Lung Disease

Does it really pay to lure companies?I read with much interest Neal Peirce's column of May 5, "Corporate subsidies: Who really benefits?," and the fact that Ohio is launching a study on the subject.What is the net impact of these subsidies when it comes to air and water quality and public safety? Who pays for the new roads, sewers and additional school facilities? What of the community that such a corporation left behind; does it then need state aid?When asking about Maryland's Sunny Day Fund, we are told that it is necessary to be competitive.

My 8-year-old daughter has been coughing up blood. Otherwise, she seems fine.How worried should I be about this?Coughing up blood (called hemoptysis by doctors) should always be taken seriously.It is an unusual symptom in childhood. When it does occur, it may be a sign of a lung disease that requires treatment.Before listing some of the most common causes of hemoptysis during childhood, we want to point out that it is not always easy to tell whether the blood is coming from the lungs or the stomach, but both are important.

Predictions that a new prescription weight-loss pill will attract millions of frustrated dieters have some doctors worrying about a potential side effect that is worse than fat -- a deadly lung disease called primary pulmonary hypertension.Lung specialists concede they have not proved that the drug, to be sold as Redux, triggers the disease. Even if the link is proved, the risk may be very small for the individual patient taking the medication.But they said the affliction is so serious that the drug should be prescribed only for the truly obese -- and even then, with extreme caution.

Peter G. Angelos, the attorney who has made millions suing asbestos companies on behalf of factory workers and is taking on the tobacco industry, yesterday pledged $1 million for lung research in Maryland.The gift is the largest in the history of the American Lung Association of Maryland. It will go toward a $3 million endowment campaign to support research into preventing, curing and treating pulmonary diseases.In presenting a check for $350,000 as the first installment, Angelos said, "Every business, individual and professional has an obligation to give back to the community."

My husband is only in his early 60s, but even walking up a flight of stairs leaves him short of breath and exhausted. He has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Are there any new treatments?Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes asthma, emphysema (loss of elasticity of the lungs) and chronic bronchitis, is a leading cause of disability and death among older adults. Shortness of breath is the most oppressive symptom of COPD. Other symptoms, such as chronic cough, frequent respiratory infections, disturbed sleep and personality changes, are due not only to the damage to the lung tissue that causes breathlessness, but also to resulting low levels of oxygen in the blood.

With smog season rapidly approaching, Baltimore-area residents who hate yardwork soon may have a good excuse -- and advance warning -- to skip mowing their lawns on certain hot, sunny days.Maryland environmental officials yesterday disclosed plans for an early alert system this spring and summer that will forecast high levels of smog a day ahead so that the many people affected by ozone pollution can restrict their outdoor exertions.And when the state predicts a "bad air" day, it also intends to ask the public to help fight ozone by avoiding polluting activities, such as using gasoline-powered lawn mowers, driving alone to work and taking the family motorboat out for a cruise.

The frail boy with big hazel eyes sits in a wheelchair tethered by tubes that feed him and pump oxygen into his lungs. He gasps for air after every word.A rare disease has hardened the lungs and ravaged the body of 7-year-old Nicholas Eagle, who loved the outdoors and swimming, bike riding and playing baseball just five months ago.His legs -- thin and sapped of strength -- no longer can manage simple steps. His face is puffy and pale, the result of heavy doses of steroids.But on a crisp and sunny late fall day in the family room of his two-story Colonial house in Bel Air, Nicholas smiles and says he's glad to be back home after spending more than four months in bed at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

WMC golf course aids Lung AssociationM. Joseph Munzer, golf shop manager of Western Maryland College Golf Course, has been recognized for helping the American Lung Association of Maryland raise $84,00 to fight lung disease.The Western Maryland College Golf Course in Westminster was a sponsor of the Golf Privilege Card, which entitles card holders to free rounds of golf at participating courses throughout the state.The association said sales of the 1993 card were triple those of last year, raising money for lung disease research, advocacy to combat environmental hazards to breathing, and teaching programs so that individuals can recognize, prevent and manage lung disease.

Q: All the publicity about the risks of a high cholesterol count for heart disease have made me very happy that my careful dietary habits have always kept my cholesterol close to 150. Now I have read there may be some danger from having a cholesterol level that is too low. Would it be a good idea for me to follow a less rigid diet so my cholesterol would be higher?A: No! Newspaper headlines recently trumpeted some findings from the MRFIT study which reported a cholesterol level below 160 mg/dl was associated with a higher death rate from several causes.

ALBANY, Ga. -- Slowly, very slowly, Jerry Cochran is suffocating.Mr. Cochran, a 39-year-old former sailor, has a fatal lung disease that doctors say he contracted from tiny silica shards inhaled while he was grinding non-skid adhesive material off the decks of an aircraft carrier to prepare it for resurfacing.Since leaving the Navy with a medical discharge in 1975, life's daily routine has been difficult for Mr. Cochran, a short, heavyset man. Walking a city block or climbing a flight of stairs leaves him gasping for breath.