The everyday household products linked to asthma risk

Dangerous chemicals contained in many household items may be linked to a surge in asthma cases in children, researchers are warning.

The chemicals in question – butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) – are compounds known as phthalates and are used to soften plastic.  Phthalates are found in a wide variety of things from perfume to plastic food containers, insect repellent, shower curtains, vinyl flooring and are even used in vehicles (steering wheels and dashboards).

Phthalates have been given a ban within the EU from children’s toys and cosmetics, however as the chemicals have been found to raise the risk of health problems, such as asthma, from 2015 they could be routinely banned altogether.

And now a New York study discovered that children who were born to mothers an elevated level of exposure to the two chemicals were at a staggering 72 to 78% higher risk of developing the lung condition asthma during the ages of five and 11, compared with children whose mothers had lower levels of exposure.

The study has been published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, and found that children born to women with the highest levels of phthalate were 72% more likely to get asthma compared to those with low levels, whilst the risk was 78% for di-n-butyl phthalate.

The researchers involved in the study believe the chemicals may be sensitising the foetuses’ airways, thus causing more susceptibility to asthma in their childhood years.

The idea for the study was formulated a number of years ago after Columbia University researcher Robin Whyatt and her colleagues at the Mailman School of Public Health were noting that inner-city kids living in New York had amongst the highest rates of asthma in the world – almost a quarter have the condition.

Therefore, the team wanted to see which environmental factors were worsening the asthma incidence within children, and started their research with 300 pregnant women so the development from in the womb to late childhood could be tracked.

Since the beginning of the study the results have been published on a regular basis, highlighting any correlation between a child’s respiratory and neurological problem, and a particular environmental issue such as exposure to phthalates or exposure to other things like insecticide and pesticide residues.

Lead author Robin Whyatt, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, at Columbia, said: “Everyone from parents to policymakers is concerned by the steep rise in the number of children who develop asthma. Our goal is to try and uncover causes of this epidemic so we can better protect young children from this debilitating condition. Our study presents evidence that these two phthalates are among a range of known risk factors for asthma.”

Professor Whyatt, speaking about the two chemicals featured in the study, said: “These chemicals are very widely used in very high volume and they are not generally listed on labels. There are some simple steps families can take. Avoid using plastic containers and as much as you can store your food in glass jars in the fridge. Never microwave in plastic. It is also worth considering cutting back on using any scented products – cosmetics, perfumes, air fresheners and detergents.”

She advised women to use the internet to see if their make-up contains for phthalates, and warned that other risk factors for the onset of asthma during childhood include tobacco smoke, air pollution, obesity, and a history of allergies.

Air pollution puts obese children at higher risk from asthma

A new study shows that obese children exposed to high levels of air pollution could be three times more likely to develop asthma in comparison to their peers who are not obese and exposed to less air pollutants.

This conclusion was drawn up by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), who analysed 311 children in predominantly Dominican and African-American areas of New York City.

The air within each child’s home was monitored for a period of two weeks at age 5 or 6, in order to assess that child’s exposure to a type of air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

In addition, the child’s height and weight were tracked and respiratory questionnaires were asked. It was found that 20% of the children were suffering from asthma and going off body mass index, 20% could be classified as obese.

It was determined that high exposure to PAH exposure was only linked to asthma for the obese children. The link was due to alkylated forms of PAH; released by a variety of things such as candles, cooking, cigarette smoke, incense, and more.

A two-to-three-fold rise in asthma risk was witnessed amongst obese children that were exposed to significant levels of PAH chemicals 1-methylphenanthrene and 9-methylphenanthrene, but just PAH or obesity on their own could not foresee asthma risk.

Lead author Kyung Hwa Jung, PhD, associate research scientist in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, said: “Our results suggest that obesity may magnify the effects of these air pollutants, putting children at greater risk for having asthma.”

The study is useful as it could result in the development of better targeted treatment. “These findings suggest that we may be able to bring down childhood asthma rates by curbing indoor, as well as outdoor, air pollution and by implementing age-appropriate diet and exercise programs,” commented senior author Rachel Miller, MD, Professor of Medicine (in Pediatrics) and Environmental Health Sciences, chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at CUMC, and co-deputy director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Asthma and obesity are two conditions that have been on the increase in recent decades, both in the US and in the UK.

