Beware! The Hidden Dangers of Euro 2016 you are Oblivious to…

The European Championship in France is now less than three months away and there has been widespread concern regarding security risks, following recent terror attacks in the capital. With this in mind, UEFA commented last month ensuring appropriate mechanisms would be in place to ensure a “safe and secure” tournament for all those involved.

However, could there other risks for fans travelling to France for Euro 2016? Perhaps looking after one’s own health will not be the number one priority for most supporters whilst in another country and cheering on their national team, but Medical Specialists® Pharmacy would like to stress the importance of looking after your health during this time – and indeed any other time – as well as managing any health condition you may have.

One major health issue facing France is the problem of air pollution – a problem which last year the French Senate committee estimated the annual cost to be at €101.3 billion within a report they published.

The two key air pollutants that can affect asthmatics are ozone (found in smog) and particle pollution (found in haze, smoke, and dust). When ozone and particle pollution are present in the air, children or adults with asthma are at a higher risk of symptoms. The World Health Organisation (WHO) state that particle pollution is responsible for 42,000 premature deaths each year in France alone.

It is often acknowledged by health experts that air pollutants often act as a trigger to make people’s asthma symptoms worse. Asthma UK have previously said: “Two-thirds of people with asthma tell us that traffic fumes make their asthma worse and 42% find that traffic fumes discourage them from walking or shopping in congested areas. And 85% of people with asthma tell us they are concerned about the effect that increasing vehicle fumes will have on their and their family’s health in the future.”

Therefore, anyone wanting to get in a lung-busting jog to burn off those match day drinks and pies would be advised to do so in the morning, a time when both ozone levels and pollen counts tend to be lower. In addition, if possible, try to keep at least 50 feet from auto exhaust and heavily trafficked roads during either walking or jogging; walking paths or forest trails would be ideal for asthma sufferers. Perhaps most importantly, Medical Specialists® cannot stress enough how critical it is that anyone with asthma travelling to France in June must remember to take their blue reliever and brown preventer inhalers!

Inhalers should be accompanied by antihistamines if you also suffer with hayfever. Not everybody with asthma has hayfever, but many do, and your asthma symptoms may worsen if you also have hayfever. March to September is typically the peak time for pollen counts and when people need to be taking their antihistamines daily, such as Loratadine, Cetirizine, etc.

The west coast of France is usually the best place to be during hayfever season as pollen counts are generally low. Unfortunately, the only games being held there will be in Bordeaux. More inland, France has lush vegetation, where pollen counts can be very high. The south of France and the French Riviera are particularly known for their high pollen counts, meaning supporters with hayfever that are travelling to games held in Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, should prepare accordingly. Also, grass pollen poses the greatest risk within areas around Paris – another city playing host to fixtures – and tree pollen counts can also be high.

Back in late June 2013, hayfever sufferers across France were put on a ‘red alert’, warned of a massive peak in the levels of grass and cereal pollen in the air for the first two weeks of July at least, which is when Euro 2016 will be taking place this year. Therefore, don’t ruin your experience of Euro 2016 by forgetting your hayfever treatment…the only tears we expect to see will be from an England inevitable early exit from the tournament, although hopefully that won’t be the case!

Of course we don’t want to stereotype the average football fan, but with thousands of passionate football fans flocking overseas to see their team in action, this can lead to some ‘boisterous’ behaviour. With England and Wales both having two group B games kicking off at 8pm, this leaves plenty of spare time in the day, which can mean fans spilling into cafes, pubs, and bars hours before the game has even kicked off.

During a single drinking session try to limit how much you drink, drink more slowly, drink with food and alternate with water or non-alcoholic drinks. In another city, country, or in a risky or unfamiliar situations in general, it is imperative to keep a close track of alcohol consumption. Being too drunk could leave you vulnerable and at risk from others, or unable to look after your friends and loved ones.
Alcohol affects the ability to make sensible, rational decisions, resulting in more careless and risky behaviours. One such behaviour – linked intrinsically to excessive alcohol consumption – is having unprotected sex. Maybe England and/or Wales will advance far beyond the group stages of Euro 2016, but this is no excuse to throw caution to the wind and forget usual safe sex practices in the process.

Any sexually active adult should always carry and use condoms when required, so don’t forget to pack them before making the journey to France. The last thing you would want to bring home besides a depleted bank account and hangover will be a sexually transmitted infection or unwanted pregnancy.
Medical Specialists® Pharmacy don’t wish to be total party poopers though! As the 2016 European Championship in France is nearing, the excitement is building as the nation’s hopes of a first tournament success in 60 years (the 1966 World Cup remains the last taste of glory for England) will rest on the young shoulders of the England football team.

