Archive for the ‘Allergies’ Category

New Treatment For Asthma

Asthma is a common disease in which the airways in the lung become inflamed and then narrow when muscles within the airway walls contract. Conventional therapies use two type of drugs viz short- term relievers and long-term controllers. While the relievers as the name suggests, treat the symptoms and eliminate them, giving short term relief, during an attack controllers are aimed at suppressing the inflammation in the airways. But this therapy may not be effective in treating severe or persistent conditions.

Bronchial themoplasty is a potential new asthma treatment currently undergoing clinical testing. Developed by a medical device company called Asthmatx Inc, this procedure has the potential to provide relief to asthma patients who do not respond to conventional treatment. A clinical trial was conducted on sixteen adults with mild to moderate asthma that did not respond to current asthma treatments. The results of the study are encouraging as 75 percent of the participants reported that the new treatment allowed to function better in daily activities and reduced peak expiratory flow readings.

Bronchioplasty is a new procedure, designed to reduce the tendency of narrowing of asthmatic airways. In this new procedure, the airways are treated in half-hour treatment sessions and may require up to three sessions to fully treat both lungs. The treatment, like any other endoscopy, is delivered through a bronchoscope. The procedure uses radio frequency energy to the airway to alter the ability of the muscles in the airway walls to constrict. When the constriction is reduced, it results in a reduction in the frequency as well as severity of asthma attacks in patients. Radio frequency energy is sent through a catheter inserted through the bronchoscope that heats the smooth muscle walls to approximately 149 º F.

The Blockbuster Herbal Formulation for Asthma http://www.healasthma.com

This procedure is expected to have an impact on the treatment of asthma in future. It is hoped that this procedure could be useful in reducing the severity and frequency of asthma attacks and be an alternative to the conventional asthma treatments although it is not intended to cure asthma.

NEW TREATMENT FOR ASTHMA

The Blockbuster Herbal Formulation for Asthma http://www.healasthma.com

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Treatment For Asthma In Children

Asthma is a chronic lung condition with narrowed airways and inflammation. It can occur at any age, though mostly children are affected. If a child is diagnosed with asthma, it is important to treat it even if the child may feel good at most of the time. This is because even a mild asthma may result in changes to the airways that speed up and worsen the natural decrease in lung function that occurs as a person ages. An early treatment is also important in babies and small children because they may have more serious problems than adults due to their smaller bronchial tubes.

One review has noted that one-third of fatal asthma attacks occurred in children with mild asthma. Hence, even if a child’s asthma does not appear severe, a right plan has to be developed by working with the physician. Some experts suggest using the rule of two which states that young children should be treated with long-term medications for persistent asthma if they have symptoms more than 2 times a week or use more than 2 canisters of a quick-relief medication per year.

Since asthma develops from a complex interaction of genetics, environmental factors, and the reaction of the immune system, no one plan will be effective for all children.

Medications like oral or injected corticosteroids may be used to get the child’s asthma under control before starting with daily medication. They can be taken to treat any sudden and severe symptoms such as shortness of breath. Inhaled corticosteroids like beclomethansone dipropionate, triamcinolone acetonide, fluticasone propionate, budesonide and flunisolide are the preferred medications for long term treatment of asthma as they reduce the inflammation of the airways in the child. They have to be taken daily to keep the asthma under control and to prevent asthma attacks.

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Short acting beta 2 agonists like albuterol and pirbuterol are medications that are used to relax the airways and allow the child to breathe easily, during asthma attacks. Apart from these medications, educating the child about asthma is more important. The more a child knows about asthma, the more likely it is to control symptoms and reduce the risk of asthma attack. Instructing the child on how to use a metered-dose inhaler or dry powder inhaler correctly can help him or her control the symptoms and avoid asthma attacks that can result in emergency care. An asthma action plan that contains directions to help the family and the child control asthma attacks at home has to be made. This helps to identify triggers that can be changed or avoided, be aware of the symptoms and know how to make quick decisions about medication and treatment.

