Injectable prescription medicine may prevent asthma from worsening during fall
According to a new study asthma medication omalizumab can prevent asthma in children from worsening in the fall, that time of year when sometimes usually are usually worsening due to respiratory infections.
The study included children and adolescents residing in inner city areas with persistent asthma. The medication had also lessened the number of days children had asthma symptoms and decreased the need for additional medications.
Currently this medication is being used for adults and adolescents with severe asthma when other treatments have not worked. This new study revealed that this drug benefits children as young as six with both severe and less forms of asthma.
The studies new data brings up the possibility that this medication may be used for short time spans of just before fall and during fall epidemic season.
Dr. Suzanne Steinbach, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine stated during fall is when children are exposed to an attack of respiratory viruses including colds as they return to school which can increase asthma attacks. Cold temperatures along with mold and pollen in the air could also trigger asthma. The medication would be given as an additional treatment.
Next year, researchers are planning to conduct a study would expressly examine if giving omalizumab one month prior to the start of school and for four months during the fall would decrease asthma flare ups according to Dr. William Busse, allergy and immunology researcher at University of Wisconsin Madison and researcher for this study.
Allergic asthma in the city
Participants in the study had allergic asthma, one of the most usual forms of asthma. Over half of the 20 million Americans who have asthma have this form according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. In patients with allergic asthma symptoms are set off by allergens which include dust and pollen. The airways become inflamed which can end up in coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing and other symptoms.
Children in the inner city are at high risk for asthma due to the environment be filled with triggers that include allergens from dust mites, cockroaches and rodents.
Researchers studied 419 children and adolescents from eight cities in the United States. Participants ages ranged from six to twenty and had moderate to severe asthma. Symptoms were continual (symptoms occurred more than twice weekly and hindered activities and sleep). Some of the children in the study had been hospitalized or were seen in the emergency room for their asthma regardless of attempts to control their disease.
Participants at random at received either an injection with omalizumab or placebo every two or four weeks for a duration of sixty weeks.
Among the participants who had taken the medication had a 25% decrease in the number of days they had endured symptoms in comparison to those who had taken a placebo. In addition they also had 30% less asthma attacks and 75% decrease in hospitalizations.
Those who had taken the placebo had an increase of symptoms in the fall while those on the medication did not.
The conclusions of the study had given insight to what particularly is responsible for the increase of asthma attacks in the fall according to Dr. Busse.
According to Dr. Busse, two weeks after returning to school, kids are in the emergency room and hospitalized for asthma greatly increases, this occurs each year.
The conclusions from the study suggest allergies and viruses combine somehow to bring about the episodes. In order to reduce the flare ups the colds are not prevented but we stop the colds from going into asthma attacks states Dr. Busse.
In conclusion Dr. Busse states more research is required to see who would benefit the greatest from this medication especially due to its expense of about $1,000 a month.
An increasing number of parents are now turning to alternative treatments for their children's asthma, besides the high cost of prescriptions there are many issues involved in these treatments. Long term use of steroids and other medications can have side effects that a great number of families would like to avoid. The common side effects include sleep disruption and hyperactivity.
Chiropractic care provides a safe, natural, gentle and drug free treatments. Chiropractors can determine if a subluxation is the cause of the asthma. The lungs and diaphragm which is responsible for breathing and ability to function correctly is controlled by the nervous system. If there is an interference or irritation in the nervous system, the lungs will not function properly. Adjustments given by the chiropractor can relieve any pressure or stress the nervous system is under most of the time. Once alleviated the lungs once more can function properly.
Chiropractic care results in the nervous system operating more efficiently and also boosts the immune system along with maintaining good health of the child. This is very important for children who are more apt to attacks when they have a cold or something more serious such as a respiratory infection.
Chiropractic care cannot put an end to all incidents of childhood asthma. Regular adjustments have provided children with improvement in their asthma. There have been numerous studies in the last few years that demonstrates the effectiveness of chiropractic care for asthma in children. In one study conducted among children aged six to sixteen receiving chiropractic care for three months had revealed ratings of higher quality of life and had less severe attacks. There have been some cases in which children could stop their asthma medication completely. Some children have experienced just a few attacks or none at all.
Chiropractic care for children is safe and increasingly becoming more popular. Even if attacks are not totally eliminated a decrease in severity and frequency of attacks is an alternative therapy that may be worth checking into.
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