Optimism has reached fever pitch following March’s incredibly impressive 3-2 win over reigning World champions, Germany, with a particularly standout performance from 19-year-old Dele Alli, a player many are tipping to be a star of Euro 2016.

There will be thousands of Brits flocking over the English Channel in June, in time for both England’s opening game against Russia on Saturday 11 June and Wales v Slovakia on the same day. We hope that everyone making the trip to France enjoys the tournament and fantastic atmosphere that accompanies such events, just remember to look after your health and wellbeing too!

During childhood our parents would always encourage us to eat our greens, and how we wouldn’t grow up to be big and strong without them!

The benefits of green vegetables may be bigger than we first thought however, after researchers discovered that not only can general health and development be boosted, but eating one or two cups of lightly steamed broccoli per day could act as a treatment for those suffering with asthma.

The study, led by a research team based at the University of Melbourne, showed how consuming vegetables from the cruciferous family — which also comprises of kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and bok choy — may help to reverse lung damage and protect against inflammation causing asthma symptoms. The key is the naturally occurring sulforaphane that is found in broccoli and the other green vegetables.

In Britain alone there are an estimated 5.4 million asthmatic, which includes 1.1 million children. However, the lung condition is rife in many parts of the world, with numerous factors linked to the development of it such as being exposed to tobacco smoke – especially if the mother was smoking during pregnancy – and a family history of asthma or other allergic conditions means you are more likely to get it.

Moreover, aspects of modern lifestyles are believed to play a role in an increased risk of asthma. A diet high in processed foods, living in an area with high air pollution and being raised in a home where there is a pet – especially a cat – are all believed to be contributing factors.

“In Australia, asthma affects one in ten people and it’s something that is on the rise,” said University of Melbourne honours student Nadia Mazarakis, who undertook research on the topic with supervisor Dr Tom Karagiannis.

“Laboratory tests have shown that consumption of broccoli changes the formation of the airway and may make clear breathing easier for those who suffer from asthma and allergies,” said Ms Mazarakis.
“Blockages in the airway were reversed almost entirely. Using broccoli to treat asthma may also help for people who don’t respond to traditional treatment.”

The findings come as there are increasing studies into healthcare that try to involved diet together with prescription medication treatments.

It has been stressed though that research is still in an early stage and at no point during an asthma attack or breathing difficulties should usual medical advice be disregarded. Basically, asthma inhalers are still a must!

Ms Mazarakis will be presenting the findings of the study at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Conference about Food Safety in Shanghai, China.

Asthma deaths could be avoided – The importance of brown preventer inhalers

Preventer inhalers for the respiratory condition asthma usually comprise of a steroid drug and are used daily to prevent symptoms from developing by working to reduce inflammation in the airways. As the inflammation has subsided, there is less risk of the airways becoming narrow and causing symptoms like wheezing.

The brown preventer inhaler is usually taken twice a day. Your doctor may advise you to use the brown inhaler more often if you are experiencing a regular flare-up of symptoms. Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy have noticed a worrying trend of asthma patients very rarely or even not using their brown inhalers at all and over-using the blue reliever inhaler.

You should always remember it can take between 7 to 14 days for the brown preventer to build up its effect, or sometimes as long as six weeks, and will not give immediate relief of symptoms like the blue inhaler offers. Basically, the impact of the brown inhaler is built over time and will decrease the chance of an asthma occurring by slowly building resistance to triggers.

In fact, you may find your asthma is well controlled by regular use of the preventer and find you need to use your reliever inhaler less often, if at all.

This is particularly significant following a national review claiming that around two thirds of UK deaths from asthma in the UK — including nearly all cases where a child is involved – could have been averted if there was less complacency amongst doctors, carers and the patients themselves, with a quarter of sufferers receiving unsatisfactory care.

The report, led by the Royal College of Physicians, found a shocking number of needless deaths that experts described as “a tragic waste of life”.

Only Estonia and Spain has higher death rates than the UK in the Western world, and there are huge concerns about the increasing death toll. For instance, in 2012 there were 1,250 asthma related deaths – a 10% increase over the previous three years. The new review states 800 of those could have been prevented with better care.

The National Review of Asthma Deaths — the biggest single study looking into the circumstances involved with asthma deaths — examined 195 deaths within the UK. It was discovered that in about a quarter of the cases, care was not of a satisfactory standard and in 83% of cases, there was room for improvement.

Dr Mark Levy, a GP and one of the authors of the report, said ‘complacency’ was a fair word to describe the situation.