TREATMENT FOR ASTHMA IN CHILDREN

The Blockbuster Herbal Formulation for Asthma http://www.healasthma.com

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Treatment And Solutions For Asthma

Asthma is now becoming one of the major health problems affecting people around the world. Asthma is a chronic, treatable disease that causes narrowing of airways in the lungs in response to allergens, making it difficult to breathe at times. When not treated properly it can interfere with the daily life of the patient and cause breathing complications and even lead to death. Assessing and monitoring the condition is the first important step towards treating asthma.

The specific medical treatment for asthma depends on the severity of the condition and the frequency of symptoms. Specific treatments for asthma are broadly classified as relief medications, preventive medications and emergency treatment. Bronchodilators are recommended for short-term relief for all patients. Patients with mild occasional attacks need no other medication. For people with mild persistent attacks, low-dose glucocorticoids, a mastcell stabilizer or leukotriene modifiers are to be taken in addition to relievers. In severe asthmatics oral glucocorticoids may be added to these treatments during attacks.

Asthmatics must also identify the triggers that cause the allergic reaction in them and find ways to reduce or eliminate them. Asthma is very strongly associated with air pollution, which causes the condition to worsen in asthmatics.

While the medications can sometimes help control the symptoms of asthma, it is often a temporary measure only and does not address the root cause. Besides these prescription drugs can cause side effects such as fatigue, dizziness, depression, impotence, liver damage and more. That is why more and more patients now are choosing natural medicines that address the root cause, over pharmaceutical drugs that trick the body’s immune response system. The task in case of asthma is to strengthen the weak body systems and soothe and calm the hyperactive systems. This is done by substances called catalysts.

Natural medications provide natural organic catalysts to the body that restore balance in the system and thereby eliminate all the symptoms without any side effects. Breathing techniques such as pranayam, buteyko and yoga practices also are helpful as they naturally help the breathing and the general well-being of patients. Nutritional supplements and good diet will help improve the immune response and the overall health of the patients. Asthma sufferers should try to manage their condition as much as possible with complementary therapies to avoid further stressing their immune system with drug residues.

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TREATMENT AND SOLUTIONS FOR ASTHMA

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New Asthma Treatment

Asthma is the chronic lung condition in which the immune system becomes hypersensitive when exposed to some substances called triggers or allergens. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is an antibody that is elevated in many patients with asthma. This is partly responsible for the initial phase of the allergic response leading to swelling of the airways and wheeze.

Since asthma symptoms are caused by different factors that contribute to inflammation in the airways, medications must be administered to treat the inflammation.

The antibody treatment: where an antibody based drug is administered into the patient is a novel approach to treating asthma. It works like this- the antibody that is administered into the patient’s body as a medication, attacks the patient’s circulating Immunoglobulin E antibody. By binding Immunoglobulin E, it prevents the IgE from attaching to cells that release substances (including histamine) when they encounter allergens, as they recruit other cells causing more inflammation in the airways.

BLOCKBUSTER herbal formulation for ASTHMA - CURE your ASTHMA in 10 days

The antibody based drug treats the underlying cause of asthma triggered by allergies rather than the symptoms that inhaled corticosteroids address. Since no other medication attacks this mechanism in asthma, this is a new approach as well as an effective one. This antibody drug is available in the market in the names of Omalizumab, Xolair etc.

NEW ASTHMA TREATMENT

This treatment may be considered in patients who do not respond to the conventional therapy and also in patients with moderate to severe asthma with persistent symptoms despite aggressive treatment. Patients who have documented allergies to specific allergens in the environment such as pollens, dust mites can typically consider this medication as it works by minimizing the allergic response in the airways. The drug is administered by subcutaneous injection, much like allergy shots. Although it not meant to replace the existing therapies, this drug reduced the number of asthma exacerbations and emergency room visits, according to the studies. Thus this therapy can be used where the conventional asthma therapies are not working.

The Blockbuster Herbal Formulation for Asthma http://www.healasthma.com

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Hidden Dangers Of Cosmetic Products

In the US, literally thousands of people are suffering from adverse effects and reactions from cosmetic products. According to The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, there are over 900 chemicals in cosmetics contents that have toxic substances and are dangerous to your health and well-being.