Obviously this study was conducted in the US, where the percentage of American children who are obese has risen from 7% in 1980 to 20% in 2008, while childhood asthma has gone up from 4% in 1980 to 10% in 2009.

In the UK, there are 5.4 million people currently receiving treatment for asthma, of which 1.1 million are children (1 in 11) and 4.3 million are adults (1 in 12). Last year a 11-year-old boy from Manchester hit the headlines after weighing in at a staggering 24 stone.

Smoking ban leads to annual 5% drop in asthma hospital emergencies

An annual 5% drop in hospital admissions for asthma patients in England requiring treatment could be attributed to the introduction of the 2007 smoking ban, which made it illegal to smoke in all enclosed public places such as restaurants, nightclubs, bars and shopping centres.

The 5% drop basically means that there are around 1900 fewer asthma-related admissions every year, say the authors of a new study who looked at the number of emergency asthma admissions for adults aged 16 and above in England between the duration of April 1997 and December 2010. Affecting roughly 5.9% of the population, the prevalence of asthma in England stands at one of the largest in the world.

For the study, published in the journal Thorax, Researchers based at the University of Bath discovered that there were a total of 502,000 ‘emergency’ hospital visits due to asthma in this time frame. Unsurprisingly, with cold weather being a trigger for symptoms to flare up, more admissions were evident throughout winter months compared to the summer; however numbers of admissions vastly differed depending on the area of the country.

Researchers took into account factors such as varying seasonal temperatures, differences in population size, and long-term patterns in regards to the prevalence of asthma. After considering all of the aforementioned factors, they discovered that emergency admissions for adults with asthma decreased by 4.9% during each of the first three years after the 2007 smoking ban, with a similar percentage decline in all geographical regions of England.

Dr Michelle Sims, author of the paper, said the benefits of the anti-smoking legislation were clear to see, commenting: “Secondhand smoke exposure has significant adverse health effects on the adult respiratory system with current evidence suggesting that it contributes to the onset and exacerbation of asthma. There is already evidence that smoke free legislation in England is associated with reductions in second hand smoke exposure among non-smoking adults and fewer emergency hospital admissions for heart attacks and childhood asthma. Our findings show that these health benefits extend to adult asthma.”

Emily Humphreys, head of policy and public affairs at the charity Asthma UK, said: “Eight out of 10 people with asthma tell us that other people’s smoke makes their asthma worse. That’s why we campaigned for the smoke-free laws and are delighted to see evidence of the benefits these are having on the millions of people with asthma in England. By taking action to reduce asthma triggers, we can prevent asthma attacks that can lead to hospitalisation and even death. However, more still needs to be done to prevent attacks, which kill three people each day in the UK.”

This new study is interesting and certainly highlights how cigarette smoke and asthma can be strongly connected. The findings follow that of a separate study which Medical Specialists Pharmacy reported back in January. Conducted by a team at Imperial College London, that particular study looked at admission rates spanning back to April 2002 and found an incredible 12% decline in childhood asthma hospital admissions during the first 12 months after the ban. This was calculated by taking into account a predicted 2.2% rise annually – and a decline continued in subsequent years with 3.4% fall per year for the next two years.

Asthma is a serious condition that is only worsened by exposure to cigarette smoke. Medical Specialists Pharmacy advise you to immediately quit smoking if you or a loved one also suffers from asthma, and we are able to help you achieve this with the aid of the smoking cessation medication Champix.

Champix mimics the effect of nicotine on the body, reducing the urge to smoke and relieving withdrawal symptoms. It can also decrease the enjoyment you experience of smoking if you are still smoking whilst on the treatment. The medication equates to just £75.00 per pack – inexpensive compared to an estimated £2,555 you can save each year by quitting smoking!

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

‘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.

Child asthma problems alleviated since the smoking ban

A study has found that the total number of children requiring hospital treatment because of their asthma has declined since the introduction of the July 2007 smoking ban – prohibiting lighting up in all enclosed public spaces such as restaurants, nightclubs, bars, shopping centres, etc.

The Imperial College London’s analysis on NHS figures has been published in the journal Pediatrics. They looked at admission rates dating all the way back to April 2002 and  they explain there has been an incredible 8.9% reduction in hospital admissions following the first 12 months after the ban came into play.