“We have known about the identifiable or preventable factors relating to asthma deaths since 1966,” he said. “The shocking and surprisingly sad thing about this report is that we still find preventable factors in over 70% of cases, some of which are pretty serious. For instance, 45% of those who died did not call or obtain help, which indicates that either these patients weren’t too worried about their asthma or they’d never been told how to recognise the danger signs.”

Those who died tended to over-use their blue reliever inhaler to subside the symptoms of an asthma attack as these inhalers help to open the airways for easier breathing. They do not treat the underlying problems however, and this is something many asthma patients do not realise.

“They don’t address the inflammation,” said Levy. “It’s like painting a rusty pipe.” Unsurprisingly, the study found an alarming under-use of the brown preventive inhalers.

The review has called for each hospital and GP practice around the UK to have a specified doctor in charge of asthma services and who should work at improving asthma care. In addition, patients need to be monitored more thoroughly according to the review, so that action is taken at the first instance if it is apparent that a patient’s asthma is no longer under control.

It is recommended that each asthma patient should keep a personal asthma action plan to help them realise when the condition begins to get worse and when to seek further help.

If you seek help from Medical Specialists™ for your asthma, you can be assured of an efficient and discrete service. We offer a wide range of both blue reliever inhalers, such as Ventolin Evohaler and brown preventer inhalers, such as Qvar Easi-Breathe.

Patient care is at the core of our aims and our GMC-registered doctors will carefully review your consultation to decide your suitability for that medication and then also assess the frequency of your orders with us thereafter. This is essential as if mentioned earlier, you are requiring too many relievers, it could be a sign of underlying problems with your asthma and we would recommend you see your own GP for further monitoring as you may need to undergo a lung function test. This is essential to determine if your asthma is getting worse or to check if your asthma is improving with treatment.

Salford schoolboy dies from an asthma attack

Tributes have been paid to a football-mad Salford schoolboy after he tragically died from an asthma attack. Ben O’Neill, 12, played for local team Bar Hill JFC in Irlams o’th’ Height and was a huge Manchester United supporter.

The 12-year-old Buile Hill High School pupil suffered a sudden asthma attack at his home in Salford last week.

Ben’s mother, Nicola Newns 35, said: “It was not expected at all. Ben woke up at 2am coughing, which is the usual sign that he was having an attack. I ran to get his inhaler, but he had stopped breathing within seconds.”

She added: “We live just across the road from Salford Royal Hospital and the paramedics were here within a minute even though it felt like an hour. They worked on him for 48 minutes but there was nothing they could do. Ben’s brother, Jacob, has brittle asthma too, and he has been in hospital four times on a ventilator in intensive care. Ben has never had as severe attacks as Jacob, and I always feared something might happen to Jacob, but not Ben.”

Asthma is a health problem that afflicts around 5.4 million people in the UK; approximately 1 in every 12 adults and 1 in every 11 children has asthma. Although the cause of asthma is open to debate and not yet fully understood, the lung problem is known to run in families, as demonstrated with Ben and his brother, and more needs to be done to raise asthma awareness – a view shared by Ben’s mother.

She says: “He was loved by everyone that knew him – he was full of energy and a clown, he made you laugh. He had played football for a season with Barr Hill. His brothers played for them and he wanted to be like them too. I think people need to be educated about asthma. I would hate this to happen to another family. People think that asthma is just a bit of a wheeze which can be sorted out with an inhaler, but the type Ben had isn’t.”

A one minute’s silence was held in his memory prior to all matches at the weekend in the Salford league Ben played in and 50 people have donated over £500 so far as part of an appeal fund to cover Ben’s funeral costs. The funeral will take place this Friday at St James and All Souls Church near Salford Precinct. “Not one person who met him wouldn’t smile at his memory”, says his mother.

Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, spoke on Ben’s tragic death, commenting: “It’s always distressing to hear that a child has died due to asthma, and our thoughts go out to Ben’s family and friends and this very sad time. Sadly many people don’t realise how serious asthma is because it’s so common. One in every eleven children are receiving treatment for asthma, yet every year it kills enough children to fill a classroom.”

Eating more fibre could ease asthma symptoms

The results from animal studies suggest that asthma treatment may bizzarely come in the form a diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

Tests on mice, as reported in the journal Nature Medicine, has found that a high-fibre diet can impact the balance of microbes in the gut and make airways either more or less susceptible to the inflammation involved in allergic airway conditions such as asthma.

Asthma is a long-term respiratory disorder, where the air passages within the lungs unexpectedly become inflamed, narrowed, and swollen. This then prevents airflow into and out of the lungs. Attacks often occur in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. It is these triggers which create an inflammatory cascade in the bronchial tree.

