Does Your Child Run The Risk of Developing Asthma?

Does Your Child Run the Risk of Developing Asthma?

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children and has become a serious health concern in the last decade especially for babies born near to the winter cold season and high traffic areas. According to the physicians at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, babies born in the fall have a higher risk of developing asthma than children born at other times of the year. In addition, researchers have found that hereditarily prone children who live near major roadways are more likely to develop asthma than kids who do not. It is unknown, yet speculated, whether these causes are from genetic predisposition, respiratory illnesses early on, or exposure to mold, mildew and pollen as a new born.

Researchers have determined that children who are born four months before the winter cold season are 30% more likely to develop asthma than children born at different times of the year because of their weakened immune systems. At 4 months old, the infant has just begun losing the immunity's passed on from the mother, but has yet to develop its own. Having such a weak immune system at around 4 months old makes children who are born in autumn more susceptible to getting respiratory infections, colds, and viruses such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) which is the most common cause of pneumonia and lung infection in infants. Tina Hartert, M.D. director of the Center for Asthma Research and Environmental Health at Vanderbilt explained that babies who develop RSV are 2 ½ to 4 times more likely to develop asthma. Furthermore, "This provides evidence that this virus causes asthma. The next step is proving that preventing RSV infections will prevent asthma. Currently it's almost impossible for children to avoid the virus, but since the first infection hits the hardest, keeping babies RSV-free for the first six months may make the illness less severe when it strikes. That means you should follow commonsense measures like frequent hand washing and keeping baby away from sick people during the peak cold season", explains Dr. Hartert.

Dr. Hartert along with other colleagues of hers examined the medical records of 95,310 mothers and corresponding infants born between 1995 and 2000. The study was conducted until year 2005 in Tennessee and all children involved were enrolled in the state's Medicaid program called TennCare. The study determined that all babies who had developed the lung infection RSV were at a higher risk of developing asthma; however, autumn infants ran an even greater risk. Dr. Hartert stated, "What we were able to show was the timing of birth and the risk of developing asthma moves in time almost to the day with the peak of these viral infections each winter." Dr. Hartert does acknowledge that genetic predisposition has a major hand on whether or not a child develops asthma or not, however, she also thinks that RSV exposure can trigger those asthma genes. Approximately 70% of children are exposed to RSV infections between 3 and 6 months of age, and most clear up without any severe side effects, however, researchers are trying now to prove that preventing lung infections early on might keep children from developing asthma later in life. "That is where we are now. We need to prove that preventing this infection prevents this lifelong chronic disease," Dr. Tina Hartert, M.D.

A study headed by researchers at the University of Southern California propose that children who carry particular genes that metabolize vehicle emanations and lived within 230 feet of heavy roadways were nine times more likely to develop asthma than children who did not. Muhammad T. Salam, Ph. D. the leading author to this study says, "This is one of the first studies to report that children with certain genetic backgrounds are even more susceptible to asthma than if they lived near major roads and did not carry the variations. We are working to understand how traffic-related exposures may interact with these genes, leading to asthma development." With asthma being the most common chronic disease in children, it's important for researchers to continue to show that the risk of asthma and lung development has direct ties to whether or not the children lived near heavy traffic areas or not. This way, prevention can be more easily determined and executed.

Studies have also been conducted on the correlation between asthma and the exposure to elevated levels of mold and pollen early in life. Researchers at the University of California Berkeley discovered that children born around fall and winter, the highest mold seasons, are more likely to begin wheezing before 2 years of age compared to children born during other seasons of the year. Dr. K.G. Harley and colleagues studied 514 children and concluded that there is a clear pattern between birth during mold seasons and wheezing. The risk of wheezing, an early symptom of asthma, was said to increase by three times when exposed to high levels of mold during birth in autumn and winter. In addition, exposure within the first three months of life to high levels of pollen and basidiospores and ascospores, two prevalent outdoor allergy causing particles, also amplified the risk of wheezing.

With asthma becoming an increasing health concern, it is important to protect your children and yourself against this deadly condition that to date, over 300 million people have. Asthma related deaths are projected to increase 20% in the next decade, so what are you doing to protect yourself?

At Cleanair4life, we have a plethora of air purification products that can help reduce the amount of contaminants in your home and thus, lessen the possibility of your child breathing in particles that could trigger and/or cause asthma. Our line of Blueair Air Cleaners has been proven to reduce 99.97% of particles down to 0.03 microns in size. With an air exchange rate of 6 times per hour, you can be sure that the Blueair's multiple pre-filters and high quality HEPA filter will be working hard to reduce the dangers of asthma causing particles from your home or office.

In addition, our line of Biozone Air Purifiers have been proven to actually destroy mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses and germs from the air AND surfaces of your home. This is extremely important seeing as children transfer viruses and germs from house to house and object to object so quickly; this unit can stop the spread of those dangerous organisms before they become harmful to your family. Both the Blueair and the Biozone Air Cleaners work to eliminate different aspects of the asthma triggering particulates, so combined, the two units virtually safe-guard your home from unsafe and asthma causing particles from entering your child's lungs. Take the proper steps to ensure your family is safe this year by reducing the amount of exposure to harmful particles that could be the cause of asthma in young children. Begin each day fresh and new; enveloped in clean air.

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