Intriguingly, researchers identified that preceding the 2007 ban there was a 2.2% rise each year in the number of children admitted to hospital due to severe asthma symptoms that include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. Taking into account the predicted 2.2% rise annually, researchers say that in those first 12 months, the ban had therefore helped to decrease admissions by 12% with this decline continuing in subsequent years and a 3.4% fall per year for the next two years. This clearly demonstrates the positive impact the legislation is having on health in addition to emphasising how damaging cigarette smoke actually is.

Lead researcher Dr Christopher Millett says that the drop works out at an estimated 6,802 fewer hospital admissions in the first three years of the smoking legislation coming into effect.

Dr Millett spoke on the huge health benefits since the introduction of the ban, commenting: “There is already evidence that eliminating smoking from public places has resulted in substantial population health benefits in England, and this study shows that those benefits extend to reducing hospital admissions for childhood asthma. Previous studies have also suggested that the smoke-free law changed people’s attitudes about exposing others to second-hand smoke and led more people to abstain from smoking voluntarily at home and in cars. We think that exposing children to less second-hand smoke in these settings probably played an important role in reducing asthma attacks. The findings are good news for England, and they should encourage countries where public smoking is permitted to consider introducing similar legislation.”

Medical Specialists Pharmacy finds Dr Millett’s comments particularly interesting as he touches on many topics that we have previously addressed such as the underestimated subject of second-hand (passive) smoking. Not just displeasing because of the foul odour, second-hand smoking can be a killer and those who do smoke need to be clued-up about this serious matter and consider the harm they are inflicting on those around them – in addition to themselves. Parents who are smoking inside their cars  is another factor not considered often enough and the impact this has to their children’s health – especially if a child is asthmatic as this is one factor that can cause their symptoms to flare-up.

Emily Humphreys, head of policy and public affairs at Asthma UK, was happy with the findings of the study and she said: “It’s great to see growing evidence of the positive impact of smoke-free legislation. This is something we campaigned for, so it is particularly encouraging that there has been a fall in children’s hospital admissions for asthma since its introduction.”

Asthma is a long-term respiratory condition where the air passages within the lungs become unexpectedly inflamed, narrowed and swollen. This leads to a prevention of airflow into and out of the lungs. Asthma attacks happen usually following a response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress.

There are a predicted 5.4 million people in the UK currently receive treatment for asthma – 1 in every 11 children and 1 in every 12 adults. This equates to 8.8% of the total population (62 million estimated in 2010). In addition, it affects a staggering 300 million people worldwide.

Although there is no cure, asthma can be controlled through the use of preventer and reliever inhalers and Medical Specialists provide many varieties of each and more information about these and how to obtain them can be found on the Asthma and Allergies area of the website.

Junk food contributing to health problems in kids

There are countless health problems that junk food can pose to children. As well as being terrible for skin, causing spots and maybe losing popularity with friends, junk food can contribute towards tooth decay, is primarily responsible for the increasing childhood obesity epidemic that is sweeping across Britain – now being thought to increase the risk of liver disease in children and even leading to experts designing a childhood obesity risk calculator which can predict a new-born’s chance of becoming obese as they get older.

However, thanks to a study conducted by researchers based at New Zealand’s Auckland University, the list of health problems in kids that can be attributed to the consumption of junk food can now be increased.

More specifically, they are coincidentally the same issues that a survey published last week found could possibly be connected to the failure of Brits to wash their bed sheets at least once every week – asthma, eczema and rhinitis.

The study was a project examining the dietary habits of 181,000 youngsters aged six to seven within 31 different countries, in addition to 319,000 teenagers aged 13-14 from 51 countries.
Both the kids and their parents were given questions regarding the youngster’s diets and if the kids suffered from symptoms of asthma, or had itchy eyes, runny noses and eczema – a skin condition that causes itching and red/dry skin that can be appear cracked or broken.

From the results of the Auckland University study, health experts are now concerned that a diet comprising of high levels of saturated fat can be detrimental to children’s immune systems. This is because it was discovered that teenagers who ate food such as burgers three times a week or more were at a 39% higher risk of developing severe asthma, whilst younger kids were found to be 27% more at risk.  In fact, regardless of gender or financial status, junk food was the only type of food to show similar health problems across both age groups.

Those who ate junk food at least three times each week were also more susceptible to the eye condition rhinoconjunctivitis (rhinitis) – characterised by various symptoms including sneezing, red eyes,  runny nose and nasal congestion. However, the researchers also learned that by consuming about three portions of fruit and veg each week could reduce the risk by 14% in the younger group and 11% for the teenagers.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the study authors state that their findings do not prove a definite cause and effect, but comment: “Fast food may be contributing to increasing asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables is likely to protect against these diseases.”