The last three decades have witnessed a surge in rates of allergy-triggered asthma, in particularly in the more developed nations. Many health experts have attributed this to changes in dietary habits, such as a decrease in our fibre intake.

The reported stated: “In recent decades, there has been a well-documented increase in the incidence of allergic asthma in developed countries and coincident with this increase have been changes in diet, including reduced consumption of fibre.”

Therefore, Dr Benjamin Marsland of the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland and colleagues, decided to study the variations in the immune and inflammatory responses of mice when the amount of fibre in their diet changed.

They discovered that those mice on a low-fibre diet experienced more lung inflammation after coming into contact with dust mites. In comparison, mice given food enriched with pectin – found in cell walls of plants – suffered with less allergic airway problems.

It was established that this boost in soluble fibre – most often contained in fruit and vegetables – was converted into short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids increase resistance to irritation in the immune system.

For those who may struggle to adapt their diet to include more fibre, the researchers say that a fatty acid supplement may be instead taken to ease asthma symptoms.

Dr Marsland, spoke to BBC News, saying: “There’s a very high probability it works in humans, the basic principle of fibre being converted to short-chain fatty acids is known. But we don’t know what amount of fibre would be needed and the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids required might be different. It is early days, but the implications could be far reaching…Moreover, these data can be interpreted within the context of epidemiological studies showing as fibre content in the diet has decreased, the incidence of allergies has increased. Taken together, our findings support the concept intervention strategies targeting diet are a valuable approach for not only intestinal diseases but also respiratory inflammatory diseases.”

It would be foolish though to suggest asthma sufferers should disregard their blue reliever and brown preventer asthma inhalers just yet and merely rely on consuming more fibre. A diet rich in fibre may well be beneficial for asthmatics but it is generally recommended for everybody as it can to help to lower cholesterol, decrease the risk of heart disease and lessen the risk of some types of cancer.

Scientists discover gene that could lead to targeted asthma treatment

Young children with asthma may benefit from targeted treatment in the near future after US scientists discovered a ‘rogue’ gene – CDHR3 – which could be the cause of severe asthma in youngsters.

CDHR3 has been found to be particularly active within epithelial cells that line the inner surfaces of the airways. A faulty version of the gene can result in environmental triggers inducing allergic responses, the scientists found. CDHR3 is one of four genes that has been linked to the development of asthma; but the other three were already known as being associated with asthma.

The new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics involved a thorough comparison of the genetic codes, or genomes, of 3,695 Danish children and adults who have asthma. This comprised of a number of children younger than the age of six.

Data extracted children of both European and non-European ancestry was then used to replicate the findings, which are consistent with previous research suggesting other genes associated with the onset of childhood asthma are responsible for over-sensitive immune reactions.

Lead researcher Dr Hakon Hakonarson, from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Chop) in the US, said: “Because asthma is a complex disease, with multiple interacting causes, we concentrated on a specific phenotype – severe, recurrent asthma occurring between ages two and six. Identifying a risk-susceptibility gene linked to this phenotype may lead to more effective, targeted treatments for this type of childhood asthma.”

Dr Hakonarson added: “Asthma researchers have been increasingly interested in the role of the airway epithelium in the development of asthma. Abnormalities in the epithelial cells may increase a patient’s risk to environmental triggers by exaggerating immune responses and making the airway overreact. Because the CDHR3 gene is related to a family of proteins involved in cell adhesion and cell-to-cell interaction, it is plausible that variations in this gene may disrupt normal functioning in these airway cells, and make a child vulnerable to asthma.”

The researchers now hope their findings will lead to a more targeted treatment a condition which affects a staggering 5.4 million Britons; many of whom will probably be struggling in the coming months due to the fact that cold winter weather can exacerbate asthma symptoms.

Even a basic cold virus can trigger a serious asthma attack and worsen symptoms for around 90% of people with asthma and According to Asthma UK, three quarters of people with asthma blame cold for triggering their symptoms. Common symptoms are: coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, tightness in your chest and difficulty speaking in full sentences.

Asthma UK have five important pieces of advice that are vital in controlling your asthma symptoms during the cold weather:

1. Keep taking your regular preventer medicines as prescribed by your doctor.

2. If you know that cold air triggers your asthma, take one or two puffs of your reliever inhaler before going outside.

3. Keep your blue reliever inhaler with you at all times.

4. Wrap up well and wear a scarf over your nose and mouth – this will help to warm up the air before you breathe it in.

5. Take extra care when exercising in cold weather. Warm up for 10–15 minutes and take one or two puffs of your reliever inhaler before you start.

