Asthma

Nearly 20 million people (about 9 million of them children) in the United States suffer from asthma, according to the National Institutes of Health. An asthma attack or episode can include symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. And summer, with its heat and high humidity, can be a particularly difficult season for those who have the chronic disease, says Dr. John Bacon, an allergy, asthma and immunology specialist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. Why are the summer months difficult for asthma sufferers?

Shore bike tourThe American Lung Association of Maryland sponsors a bike tour all levels of cyclists Saturday. The tour begins at Salisbury State University. From there participants can choose among flat 40-, 65-, 80- or 100-mile routes that are tailored for both beginner and expert. The courses weave through rural towns and end on Assateague Island National Park where cyclists receive their commemorative T-shirts and enjoy an Eastern Shore crab feast. Proceeds will benefit the lung association's asthma education programs.

It's hot hot hot, and the dust is flying. Dust mites feed with gusto this time of year, when humidity goes up and down and the air conditioner goes on and off. A few hundred thousand invisible spidery insects creeping around bed sheets and pillows are bad enough to consider. Knowing the waste from these microscopic critters does the real damage drives even the cleanest people to obsession.Dust mites are so tiny they weren't detected indoors until the 1960s. And as modern indoor living has developed over the last three decades, they've become the bane of doctors and parents.

The Lifetime Achievement Gala of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America did double duty -- it honored the co-founder and board chair of the Maryland-Greater Washington chapter, and raised some $21,000 for a Breathmobile, an asthma clinic on wheels.Some 130 people gathered at the Center Club to honor Dr. Philip Norman, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization. Well-wishers included his wife, Marion, their two daughters, son and five grandchildren.Also in the congratulatory crowd: foundation executive director Mary-anne Ellis; event honorary co-chairs Dr. Lawrence M. Lichtenstein and Dr. Peter S. Creticos; event committee members Heather Lamont and Michele Jackson; board VP Dr. LeLeng To; board members Mona Tsouklexis and Linda Borschuk; Pat Pullen, Merck & Co. health-science associate; Dr. Mark Liu, pulmonary and allergy specialist at the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center; Dr. Jay Perman, pediatrics chair at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Zoe Togias, legal counsel with the World Bank.

NIKI HAAS HAS HAD A very busy year. The seventh-grader at Northwest Middle School has managed to act in a school play, perform with the school chorus, play the violin in front of a demanding judge at the State Solo and Ensemble Contest and make a trip to the White House to meet first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.The latter honor stemmed from a recommendation from counselors at Camp Superkids in Silver Spring, a camp for children with asthma. Niki has attended the camp every summer for years, and her energy and enthusiasm captured the attention of camp staff.

The Carroll County school system announced yesterday that it will consider adding a "good Samaritan" clause to its "zero-tolerance" drug policy in the wake of an incident involving a middle school student who shared her asthma inhaler with an ailing friend.Christine Rhodes, a 12-year-old honor student at Mount Airy Middle School, shared her asthma medication with Brandy Dyer, 13, who was having a severe asthma attack on the bus ride home from school April 22.Christine's parents said they were told at first that their daughter's school record would be marred for three years because she unwittingly violated a policy against distributing prescription medication to schoolmates.

A 12-year-old honor student in Mount Airy is paying the price for committing a random act of kindness.Christine Rhodes' school record is marred, her dreams of playing in the school band jeopardized. Her crime: She shared her asthma medication with a fellow student who was having a severe asthma attack.Brandy Dyer, 13, had the attack while riding the bus home from school April 22. She was gasping for air and numb in her feet and hands. So, as the bus driver dialed 911, Christine gave Brandy her asthma inhaler.

Chesapeake Biological Laboratories Inc. said yesterday that it has expanded a production agreement with Sheffield Pharmaceuticals Inc. for a new inhaler for people with asthma and other respiratory diseases.Joseph A. Twist, a spokesman for Baltimore-based CBL, said the deal broadens an alliance formed in May 1996 in which CBL helped St. Louis-based Sheffield develop an inhaler loaded with albuterol sulfate, a medication commonly prescribed for asthma.CBL contracts with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to produce sterile batches of their drugs for clinical trials and marketing.

The autopsy performed on Parrish Michael Spinoso, a Howard County inmate, discovered two undissolved pills -- believed to be Ecotrin, part of the jail's withdrawal treatment -- in his stomach, state medical examiner officials said yesterday.Officials said toxicology tests conducted during the autopsy -- released Tuesday -- found no drugs in Spinoso's system. The family's attorney then charged that the medical examiner's report contradicted the jail's account of the events before Spinoso's death.

