Respiratory Problems in Children

Airborne infections, allergens and chemicals cause respiratory disease - inflammation in the nose, throat and in the lung. Lung inflammation is often expressed as asthma. Air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, contributes to the increase in asthma morbidity in recent decades. The most serious airborne problems at home are cigarette smoke, dust, molds, and house dust mites.

Upper respiratory tract infections are among the most common reasons for visits to the physician’s office. Over 80 % of these infections are caused by viruses, which run their course regardless of what medications are offered. 

Food allergy is a hidden cause of cold-like symptoms, cough and asthma. Food-induced wheezing is sometimes recognized in infants who often have food allergy especially to cow’s milk. Asthma and eczema often go together in infants and young children. Food allergy is seldom recognized in older children, adolescents and adults and diet revision is almost never considered in the treatment of asthma. This is a tragic oversight.

Asthma is a prototype of airway disease, often associated with nose and throat symptoms. Asthma sometimes merges with chronic lung disease that involves both inflammatory changes in bronchi and inflammatory changes in alveoli that involve scarring and loss of gas exchange capacity. In the past, medical textbooks divided asthma into inside and outside forms:  Extrinsic (outside) asthma tended to occur in sudden attacks triggered by exposure to airborne materials. Intrinsic (inside) asthma tended to occur continuously or in prolonged episodes for no apparent reason. As asthma becomes a chronic disease, it blends into or is confused with other lung conditions and diagnosis and treatment becomes more difficult.

Learn More About

Nose problems
Coughs and Colds
Asthma
Respiratory Tract and Food
Milk Allergy
Asthma Food Sources
Asthma Air Sources

The book, Air and Breathing helps you understand normal breathing and the causes of breathing disorders. The solutions involve improving air quality and solving food problems with diet revision. Indoor air quality issues at home and at work are discussed. Air pollution and airborne causes of lung disease are also discussed with advice about improving both indoor and outdoor air quality.

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