Decorative Contact lenses

You may want your eyes twinkle like your idol superstar but do you know that wearing decorative contact lenses can snatch your eyesight?

Decorative contact lenses carry the same risks as corrective contact lenses, including

  • conjunctivitis (pink eye);
  • corneal (the eye’s outermost layer) ulcers;

  • corneal abrasion;

  • and vision impairment or blindness.

Further, sharing of contact lenses prescribed for one person can also lead to infections, abrasions, allergic reaction or blindness.

Food & Drug Administration (FDA) of America has received reports of corneal ulcers associated with the wearing of decorative contact lenses, especially when worn overnight.

Corneal ulcers, an infection of the eye, can progress rapidly if left untreated. Uncontrolled infection can lead to corneal scarring and vision impairment. In the most severe cases, this condition can result in blindness and eye loss.

Anti-Wrinkle Cream

“Age doesn’t bring you wisdom, it brings you wrinkles.” How true the words spoken by American actress, Estelle Getty. For years women all over the world are using the anti-wrinkles creams to look young and stay beautiful – to perennial despair.

Formally, collagen used in anti-wrinkle is crucial to keeping your skin as smooth as silk. Unfortunately as the years go by, collagen also ages and shrinks, contributing to wrinkles.

Lanolin, promoted as being able to ‘penetrate the skin better than other oils’, was found to contain pesticides, dioxins and known carcinogens.

Collagen, lanolin, liposomes, and elastin in the cream cannot get rid of wrinkles. They only help to moisturize and merely “make-up” up the skin to create unconvincingly youthful appearance. They cannot slow down or reverse the skins ageing process.

Just as eating bone would not repair a broken arm, applying an anti-ageing cream on your face won’t repair or remake saggy skin. And vegetarians take note: Most collagen and elastin is waste from the meat industry!

Foundation

Many liquid foundation make-ups contain mineral oil, a suspected human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). Mineral oil (classed as a petrochemical pollutant) can have negative effects on hormones and the skin’s ability to breathe, attract moisture and detoxify.

It can also slow down cell renewal and causes premature ageing. In fact sunscreens produced from mineral oil may promote skin cancer as well as colon and breast cancer. However, no cosmetic manufacturers put health warnings on their products, and in the US, the FDA does not require this information to be on packaging.

Lipstick

The most toxic of all cosmetics.

Some lipsticks contain substances that can cause cancer, deformities and stillbirths. Many women also experience dryness, chapping, cracked and peeling lips from using lipsticks. Other problems that have been reported are inflamed eyes skin rashes, burns, numbness, swollen gums and respiratory problems.

The cause of the problems may be the perfume oils used, any of the colours, indelible dyes, vehicles for the dyes, or some of the other ingredients in the lipstick. It also contains lanolin, which can cause allergic reactions.

Nail Polish

A toxic product which should have a warning label. Contains phenol, toluene and xylene. Its basic ingredient is a formaldehyde resin which can cause discoloration and bleeding under the nails.

Phenol is suspected of causing cancer in humans, it can cause swelling, peeling, burning or breaking out in hives and pimples, if it comes into contact with skin.

Toluene is easily absorbed through the skin but eliminated slowly from the body. It can cause fatigue and weakness. Chronic exposure to toluene may bring in irritation of the mucous membrane, headache vertigo (giddiness) nausea and loss of appetite.

Nail polish removers are just as harmful. Its primary ingredient is acetone, a solvent which can cause your nails to become brittle and split, and can cause skin rashes to develop on your fingers.

The fumes from nail polish remover, when inhaled, can irritate your lungs and make you feel light-headed.

Lydia Ismail is a writer, who writes about issues that affect our health,
lifestyle and well-being. Her first ebook titled “The Fashion Crap” certainly ruffles up some feathers in blogs and forums. It discusses fashion that can hurt, maim and kill. Lydia can be reached at http://www.fashioncrap.com and her blog at http://www.verygoodtips.com

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Why You Must Do Pulsatile Nasal Irrigation Even If You’re “Healthy”

Take a quick glance around you while in any drug store and you will notice the number of sinus irrigation products on the shelves have increased significantly in the past 10 years. There’s Ocean Nasal Spray, Neilmed, Simply Saline, and the list goes on. All this points to the fact that saline irrigation is an effective means for treating our noses. We wash our hands to get rid of germs. We take showers to get rid of germs. We brush our teeth to get rid of germs. Yet we let the insides of our nose fester, as it gets dirtier and dirtier.