A 12-year-old honor student in Mount Airy is paying the price for committing a random act of kindness.Christine Rhodes' school record is marred, her dreams of playing in the school band jeopardized. Her crime: She shared her asthma medication with a fellow student who was having a severe asthma attack.Brandy Dyer, 13, had the attack while riding the bus home from school April 22. She was gasping for air and numb in her feet and hands. So, as the bus driver dialed 911, Christine gave Brandy her asthma inhaler.

WASHINGTON - -An analysis in 10 states of people hospitalized with the pandemic strain of H1N1 influenza shows that asthma is by far the most common underlying condition associated with severe cases of the disease. In children, other much rarer chronic conditions, such as sickle cell anemia, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, are also predisposing patients to life-threatening bouts of the virus, federal health officials said. Epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied the experience of about 1,400 people older than 18, and 500 children, who had been hospitalized in 10 states since the new influenza strain emerged in April.

Spring means the same two things every year for Brian Nehus: The grass grows, and his nose runs. The 27-year-old from Kingsville finally had enough and ended up at the Asthma Sinus Allergy Program at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He learned after a battery of skin tests that he is indeed allergic to his lawn, as well as weeds and cats. "I need to cut the grass," said Nehus, as he studied his arm, which was full of red blotches, the result of the tests. "I have about an acre of land.

FDA advisers back limits on asthma drugs WASHINGTON: Government health advisers recommended restrictions yesterday on some long-acting asthma drugs, although not Advair, a top-selling medication. Outside experts advising the Food and Drug Administration said Foradil and Serevent no longer should be used for asthma. But they said the benefits of the more widely used Advair and Symbicort clearly outweigh the risks. Each contains an ingredient that relaxes muscles around stressed airways, which may mask symptoms that can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks.

Hundreds of thousands more children are taking medications for chronic diseases, with a huge spike over a four-year period in the number given drugs to treat conditions once seen primarily in adults and now linked to what has become an epidemic of childhood obesity. In a study appearing today in the journal Pediatrics, researchers saw surges in the number of U.S. children taking prescription medicines for diabetes and asthma, with smaller increases in those taking drugs for high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

Last week against No. 2 Severna Park, Fallston's field hockey team struggled on offense, but yesterday, the attack struck with precision as the No. 5 Cougars upset No. 1 Garrison Forest, 3-1, in an afternoon contest riddled with injury and illness for the host Grizzlies. Two Garrison Forest players were taken to the hospital by ambulance - Bayley Mullan, who was hit in the head with a ball, and Sarah Krolus, who suffered a severe asthma attack - and still another, Cody Magness, sat out late in the game struggling to catch her breath.

I was prescribed Advair for asthma. It worked well for my breathing problem, but my skin became thin, and I started bruising badly. Then I experienced horrible damage to my skin, with deep gashes from a slight bump. One day, I leaned on the bathroom counter, and several inches of the skin on my arm peeled off. My lung specialist insisted Advair was not responsible for thinning skin. My pharmacist said it could be from steroids. She checked my meds and told me Advair contains a steroid. My doctor still said it was not the medication.

A number of cribs and changing tables commonly sold at retail outlets contain unhealthy levels of formaldehyde, a consumer advocacy group reported yesterday. A lab tested the furniture in sealed chambers and found formaldehyde levels in four changing tables and two cribs in excess of air quality standards set by California this year, according to Johanna Neumann, director of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group. Six of 21 cribs and other nursery products gave off formaldehyde at levels that increase the risk of asthma and respiratory problems, the group reported.

Police substation to close this month A police substation in a Hillendale shopping plaza will close at the end of the month, but county officials say they are searching for a new location for the service. The substation has been at the Hillendale Center since 1998. Towson-precinct officers who specialize in community outreach, state parole and probation officers, and neighborhood groups use the substation, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. The lease expires May 31 and the owners of the shopping center do not want to renew it, according to county officials.

Asthma Kids breathe easier around more trees Young children who live in neighborhoods with lots of trees have lower rates of asthma than children who reside in areas with fewer trees, a new study finds. Researchers looked at asthma rates among children ages 4 to 5 in New York City. Asthma rates decreased by almost one-quarter for every standard deviation increase in tree density, equivalent to 343 trees per square kilometer, the study found. The researchers said trees may help reduce asthma rates by encouraging children to play outdoors more or by improving air quality.

Eight-year-old Justus Brown has had allergy problems before, but nothing like he experienced Sunday on the way to church in Towson - an attack that his parents blame on last week's record pollen counts. "He told me on Sunday morning he made a `funny noise' when he breathed," recalled his mother, Kenya Brown, 37, of Owings Mills. Justus was wheezing, and he knew something was wrong. "I thought I was going to die," he said. "It felt horrible every time I walked. Every second I had to bend down and catch my breath."