Xolair asthma injections now available to children

Severely asthmatic children as young as just six years of age are now permitted a “life-changing” drug, following yesterday’s U-turn by a health watchdog.

This means that thousands of children aged six to 11 suffering with severe allergic asthma will be able to receive the benefits from omalizumab injections for the very first time.

Omalizumab, marketed as Xolair, is a long-term therapy usually administered via injection on a two week or monthly basis. It works to target the IgE antibody as people with severe allergic asthma have an elevated amount of IgE within their blood. This antibody causes the immune system to over-react upon the person coming into contact with their allergen, triggering asthma symptoms.

Approximately 2,000 severely affected patients have received the drug since its 2007 approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who are responsible for NHS drug monitoring in addition to offering guidance and support.

Xolair was initially restricted to adults and children over the age of 12, but only if the patient had been admitted to hospital following a severe attack at least once.

In November of last year, NICE claimed Xolair was less effective and more expensive than they had first thought and spoke of ceasing offering the drug to new asthma patients.

That proposal caused outrage from doctors and patient groups, leading to charity Asthma UK campaigning for NICE to reverse the controversial plan. Asthma UK argued that omalizumab resulted in life-changing improvements by dramatically decreasing the number of attacks experienced by asthma patients.

However, NICE have now acknowledged the “life-changing” impact of Xolair reported by patients on the drug and say that as an addition to optimised standard therapy; Xolair is more clinically effective for the treatment of severe persistent allergic asthma than optimised standard therapy alone, causing total emergency visits to decrease. These include: A&E visits, hospital admissions and unscheduled GP appointments in adults.

In fact, studies have demonstrated how the drug has helped to cut hospital admissions by an incredible 61% and asthma attacks by an incredible 54% in patients with severe allergic asthma.
One of the patients the drug has been beneficial to is Olympic Team GB swimmer Jo Jackson, who competed in the London games last year and was a medallist at Beijing in 2008. Jackson has previously spoken about the treatment saving her career.

Going forward, the NHS will be required to incur the costs of the drug for those eligible from the 14,000 people with severe allergic asthma in the UK. Children and adults in Scotland are already eligible for Xolair, and Wales is expected to soon follow suit.

Xolair is produced by Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Novartis and averages about £8,000 in cost annually. However, the cost may range from anywhere between £1,665 to £26,640 each year depending on dose and frequency.

Dr Samantha Walker, of Asthma UK, said: “While it’s not suitable for everyone, people with severe allergic asthma who benefit from taking Xolair can see a massive improvement in their quality of life. Without it, many would be virtually housebound because of breathlessness and living in constant fear of the next life-threatening asthma attack.”

Brits still have a poor perception of asthma

Considering there are a staggering 5.4 million asthmatics in Britain, it could be assumed that the majority of us are pretty clued-up on the serious lung condition asthma. Unfortunately, the results of a new survey suggest this could be far from the truth.

Research conducted by supermarket giant Asda showed that whilst 94% acknowledge asthma as a serious health condition, 1 in four respondents could not recognise key symptoms associated with asthma. In fact, 17% incorrectly believed blocked sinuses are a sign of the lung condition.

An additional 15% of those surveyed simply thought feeling dizzy was asthma-related and 13% bizarrely assumed having itchy eyes was somehow a key symptom of asthma. In reality, the primary common symptoms of asthma are having a shortness of breath, wheezing (accompanied by a whistling sound), chest tightness/pain/pressure, coughing (especially at night or early in the morning).
Sufferers usually find their symptoms to be particularly worse at night time, after exposure to cold air, exercise-induced, or brought-on by a reaction to an allergen – similar to hay fever sufferers.

Other wrong assumptions held by Brits include thinking there is a permanent cure for the lifelong condition; incredibly a third of us believe this to be true. Moreover, 15% merely think that asthma is something that only ‘unfit’ people have.

This is clearly untrue though and many are obviously forgetting the countless famous asthma sufferers who have reached the top of their field, such as the multimillionaire and recently retired footballer David Beckham and cyclist Laura Trott, who won gold at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games in the Team Pursuit and Omnium events.

However, asthma attacks still cause around 1,140 deaths each year and a substantial number of those could have been avoided with more awareness about the condition and how to efficiently control it. Only 37% of Brits have a decent knowledge about asthma medication or can differentiate between the purpose of blue and brown inhalers.

Unfortunately, this perhaps demonstrate a worrying lack of awareness about the fact a person’s asthma can be better controlled with regular and correct utilisation of brown preventer inhalers such as the commonly used Qvar Beclometasone and Easi-Breathe inhalers. Over time, the brown preventers are effective at reducing the need for blue inhalers – which are taken immediately to relieve asthma symptoms and essential in treating asthma attacks.