Ancient people seemed to understand the value in treating the nose with salt and water. Now we modern people seem to be catching on as well. Oprah Winfrey helped popularize nasal irrigation in 2007 when she had Dr. Mehmet Oz introduce the neti pot. A family friend of ours, a nurse who works in a city school district, teaches her students how to use the neti pot – and with great results. The students rinse out their noses and learn that not only does this strategy clean their nose, but also that much needs to “exit” so they can stay infection-free. And that is precisely what happens to them after doing irrigation.

Now I must give credit where credit is due: the doctor who pioneered the concept of nasal irrigation in the United States is Dr. Murray Grossan, of Los Angeles, California, an innovative ENT specialist who created the Grossan Hydro Pulse Nasal-Sinus Irrigation System, which has reportedly sold 400,000 to date.

I use the Hydro Pulse twice a day, in the morning and evening. The Hydro Pulse has distinct advantages over other irrigation products, such as a neti pot or a bulb syringe (the latter of which can house bacteria):

1) The Hydro Pulse pulsates at a rate to stimulate your nasal cilia to their natural rhythm, restoring the functioning of the cilia.

2) The Hydro Pulse allows you to irrigate both your nose and throat. It is important to irrigate both, particularly since what is in the nose travels down to the throat. Irrigating the throat can bring circulation to the throat, thereby thinning mucus and reducing postnasal drip.

Pulsatile irrigation is a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to clean out your nose. Everyone should know about it – and do it, whether they have a clean or a dirty nose. We take a shower whether clean or dirty. And the results are we are that much cleaner and healthier after each shower. We should do the same for our nose.

Pulsatile irrigation is far and away one of the best actions to ensure a good bill of sinus health.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author’s name, biography, and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Christopher Martin is a nationally certified school psychologist in Upstate New York and author of Having Nasal Surgery? Don’t You Become An Empty Nose Victim!, a part testimonial, part informational self-help book for sinus and empty nose sufferers, for those considering nose and sinus surgery, and for ENT specialists and plastic surgeons. You can learn more about his book at Chris’ website at http://www.emptynosesyndrome.net, or at the Empty Nose Syndrome Association website at http://www.emptynosesyndrome.org/

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Cows Milk - The Number One Allergen

Babies’ intestinal tracts are not fully developed when they are born, and rely on the unique composition of breast milk to protect their intestinal tracts from infection until they are capable of doing it for themselves. It takes approximately one year for babies to develop their own IgA antibodies, which provide protection from microbes capable of multiplying in he body secretions. Cow’s milk should not be introduced to a baby before one year of age to give the baby’s immune system enough time to build up and defend itself against the foreign particles. For optimal health, it should not be consumed at all. Anything you have to build up immunity to in order to eat warrants steering clear.

The first food that newborns receive from their mothers is called colostrum. It is absolutely imperative to a baby’s immune system and overall health that she is breastfeed for at least the first 5 days after birth to receive this immune-enhancing colostrum. It is high in immunoglobulin IgA (which babies are incapable of developing at this point), and acts to coat and protect the gastrointestinal tract. It also acts as a laxative to help the newborn pass meconium, which makes up the baby’s first bowel movement. Meconium is sticky like tar, is sterile, and has no smell.

There are many other factors that make breast milk the optimal food for infants. It provides the baby with the right amount of nutrients in the right form for the best possible absorption. It is always the perfect temperature, convenient, economical, and it provides the baby with immune-enhancing nutrients that are crucial to optimal health. It is recommended that women breastfeed for the first year of the infant’s life to keep up receiving the numerous benefits to the baby’s health. We personally recommend that breastfeeding occur well into the second year for optimal health, although it does not need to be exclusively.