If you have suffering with Allergic rhinitis and/or asthma then Medical Specialists are at hand to help. We have a vast range of medications to help both asthma and allergy sufferers, all at fantastic prices. If you are suffering from asthma-like symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately for a diagnosis.

Your doctor is able to prescribe medication if he feels you have asthma. If you have already been prescribed an inhaler or 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. We have both blue (relievers) inhalers such as Ventolin and Salbutamol, and brown (preventers) inhalers such as Qvar Beclomethasone and Qvar Easi-Breathe.

If you suffer from hay fever or allergies we have many options for you including Alomide allergy eye drops, Loratadine tablets, Nasonex spray, Prevalin allergy nasal spray and Prevalin allergy kids nasal spray.

IVF babies could be at double the risk of developing asthma

Researchers based at Oxford University claim that a child who is born through In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is more than double likely to develop asthma compared to a child that is planned and then conceived naturally. During IVF, an egg is taken from the woman’s ovaries and then fertilised with the man’s sperm at a laboratory inside a dish. This fertilisation process is referred to as ‘in vitro’, which is the Latin meaning for ‘in glass’. The resultant embryo is then placed back inside the woman’s womb to grow and develop.

Cost of the treatment is incredibly expensive, with the UK and the U.S. leading the way in regards to each ‘live birth’ and it is the actual costliness of the underlying healthcare system that is taken into account more than anything else. Unfortunately, in recent times IVF has faced many controversies and some babies from IVF treatment have even joined together on internet forums later in their life to voice their distress and anger with their situation. Many feel socially ostracised and frustrated about not knowing their donor parent and genetic relatives they may have.

The asthma claims stem from what is the first ever UK study to analyse asthma risks following an IVF conception and have recently been published in the journal Human Reproduction. A possible connection was established by scientists at the University following an analysis of 18,818 children born in the UK in a two-year period between 2000 and 2002.

According to the study, children conceived after fertility treatment, are also more likely to suffering wheezing or have to use an anti-asthmatic medicine by the age of five; a potential indication of more severe asthma.  Despite the possible connection between IVF treatment and lung problems, the researchers stress that the findings do not definitely prove asthma is caused by IVF and that a child born as a result remains at low risk.

Childhood asthma is already a massive problem in the UK. In total it is estimated there are around 1.1 million children who are currently receiving treatment for asthma in the UK – an equivalent of 1 in every 11 children. Asthma rates have skyrocketed four-fold since the 1970s and some of the many risk factors for the problem have been covered in detail by Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Just this year alone we have seen a wide range of different issues that can contribute to asthma development, such as tobacco smoke, viral infections and mothers taking antibiotics during pregnancy.

In addition, approximately one child in every seven will experience ‘wheezing’ at some point during their first five years. The Oxford University study will raise concerns as the results show that IVF children are twice as likely to develop wheezing.

Researchers conducting the study found that children born to sub-fertile parents were 39% more likely to be experiencing asthma symptoms by the time they were aged five. Also the same children were 27% more likely to suffer with wheezing.

A thorough analysis of the results showed a link between health problems and assisted reproduction technology (ART). ARTs can include IVF as well as ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection); which involves injecting a single sperm straight into an egg to fertilise it.

Lead researcher Dr Claire Carson of Oxford University says that in total 15% of the children involved in their study were asthmatic at age five, with an increase to 24% within the 104 children born through assisted-reproduction technologies. As only 104 were born via this method, scientists have urged caution when translating the results.

Dr Carson explains: “Childhood asthma is a common condition in the UK where the prevalence of the condition is higher than other European countries, and to our knowledge this is the first UK study of asthma after IVF conceptions. Our analysis suggests that it is the ART group in particular who are at higher risk.”

Malayka Rahman, from the charity Asthma UK, said: “This study suggests that there might be an association between IVF treatment and asthma developing in children, but the sample size for this study is small and currently the research in this area generally is not conclusive. Overall research suggests that the absolute risk of asthma increasing after IVF appears to be small. Further work is needed to establish what might be causing this association and whether there are other factors at play other than the IVF treatment itself. In the meantime those considering IVF should speak to their GP about the benefits and health risks in order to make an informed decision.”

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.