Visit the ‘Asthma and Allergies’ area of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website for a full list of all the preventer and reliever inhalers we provide for suitable patients.

If you have already been prescribed an inhaler, have lost your inhaler, or run out and cannot get a prescription immediately, we are able to supply you an inhaler to help your asthma symptoms. You can undergo a quick and easy confidential online consultation with one of our GMC-registered Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription which is passed to our in-house RPSGB–registered Pharmacists and dispensed to a location of your choice, all within just 24 hours!*

*Allow extra time for overseas deliveries.

‘Dust mite avoidance and diet modification’ could cut childhood asthma risk

The 24-year old ‘hygiene hypothesis’ has been put into serious doubt this week after new research has suggested this theory is purely a myth.

First proposed back in 1989, the idea behind the hygiene hypothesis is that if there is childhood exposure to allergens and certain infections, this can aid the immune system’s development and teach it to differentiate between harmful and harmless substances, and thus reducing a child’s risk of developing asthma and allergies.

However, Professor Hasan Arshad, a consultant in allergy at Southampton General Hospital, has conducted a 23-year study that may somewhat discredit this theory, finding that mothers can help to massively reduce the risk of their baby developing asthma in their first year of life by avoiding certain allergenic foods and doing their best to tackle and kill house dust mites – tiny creatures that inhabit bedding, carpets, clothing and soft furnishings. It is their waste droppings and not the mite itself that triggers an allergy. House dust mite allergy is common and has been found to be linked to asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis.

Professor Arshad spoke on the study, commenting: “Although genetic links are arguably the most significant risk factor for asthma in children, environmental factors are the other critical component. Although this was a small study, we have found that the risk of developing asthma at some point during childhood is reduced by more than 50 per cent if we introduce control of a child’s environment.”

For the 23-year study, the researchers began to track 120 people born in 1990 and who had a family history of allergies – either both parents had asthma, or just one and a sibling.

It was discovered that 58 of the people in the study had either been breastfed or had drank low-allergy formula milk until they had reached the age of nine months. In addition, their mothers had not consumed any dairy products, eggs, soya, fish and shellfish and peanuts and tree nuts. For these same people, they had benefited from a vinyl bed cover at this young age and pesticides were also used to kill dust mites. Parents of the other 62 children were not so strict and did not adhere to the same principles.

Follow-up tests were carried out when the children had reached the ages of two, three, four, eight and 18. It was discovered that 11% of those in the prevention group had asthma by the time they had reached 18. However, more than a quarter (27%) of those exposed to possible allergens had developed asthma in the same time-frame.

Professor Arshad says: “By introducing a combined dietary and environmental avoidance strategy during the first year of life, we believe the onset of asthma can be prevented in the early years and throughout childhood up to the age of 18. Our finding of a significant reduction in asthma using the dual intervention of dust mite avoidance and diet modification is unique in terms of the comprehensive nature of the regime, the length of follow-up and the size of the effect observed.” He now says that a larger-scale study is required to see if a similar result pattern is achieved.

Asthma is becoming increasingly prevalent in Britain and around the world, with 5.4 million people receiving treatment for the condition in the UK alone and an estimated one in every 11 children. The ‘Asthma and Allergies’ section of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website has a huge range of prescription and non-prescription medications that can help with problems such as asthma and hay fever – with the latter becoming more prominent in the coming months as March is the start of the pollen season, lasting up until November.

Fungi found in the lungs could offer clues about asthma

Welsh scientists could have made an important breakthrough in the development of affective asthma treatment after discovering hundreds of varying fungal particles within the lungs of both asthma sufferers, and healthy individuals who did not have the lung condition.

Previously, many would have assumed that our lungs were absent of life, so the new discovery that the lungs are host to organisms may now prove massively beneficial for the 5.4 million people across the UK who have asthma.

The large study, which is the first of its kind, has been published in the journal BMC Infectious Disease. It shows how the team from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine have managed to detect high numbers of fungi existing in healthy lungs, whilst also finding other differing kinds of fungi in asthma patients.

“Historically, the lungs were thought to be sterile”, says Hugo van Woerden from Cardiff University’s Institute of Primary Care and Public Health, who led the research.

He continued: “Our analysis found that there are large numbers of fungi present in healthy human lungs. The study also demonstrates that asthma patients have a large number of fungi in their lungs and that the species of fungi are quite different to those present in the lungs of healthy individuals.”

