Parents of kids with asthma need to be aware of risks
Photo source: http://www.alltreatment.com/blog/2013/replacing-cigarette-adiction/
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (September 24, 2015) - Parents who allow their children with asthma to be exposed to second hand smoke (SHS) at home need to know the risk is high their child will be hospitalized. In fact, the risk is nearly double that for kids with asthma who are not exposed to SHS.
An article in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), reviewed 25 studies investigating smoking exposure at home. More than 430,000 children were included, with a mean age of 7.6 years of age. The majority - 96 percent - of the studies investigated smoking exposure at home.[...]
The article says children are perhaps more likely to be negatively affected by cigarette exposure than adults due to the immaturity of their lungs and immune systems. In addition, toxins such as SHS reduce lung growth rates, even though details of how this occurs aren't entirely known.
"The results of this review serve as a reminder to parents of just how dangerous it is to expose their children to SHS," said allergist Avni Joshi, MD, ACAAI member and senior author of the article. "Allergists are trained to work with both children and adults to get their asthma under control. Controlled asthma means fewer emergency room visits, hospitalizations and proper use of long-term controller medications. An allergist can also help avoid over-reliance on quick-relief medications and work on modifiable risk factors for poor asthma outcomes like assessing and addressing tobacco exposures. Some allergists have developed family-centered tobacco control programs which address parents' tobacco use during a clinic visit for a child with asthma."
Only a small percentage of patients who could benefit from specialty care are referred to an allergist and the majority of patients - including a disproportionate number of children - do not receive adequate care to control asthma, its debilitating symptoms and the increased costs of uncontrolled asthma.[...]
For more information about treating asthma, and to locate an allergist in your area, visitAllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org.
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About ACAAI
The ACAAI is a professional medical organization of more than 6,000 allergists-immunologists and allied health professionals, headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill. The College fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy and research. [...]
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