help families improve illness management, quality of life, asthma self-efficacy, and asthma knowledge.

The study targeted children ages 8 to 12 from ethnic minority background (African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Hispanic/Latino) with moderate to severe asthma.

Results showed significant improvements in child-reported asthma self-efficacy and quality of life at one month, and

improvements in self-efficacy, responsibilities, and knowledge at three months. Parents reported improved asthma symptoms at one month, and increased child responsibilities, knowledge, medication-taking, and child avoidance of triggers at three months. The 6-month assessment showed sustained improvements in self-efficacy, adherence, knowledge, child responsibilities, and symptoms.

Consumer satisfaction ratings from both children and parents were very high.

The press release also quotes school nurse Charla Dunham who hosts an asthma group every other week for children

with asthma and uses Quest for the Code to teach her children about their illness, “Quest for the Code has helped keep two frequently hospitalized children from my school out of the hospital. One student missed a large portion of the school year last year, but since we have introduced him to the game, his medical care has improved, and he has not been hospitalized since.”

Check out Quest for the Code® at the Starlight Foundation website and see if it might help your child.

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I hope everyone’s asthma stays under control and has a safe and joyful holiday.

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Good news for people with a history of a penicillin allergy — once again a penicillin skin testing extract is available on the market which help diagnose or rule out a penicillin allergy. Up to 10% of the general population reports a penicillin allergy, although only 1% actually are allergic to penicillin. Many people had a penicillin allergy many years ago, but have since outgrown it; others never had a true allergy, but experienced a non-allergic side effect from penicillin; still others experienced a non-allergic rash after taking penicillin. Pre-Pen, the brand name for the penicillin extract, is once again available after a 5 year absence due to manufacturing problems. Pre-Pen allows an allergist to help determine is a person is or isn’t allergic to penicillin, and is the ONLY standardized testing agent available for diagnosing antibiotic allergy. For many infections, penicillin and related antibiotics are some of the safest, most effective, and least expensive treatment options.

Learn more:

• Basics of Penicillin Allergy
• Taking Cephalosporins When You’re Penicillin Allergic
• How to Know if You’re Allergic to a Medication

Researchers found that taking N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, before being exposed to UV radiation protected against UV-induced oxidative stress. This reduction was measured by glutathione levels in the tissue. The implication is reducing free-radical damage to the skin will reduce the risk of melanoma.

Have you ever given your child or a loved one a Christmas gift only to find out it only made your loved one’s asthma and allergies worse?

If so or if you just don’t want to tell your child they cannot have a stuffed animal again, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s (AAFA) asthma and allergy certification program may be just what you need.

All stuffed toys that are certified asthma and allergy friendly have gone through a significant testing process to ensure these toys will not worsen asthma and allergies with not only first, but also repeated use.

In addition to testing to make sure these stuffed toys do not worsen your asthma, the AAFA tests the plush toys dyes to make sure they are not irritating. Additionally, the AAFA tests to see how allergens like dust mites accumulate in these toys and how successful routine laundering gets rid of the allergens.

A certified asthma and allergy friendly toy may make your home a little healthier this holiday season.

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