Van Woerden and his colleagues analysed the mucus or sputum from a large collection of patients both with and without asthma and subsequently unearthed some 136 different fungal species from the induced sputum samples. Of this total, 90 fungal species more prevalent within the lungs of asthma patients and 46 were more common within the lungs of patients who did not suffer from asthma.

“Establishing the presence of fungi in the lungs of patients with asthma could potentially open up a new field of research which brings together molecular techniques for detecting fungi and developing treatments for asthma. In the future it is conceivable that individual patients may have their sputum tested for fungi and their treatment adjusted accordingly”, added van Woerden.

Cardiff researchers have previously established a link between fungi and asthma however and they have said in the past that by eradicating fungi from people’s homes, this could dramatically help life for those who suffer with asthma.

Medical Specialists Pharmacy is able to help you if you are suffering from asthma. We can provide any new or existing asthma patient with a wide range of medications. If you have already been prescribed an inhaler, have lost your inhaler, or run out and cannot get a prescription immediately, we are able to supply you an inhaler to help your asthma symptoms. You can undergo a quick and easy confidential online consultation with one of our GMC-registered Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription which is passed to our in-house RPSGB–registered Pharmacists and dispensed to a location of your choice. We have both blue (relievers) inhalers such as Ventolin and Salbutamol, and brown (preventers) inhalers such as Qvar Beclomethasone and Qvar Easi-Breathe.

Genetic testing could lead to tailored asthma treatment

Scientists from Dundee University claim that a relatively simple and inexpensive ‘spit test’ could pave the way for creating bespoke asthma treatment for children suffering with the lung condition if a specific genetic mutation is detected and thus practically rendering their current treatment almost useless.

The Dundee University scientists collaborated with colleagues at Brighton University to analyse a total of 62 children who all had poorly controlled asthma and in many cases it was determined that their prescribed medication could be the source of the problem.

In particularly, a common culprit could be the inhaled ‘salmeterol’, found in both seretide and servent inhalers. Salmeterol is used by children with severe asthma that cannot be controlled with just their inhaled steroid medication such as the blue inhaler Ventolin – a popular inhaler prescribed to all children after they are formally diagnosed as having asthma.

The scientists believe that genetic code is the reason why some children fail to respond to the salmeterol. The drug is known as a ‘bronchodilator’ beta-2 agonist meaning it acts at stimulating beta-2 receptors on the muscle cells that line the airways. This results in these muscle cells being able to relax and open the airways.

Unfortunately however, an estimated one in seven people have a genetic mutation – the arginine-16 genotype of the beta-2 receptor- that causes their receptors to have a slightly altered shape than normal and the salmeterol does not acknowledge this difference.

All 62 children involved in the study had this genetic mutation and all had required periods of time off school, had hospital treatment or had visited a GP out of hours due to their asthma flaring up. During the study, the authors allowed the children to use their basic inhaler to control symptoms. In addition though, half were chosen at random to receive salmeterol and the other half were administered the anti-inflammatory medicine montelukast, used to prevent children from experiencing an asthma attack.

Within just three months it was discovered that those taking montelukast had significantly less coughing and wheezing, less likely to experience any deterioration of their asthma symptoms, as well as more likely to use their reliever inhaler less frequently than before.

At the beginning of the study, researchers calculated that 36% of the children had to use their reliever inhaler on a daily basis. After the year-long study had come to a conclusion, the total number of children using this inhaler every day had been slashed by half in the montelukast group. Interestingly, this trend was not seen within the salmeterol group.

Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay said: “For almost every clinical outcome we were looking at we found that salmeterol either wasn’t working or was working very poorly. Montelukast was very much better. We’ve shown for the first time that personalised medicine can work in the field of childhood asthma.”

Prof Mukhopadhyay says the simple test would cost around £15 if it were to ever be introduced into GP surgeries, adding that it is unacceptable to prescribe drugs to children that are ineffective. He continued: “It’s a common disease affecting a million children in this country.  A common medicine is probably not working in a significant proportion of the population. I think we need to get some guidance from lead charities and from the Department of Health.”

Professor Stephen Holgate, MRC clinical professor of immunopharmacology at Southampton University, commented on the results of the study and said: “While genetic changes that determine bronchodilator responses in asthma have been known for some time, this is a wonderful example of stratified or personalised medicine working its way into practice. While still a small trial, the results in the asthmatic children’s response to the two treatments across a number of asthma outcomes are impressive.”

Statins could be beneficial for asthma patients

Do the wonders of cholesterol-lowering statins and their potential benefits ever seem to end? It would seem not according to yet another study to analyse their capabilities.