Cow’s milk is heavily processed, so when ingested into the human body, an immune response occurs to fight the alien particles. Cow’s milk is pasteurized, homogenized, fortified, and sometimes even de-fatted before it hits the shelves in your local supermarket.

Pasteurization occurs when milk is heated to kill any harmful microorganisms that may be proliferating. This process also kills any beneficial bacteria (remember how important IgA is to a baby’s intestinal health) and any other important nutritional elements.

Homogenization is the process of blending milk to prevent the natural separation (between a high-fat upper layer and a larger low-fat lower layer) that occurs when fresh milk is left to stand. During this process, fat gobules are broken down into smaller pieces, and an enzyme called xanthine oxidase is forced from outside the larger fat cells to the inside of these unnatural, smaller fat cells. This prevents digestive enzymes from reaching the XO, allowing some to pass from the gut into the circulatory system where it attacks plasmalogen (which protects arteries from hardening). This is where the immune response comes in. When undigested particles are absorbed by the body, bad things happen in the blood stream and subsequently the entire body. Milk antibodies were found to be significantly elevated in the blood of male patients with heart disease.1

When foods are fortified, nutrients, and usually laboratory-created nutrients at that are added to increase the food’s nutritional composition. Claims about fortification may be good for marketing and sales purposes, but their healthiness is in question. If a label proclaims “added calcium,” the same product may also have some form of added sugar, and added sugar spells trouble. A study by Melvin Page is one of many that shows sugar’s ability to raise the blood levels of calcium through the resorption of calcium from bones.2 So a product that you buy to increase your calcium intake may actually be creating the opposite scenario inside your body.

If you are drinking milk to get your calcium, you may want to search for a better source. Dairy is the number one allergen, and a person who drinks gallons of milk can be calcium deficient. If you react allergically to a food, it is difficult to absorb its nutrients. When an allergenic food is eaten numerous times a day, withdrawal symptoms are likely not to be noticed until the following morning. Pasteurization harms Calcium and destroys enzymes. Skim milk is even worse because it is missing the fat which is necessary for the absorption of Calcium. Milk is also very low in magnesium which is necessary to keep calcium in solution.

When you eat a certain food frequently, such as milk on cereal, drink milk 3 times a day, and eat ice cream or cheese, you are calling on specific enzymes to digest that food. In the case of milk that enzyme is lactase. The same is true of wheat: toast, cereal, sandwiches, etc. The foods you eat most often are often the ones to which you react. Researchers agree that we have a finite enzyme making capability, shown in many rat studies in which those fed half the calories will live twice as long. Human babies lose their lactase forming ability by the age of 2 years, leaving them with a condition called lactose intolerance. The most prevalent symptoms that occur when a baby is reacting to milk are inner ear infections and colic. If you are breastfeeding and drink milk yourself, your baby will also react. It is imperative that both mother and baby eliminate cow’s milk from their diet for optimal health.

Mother Nature knows best. Milk is created by mothers and is a perfectly balanced first food. It is imperative for digestive health. But that’s where our relationship with milk must end, and if you want to improve immune functioning, you must start decreasing the amount of dairy you consume, with an end goal of zero! Do yourself a favour and go one week without dairy, especially if you have any respiratory/sinus problems. Go 4 weeks and you’ll breathe better than you have in a long time. Don’t take my word for it. Do it now!

Amy Coates is a registered holistic nutritionist who believes in the powerful healing benefits of natural, whole foods. There is not one disease that cannot be improved through a change in diet and lifestyle. She is also a contributor to the groundbreaking Eating for Energy ebook that has been helping people worldwide dramatically improve their diet and eating habits. Get your copy today at http://www.eatingforenergy.ca

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Asthma Treatment Guidelines - A Complete Review

Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by inflammation of the airways. Though asthma cannot be cured it can be controlled. Asthma can get better or worse over time and requires treatment changes. The condition of a patient’s asthma will change depending on the environment, patient activities, management practices and other factors. Even when patients have their asthma under control, monitoring and treatment are needed to maintain control.

The four key components for long term Asthma control are - assessment and monitoring, pharmacologic therapy, control of factors contributing to asthma severity and patient education to form a partnership. A person having symptoms of asthma must seek an early and accurate diagnosis.

