Asthma prevention

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Asthma is caused by a combination of inflammation and irritation, and if the two arrive at the same time then an asthmatic can find themselves in serious trouble! So prevent, and be aware.

In asthmatics, the inflammation is to the inside of the airways within the lungs. As these airways get smaller and smaller, the effects of inflammation on the inner lining have a bigger and bigger impact.  Environmental irritation causes contraction of the muscles that control the "openess" of these tubes, and if the space is small in the first place then they're only going to get really tight once they've been irritated!

So if you have a tendency to suffer from asthma and you're heading out into the "Great Outdoors", PLEASE go well prepared because sometimes you just don't know what might trigger that asthma attack and you might be a long way away from support and help. Simple things like insect bites, smoke from a camp fire, a fruit bar with nut oil, or even just a change in the weather can trigger an episode.

Prevention is the key to good asthma control. Getting any inflammation under control and making sure that you can avoid "Triggers" where possible are both fundamental to preventing a potentially serious asthmatic attacks. According to Dr. James Sublett, chairman of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Public Relations Committee,  "Planning ahead, seeing an allergist and knowing the causes of allergy and asthma, even those with the most sensitive noses and lungs can enjoy summer fun".

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Unexpected Hormone supplements?

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I remember reading a newspaper article back in the '70's about strange events in the fish population of the Great Lakes: apparently the male fish were becoming feminized and it was thought to be due to the increased amounts of Oestrogen flowing into the giant waterway from the urine of women now on the Oral Contraceptive Pill.

This fact returned to me the other day when reading an article which highlighted the possibility of a link between the increased rate of Prostate cancer with the OCP. David Margel, MD, from the Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada reported a demographic study where he and his colleagues found that in areas with the highest use of the OCP, there was an increased rate of Prostate Cancer. He also stressed that this was an "observational" study and no way intended to link the Pill to Prostate cancer, or to suggest that women should come off the Pill: but it does open a window onto an area that is murky to say the least.

There have been many environmental reports over the years on how synthetic organo-chlorines, PCBs and Dioxins have had adverse effects on fish, reptiles and amphibians. Spare a thought for the poor, confused, male Cricket Frogs in Illinois, where 9% of their confreres, instead of having two testicles, have one testicle and one ovary! And 90% of male Tiger frogs had eggs in their testes!

But can synthetic hormones that are found in the OCP find their way into the waterways and cause environmental problems? The answer is yes: but 90% of those synthetic hormones do NOT come from humans, but from cattle! Also, most of the synthetic hormones from humans do get removed from the water supply through current sewage treatment management. The problem is that the largest offenders - cattle - tend not to use toilets and their urine and faeces eventually ends up in the waterways.

Finally, the link to prostate cancer is curious as we commonly use Oestrogens to help suppress the growth of Prostate cancer, so how does this theraputic medicine become a driver of malignancy? These uncertainties should remind us that this latest study is an "Observation", and not meant to point a finger. So, for me, this report is a timely reminder that as we develop these powerful medications to help us fight disease, we should constantly be thinking of what happens to medications and their metabolites, once they have gone through the body - think antibiotics, chemotherapy medications, radioactive tracer dyes used in Radiography and now the latest medical treatments using Nanoparticles - and perhaps even more importantly, that most of these medications will have been used in farm animals for many years before they are released onto humans!
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