In just 2012 alone, Medical Specialists Pharmacy has reported countless stories regarding how statin medications such as Crestor and Lipitor, have been linked to the improvement in various health conditions for a much wider group of people than those merely with high cholesterol. For instance, in regards to statin therapy, these are some of the things we have learnt this year:

. They can lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

. Some doctors have argued that there should be ‘statins for all’ outlook.

. They can reduce the risk of a heart attack even in healthy individuals.
. Statins can lower risk of cancer in heart transplant patients.

. They have been shown to particularly be effective in decreasing the chance of a stroke in males.
The latest in a long line of studies into statins has come from researchers from the University of Mississippi in the US, and this time it is asthma patients who were investigated with statin therapy.
In total there were 479 asthma patients analysed who were taking both statins and using an inhaled corticosteroid such as Qvar Beclometasone, compared against 958 who were using just the corticosteroid.

It was deduced that a higher number of asthma patients required hospital treatment in the second group, who were not taking any statin medication. Researchers noted that 3.79% of the first group had required a hospital visit due to their asthma, whilst the figure was 6.47% for those not taking statins.

In addition, those who were on statins were found to be a lot less likely to end up at Accident and Emergency (A & E) at hospital. Just 4.18% of the first group had needed to go to A & E compared to 9.08% in the second group.

Consultant physician Dr Shahid Hamid from the Princess Royal University Hospital in Kent, was not directly involved in the study but he gave his views on it, saying, “We know statins have uses beyond the treatment of heart conditions. They have anti-inflammatory properties, which mean they have other – as yet mostly unexplored – purposes. Asthma is an inflammatory condition so clearly there is a link.”

Dr Hamid continued and suggested that more research needs to be done to understand more about the possible side effects of taking statins for asthma, and added, “It is still too soon to start prescribing statins as a matter of course. If you are on statins and have asthma, you must report any change in your condition.”

Hereford teen dies from suspected asthma attack

An 18-year old beauty student from Hereford has tragically passed away after speaking to her mother on the phone and complaining she was short of breath. Bianca Hart was enjoying a socialising drink with friends in Hereford on 27 June to celebrate the end of her exams at Hereford College of Beauty before her asthma symptoms began to develop. After phoning her mother to say ‘I can’t breathe’, she was immediately rushed to the County Hospital in the early hours of Thursday 28 June.

Bianca lost consciousness inside the hospital after suffering a huge asthma attack and whilst awaiting an assessment from doctors. Paramedics then tried their best to save her but unfortunately she died a few hours later. Police have spoken to immediately dispel any notion that her drink may have been spiked. Bianca’s sister released a statement and paid tribute to her sister, saying, “Bianca lived life to the full, loved to be around her friends and socialising around the town. She was a very caring person, trustworthy, lively, beautiful, angelic by nature, fashionable and a confident person.”

Bianca is the third person to die from a suspected asthma attack in Herefordshire in the last two months, following the death of a 14-year old Ross-on-Wye schoolgirl Lauren Hughes and 48-year old Linda Robinson.

These deaths have stressed just how serious asthma can be if not properly treated and managed. Attacks can occur at any time but certain things can trigger an attack such as:

. Smoke from cigarettes. We would advise you stop smoking immediately if you smoke and have asthma, or avoid inhaling the smoke from those around you.
. Pollen from trees and grass.
. Paint fumes.
. House dust mites.
. Changes in air temperature. For example going from a warm room into cold air outside can sometimes trigger an attack.
. Some asthmatics experience an asthma attack during exercise and may need to use their reliever inhaler such as Ventolin prior to beginning the exercise. You can obtain this from Medical Specialists Pharmacy cheaper than on the NHS.

The problems of Asthma are a global issue that Medical Specialists are determined to do something about by offering patients a wide range of asthma reliever and preventer inhalers to best suit your needs. Indeed across the Atlantic, North America is currently experiencing soaring temperatures in the grip of a torturing heat wave. The heat will affect everybody, but those with asthma a lot more.

Lafayette asthma and allergy physician Dr. Ketan Sheth spoke last month about how the heat will have impact on asthmatics and said, “Hot weather increases a lot of pollution that is outside so air pollution is going to cause people with asthma to have trouble and just the heat and the humidity itself is really going to trigger problems.” Americans suffering from asthma have been warned to take the following precautions to stay safe during the heat wave:

. Stay indoors with the windows close. This can help to avoid smoke, dirt and other things that could trigger an attack.
. Keep hydrated.
. Keep up to date with the weather forecast.
. Limit outdoor activity if possible.
. Be careful using fans – These can blow allergens around the air.
. Finally, plan what action to take in case of an attack. Use your asthma medications often and always have rescue medication in your possession.