The next step should be to work with the physician or allergist to develop a daily action plan for managing symptoms as well as adhering to the medication plan prescribed by the physician. Also the patient should avoid exposure to all known triggers and control the environment to a practically possible extent. He should then monitor his response to the treatment.

BLOCKBUSTER herbal formulation for ASTHMA - CURE your ASTHMA in 10 days

Asthma is classified in steps as mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent, severe persistent and they correspond to the steps of pharmacologic therapy. All patients need to have a short-acting inhaled b2-agonist to take as needed for symptoms. Patients with mild, moderate or severe persistent asthma require daily long-term medication to control their asthma. At the onset, the therapy must be at a higher level to achieve rapid control. Adding a course of steroids either oral or inhaled, mast cell stabilizers, leukotriene modifiers or using a higher dose of inhaled steroids will help suppress airway inflammation and thus gain prompt control in a rapid manner.

ASTHMA TREATMENT GUIDELINES

To reduce effects of specific allergens on a patient with persistent asthma, first the specific allergens should be identified and sensitivity to the allergens confirmed using skin or invitro tests or medical history. Then the patient should try to reduce or eliminate them. Patient education helps people with asthma to take actions to control their symptoms. They also need to be assured that they can effectively manage asthma for it will motivate them to follow the asthma action plan. A close partnership between the patient and the physician is a must in order to work together to build the patient’s skill and confidence, only then it will help to meet the goals of asthma control.

BLOCKBUSTER HERBAL FORMULATION FOR ASTHMA http://www.healasthma.com

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Asthma Treatment Guidelines

A person having asthma, experiences some common symptoms like shortness of breath, wheezing, tightness in the chest or a persistent cough especially late at night or early in the morning. Though there are other medical conditions with similar symptoms. In asthma, these breathing problems are the result of an inflamed and swollen airway lining, producing thick mucus that clog the airways. The airway muscles go into spasm, narrowing the airways, when irritated by triggers such as cold air, smoke, air pollution, animal dander, pollen etc. When asthma gets worse, inflamed airways become increasingly constricted, making it difficult to breathe. While there is yet no cure for asthma, it can be controlled with an accurate diagnosis, the right treatment and ongoing monitoring by the patient and the physician.

Asthma may be diagnosed by the family physician, or by an asthma specialist such as an allergist. The important thing is that the symptoms of asthma be recognized early and dealt with effectively. The longer one waits, the more permanent may be the damage to the lungs. As the symptoms differ widely from patient to patient, it is essential that the doctor determines the severity of asthma to develop the best plan to treat it. The new guidelines classify asthma into four categories: mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent.

Once asthma is diagnosed, an aggressive treatment must be taken to gain quick control of asthma. Depending on the severity of the condition, the doctor would develop a treatment plan to end the symptoms and enable the patient to lead a normal lifestyle. Avoidance and environmental control should be the first consideration in an overall treatment plan.

Immunotherapy can be helpful when symptoms occur year-round or during a majority of the year, or when it is difficult to control symptoms with medication. Asthma medications also play an important role in asthma therapy. Irrespective of the severity, a quick-relief medication such as short-acting beta2-agonists and anticholinergics must be readily available for treatment of acute symptoms. If the asthma is more than mild and intermittent, a preventive controller anti-inflammatory medication such as methylxanthines, antileukotrienes, cromolyn sodium and beta2-agonists should be used on a regular basis. Regular visits to the doctor to monitor the condition will help meet the treatment goals as the doctor will review the asthma symptoms, activities, peak flow records and medications. Close monitoring of one’s condition will help the doctor determine if any changes in the treatment are necessary.

The new asthma treatment guidelines recommend a stepwise approach to using the medications with the type and amount determined by the initial assessment of the severity of the condition. An increase or step up of the medication, when the condition is worse and when the asthma is under control, a step down or decrease of medication must be adopted after consulting the doctor. The new asthma guidelines recommend that the patient see an asthma specialist when there is difficulty in achieving or maintaining control of the asthma. The physician and the patient must work in partnership to meet the goals of asthma.

http://www.healasthma.com