Archive for August, 2009

Colleen: I have a three-year-old with asthma-related symptoms. Is this a real syndrome, and if so, does it mean it will definitely turn into asthma? Also, I quit smoking through my first two pregnancies, and they are fine. I did not quit until my 8th month in my third pregnancy ... Full story

Dick: Let's go to an e-mail question from Steve in Alaska. He has recently changed insurance companies, and they are expecting different things and maybe have different requirements. want to provide the same coverage he has had. You're going through this situation, too, Elizabeth, with the ... Full story

Alois: Well, my child is an asthmatic and she has serious coughing attacks instead of the typical wheezing. I would like to know, how can I tell if she's having an asthma attack or allergy attack, compared to a cold? Dr. Ayars: First of all, how old is your child? Alois: She's 8. Dr. Ayars: Well, I'll ... Full story

Dick: Is what is happening with asthma at all similar to what happens with cystic fibrosis? Dr. Berger: Well, cystic fibrosis is a different type of disease, and again, it is genetic. It's one of the more common genetic diseases, but the difference is that in cystic fibrosis, it has to do with an abnormality in the mucus formation. It's very ... Full story

Dick: We are going to move to the portion of our program now where we invite our listeners to ask questions of our experts. An e-mail question first from Sharon in Michigan. "You have mentioned the different pharmaceutical companies have different patient assistance programs. Can you tell ... Full story

Affecting an estimated 12 million Americans, asthma accounts for 15 million annual visits to the physician and 1.2 million visits to the emergency room. If you suffer from asthma and want to better manage your symptoms, We suggest you ask the following questions the next time you visit your doctor. What can I do to help prevent an attack? Is there something in the new National Institutes of ... Full story

Well, one of the things that's always been of interest to most allergy and asthma specialists is trying to find the cause of the allergic response. Why are people having this problem? With the medications that we have available now are treating the symptoms. In other words, inflammation is the end result of an allergic reaction. Now, allergic reactions occur because, ... Full story

Dick: Why is Avonex the only one of the ABCR treatments that is currently covered by Medicare? Dr. Frohman: One of the principal issues has been the difficulty of ... Full story

Andrew: Dr. Shapiro, how can a person determine when to see their primary care physician and when to seek out a specialist? Dr. Shapiro: If you are finding that you need escalating amounts of medication and you're starting to be concerned about side-effects of medication or you're not getting good management of the problem, you should certainly suggest that you would like to ... Full story

Andrew: Over the years that we've been producing the Asthma Education Network, I've noticed that there are many people with asthma who seek information, but some people are rather complacent about it. As an asthma specialist, are you concerned that some asthmatics may not be doing all they can to manage their illness? Dr. Shapiro: Oh, yes, it's a major problem! As I ... Full story