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A teenager was disciplined for sharing medication used to treat asthma, but he said it saved his girlfriend's life, News2Houston reported Wednesday. Andra Ferguson and her boyfriend, Brandon Kivi, both 15, use the same type of asthma medicine, Albuterol Inhalation Aerosol. Ferguson said she forgot to bring her medication to their school, Caney Creek High School, on Sept. 24. When she had trouble breathing, she went to the nurse's office. Out of concern, Kivi let her use his inhaler. "I was trying to save her life. I didn't want her to die on me right there because the nurse's office...

Using high doses of steroid asthma inhalers significantly increases the risk of developing cataracts, suggests a new UK study. People who used high doses of inhaled corticosteroids for a long time increased their chance of developing the eye disorder by nearly 70 per cent compared with those not on the drugs. Researchers compared the medical records of around 15,000 people with cataracts, with 15,000 people without cataracts from an electronic database run by British general practitioners. "People with cataracts were quite a lot more likely to be exposed to steroids - in particular high doses were quite strongly associated with...

More Asthma Showing Up In The Schools By Jon Hanian Girl With Asthma Boise, ID. - Charlie Saad is a Boise area grade schooler who knows all about asthma. "It feels like a little thing stuck in your throat when you are wheezing." Charlie's mom, Susan Saad, says it can be a terrifying experience. "We have spent a lot of nights in the emergency room." Charlie has missed two to three weeks of school because of his asthma. In fact the lung association believes there are many other children out there with undiagnosed asthma. Susan says schools and other...

<p>SACRAMENTO -- The political tornado surrounding the defeat of a key clean-air bill intensified Thursday with sharply worded letters to Democratic lawmakers accused of tanking the measure to help a colleague. Sen. Dean Florez fired letters to Assembly Members Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, and Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, after the bill to end the agriculture industry's historic exemption from air operating permits was held up Wednesday in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.</p>

Cameras roll on final Star WarsBy MICHAEL OWEN-BROWN 30jun03THE republic is crumbling, the forces of evil are massing and a legion of science-fiction fans are quivering in anticipation. The last chapter of Star Wars starts filming today at Sydney's Fox Studios. Almost 1000 crew will work on the $173 million production, which stars about about 60 Australian actors. Fans can watch parts of the filming on webcam. The film, due for release in 2005, will focus on young Jedi warrior Anakin Skywalker being seduced by the dark side of the Force on his way to becoming Darth Vader. Also, Senator...

Asthma rise 'link' to pool chemicals Chemicals in indoor pools can afffect the lungs Chemicals used to keep swimming pools clean may be behind the rise in asthma in children, a study suggests. Researchers in Belgium have found that chlorine in pools can react with sweat or urine to create harmful fumes which can damage lungs. They believe exposure to these fumes leaves children susceptible to allergens, which may then trigger asthma. But other experts have criticised the study and have dismissed the claims. Dr Alfred Barnard and colleagues at the Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels carried out tests...

May 26, 2003 Boy to spend life at sea in search of asthma cure From Richard Owen in Rome AN ITALIAN couple driven to desperation by their six-year-old son’s acute form of asthma set sail with him yesterday on a home-made boat in the hope that living permanently at sea will help to cure him. Paolo and Paola Frascisco, from Bellinzago, near Novara in northern Italy, said that the vessel offered the only hope for their son Niky. It was launched at the port of Cremona on the River Po, and will head for the Aeolian Islands near Sicily, where...

A study has found that one of every four children in central Harlem has asthma, which is double the rate researchers expected to find and, experts say, is one of the highest rates ever documented for an American neighborhood. Researchers say the figures, from an effort based at Harlem Hospital Center to test every child in a 24-block area, could indicate that the incidence of asthma is even higher in poor, urban areas than was previously believed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that about 6 percent of all Americans have asthma; the rate is believed to...

<p>WASHINGTON - Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said yesterday he does not plan to be inoculated with the smallpox vaccine and recommends that other Cabinet members not request the inoculation either.</p> <p>"I do not believe it is necessary or should be taking place," he said.</p>

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a midnight showing of The Two Towers. What follows is my attempt at a spoiler-free review. Of three books of the trilogy, "The Two Towers" was always my favorite - I looked forward to the movie in fevered anticipation. I decided to throw caution to the wind and go to the midnight showing; I knew I would be hurting at work today (quick nurse, my caffine IV is low!) I was very surprised to get to the theater in our small city and find it utterly packed, my friend and I were...

Spinal Manipulation May Benefit Asthma Patients FROM: Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) Patients afflicted with asthma may benefit from spinal manipulation in terms of symptoms, immunological capacity, and endocrine effects, an audience was told on October 5 at the 9th International Conference on Spinal Manipulation in Toronto. The investigative team, headed by Ray Hayek, Ph.D., has been conducting a trial at 16 treatment centers in Australia involving 420 patients with an average age of 46 in an effort to find out what effects spinal manipulation has on symptoms, depression and anxiety, general health status, and the levels...

September 7, 2002 WHO ARE THE REAL ENVIRO-RACISTS? THE NEW YORK POST By KEVIN MARCHMAN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 7, 2002 -- ALMOST as soon as birds started dying of West Nile virus in Central Park some three years ago, controversy erupted about whether to use pesticides to counter the deadly threat. Those shouting (and suing) for a "no-spray" policy have been a small, but loud array of self-styled, fringe environmentalists. To them, pesticides are the ultimate evil. They claim a kaleidoscope of ill-defined, unsupported side effects and environmental harm. And they seek a total ban on spraying pest-control products of any...

Two already common medical problems -- obesity and asthma -- continue to affect more children in the U.S., and the simultaneous rise may not be a fluke, according to a new study. Previous medical research has implicated our growing waistlines as one cause behind the increasing problem of asthma. And now, researchers are getting closer to pinpointing the exact cause behind this link. Harvard researcher Scott T. Weiss, MD, and colleagues studied more than 7,000 4- to 17-year-olds and looked at several factors that have previously been linked to asthma, including the children's weight. They found that kids who were...