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Showing posts from April, 2007

Asthma Medications for Kids

The annual direct health care cost of asthma is approximately $11.5 billion; indirect costs (e.g. lost productivity) add another $4.6 billion, for a total of $16.1 billion dollars. Prescription drugs represented the largest single indirect cost, at $5 billion. The value of lost productivity due to death represented the largest single indirect cost at $1.7 billion. 1 INHALED BRONCHODILATOR MEDICATIONS Inhaled bronchodilator medications are highly effective in opening airways narrowed by asthma. In addition, they have few severe side effects when used in the recommended dose and frequency. They are available by both metered dose inhaler and nebulizer. Inhaled bronchodilator medication produces much fewer side effects than theophylline and is preferred over theophylline for routine use, for severe episodes and for prevention of exercise-induced asthma. In certain cases both may be used. For children with mild asthma this is often the only medication they will need. Inhaled bronchod

Controlling Your Child's Asthma

HOW DO YOU CONTROL ASTHMA? First, it is important that you and your child understand what control means. To completely control asthma is to reduce its frequency and severity, so that the asthma does not interfere with normal activities. The degree of control varies with each child as some children with severe asthma are extremely difficult to control. Control of asthma begins by learning which trigger factors are important to your child. Since no two children with asthma are alike, an individualized comprehensive evaluation must be made of your child to determine his or her trigger factors. The child's history is by far the most important part of the evaluation. Your physician may recommend that you see a lung or an asthma/allergy specialist to help him with this evaluation. Skin testing may be required to determine which allergens may be important. Special diets and careful challenges with suspected foods usually will detect food allergies. Other laboratory studies, including pulm

ABOUT CHILDHOOD ASTHMA

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. In 2004, an estimated 4 million children under 18 years old have had an asthma attack in the past 12 months, and many others have "hidden" or undiagnosed asthma. 1 Asthma is the most common cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease and accounted for an estimated 14 million lost school days. 2 Even though asthma cannot be cured, it can almost always be controlled. For this reason, the American Lung Association has chosen control of childhood asthma as one of its top priorities. The better you and your child understand asthma and its treatment, the better you will be able to control it. HOW DO NORMAL LUNGS FUNCTION? Lungs allow oxygen to enter the body in exchange for its waste product, carbon dioxide. As the air passes through the nose and mouth, it is rapidly warmed and moistened to avoid injury to the delicate lining of the airways. The nose and airways also trap large particles (dust, pollen

A C A : Antibodi Antikardiolipid

Keguguran berulang dengan tanpa sebab yang jelas bisa jadi karena antibodi antikardiolipid (ACA). Antibodi itu juga bisa menyebabkan stroke dan infark jantung pada usia muda. Demikian diungkapkan pakar hemostasis dan trombosis Prof Dr dr Karmel L Tambunan SpPD KHOM dari Bagian Ilmu Penyakit Dalam Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia (FKUI) dalam jumpa pers menjelang Kongres Nasional Perhimpunan Hematologi dan Transfusi Darah Indonesia (PHTDI) IX, Selasa (4/9), di Jakarta. Kongres itu, menurut Ketua PHTDI dr Zubairi Djoerban SpPD KHOM, akan diselenggarakan tanggal 7-9 September 2001 di Semarang. Selain diikuti anggota PHTDI dari seluruh Indonesia, juga akan dihadiri para ahli dari Kanada, Australia, Selandia Baru, Inggris, Belanda, Perancis, Thailand, dan Singapura. Pembicara lain dalam jumpa pers adalah Prof Dr dr A Harryanto Reksodiputro SpPD KHOM, dr Djumhana Atmakusuma SpPD KHOM, dan Kepala Unit Transfusi Darah Palang Merah Indonesia dr Auda Aziz .

Early Warning Signals

You and your child can become experts in spotting the early signals of Asthma. Maybe you're experts already! As one alert parent said to her child: "Asthma may not be a friend, but if it's an enemy, at least it isn't sneaky. It always gives a warning." Every child with asthma has a built-in early warning system that signals when symptoms are on the way. Those signals can be seen, heard, and felt. Every child has his or own pattern of signals. But parents and children can make keen observation a habit and learn how to recognize those patterns -- the body's messages to get going and head off those symptoms before they get bad. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Anxious or scared look Cough, especially at night Unusual paleness or sweating Flared nostrils when the child tries to get some air Pursed lips breathing Fast breathing Vomiting Hunched-over body posture; the child can't stand or sit straight and can't relax Restlessness during sleep Fatigue that isn&