• Protecting Baby: The new thinking on allergy and asthma prevention. [Read more]
• Ask the Allergists: about testing the resisting child; hives from the cold; and is it ezcema or nickel allergy?
• Athletes vs. Asthma: How Susan Auch and other champions excel, despite this condition. [Read more]
• Spotlight: Dr. Scott Sicher on what parents need to know about food allergies.[Read more]
• Celiac Disease: Three women and their journey to becoming gluten-free.[Read more]
• Dust Mites: Uncovering the latest on the No. 1 allergy pest. [Read more]
• Food: Safe and tasty hors d’oeuvres: from Glazed Duck Quesadillas to Endive Canoes and Spicy Eggplant Fritters. [Read more]
• Hot Topics: Laurie Harada on dealing with holiday snack perils. [Read more]
• Healthy Home: Forced-air heat or hot-water rads: which system is better for allergies?
• Disney World: Just how allergy-friendly is it for that winter getaway?
• Parting Shots: A mother’s lament for the forbidden sesame seed.

BUY THIS ISSUE

Why should Canadians care about banning smoking in cars carrying children? Because second-hand smoke is more concentrated in a confined space. Within a vehicle, poisons found in smoke can reach high levels in a short amount of time.

A 2006 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that breathing in smoke from a single cigarette for only five minutes in a car exposes a person to the same amount of smoke as spending the equivalent time in a smoky bar. Babies and children are most vulnerable because they breathe more rapidly and take in more harmful chemicals for their size than adults do. Second-hand smoke affects their developing respiratory, immune and nervous systems.

In the United States, the Surgeon General recently released a report on the profound impact of second-hand smoke on children, revealing that kids exposed to second-hand smoke have an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, middle ear infections, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms and slowed growth of the lungs. The report concludes that there simply is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke; even brief exposures can prove harmful.

There is growing evidence as well that kids who are exposed to second-hand smoke in the womb and as infants have more behavioural problems, shorter attention spans, and lower marks than peers who aren’t exposed to smoke.

Since babies and children are powerless to protect themselves from this risk, The Canadian Lung Association is asking Canadians to take a stand with the “Clean Air for Kids” lobby. “This campaign is about protecting Canada’s children from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke,” said Nora Sobolov, president of The Lung Association. “Working together with Canadians, we are confident that action can be taken to ensure kids are not subjected to smoking in cars.”

What can you do? If you want to send a message directly to your provincial or territorial representative, visit The Lung Association.

Related:
• Discussion: Smoking outside “still harms kids”
• The dangers of third-hand smoke
• 15 ways to clean up your home’s air

First published in Breathing Space, a supplement of Allergic Living magazine.

However, a leading Canadian pediatric allergist says acetaminophen – which is the active ingredient in these popular fever-reducing drugs – is safe for children if used properly. “There’s no proof that acetaminophen causes asthma,” says Dr. Allan Becker, a researcher with the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. Even the study authors say acetaminophen remains the medicine of choice for babies with high fevers. But they stress the importance of following the guideline that its use be limited to those cases, and not used casually.

The study reported that children who had been given acetaminophen once a year or more in their first year of life showed a 46 per cent higher risk of asthma symptoms by 6 or 7 years of age compared to those who hadn’t had the drug. The findings also indicate that the asthma risk increased threefold in 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds taking the tablets one or more times a month.

Researchers gathered the data from children in 73 countries, including Canada, as part of third phase of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC) program. The findings were published in The Lancet, the well-known British medical journal.

This study shows an association between the use of acetaminophen and the definition of asthma in the survey, explains Dr. Becker. In a questionnaire, parents were asked whether their child had experienced wheeze – a whistling noise in the chest – in the past 12 months. “In the two participating Canadian centres, Hamilton and Saskatoon, 20 per cent and 17 per cent respectively answered yes to that question,” says Dr. Becker.

However, a sub-group of these parents was shown a video of a child with asthma wheezing, instead of getting the questionnaire. Only 12 and 10 per cent of this group answered that they had seen ‘wheezing’. “This tells us that many parents who said their child was wheezing really don’t understand what we mean when we say ‘wheezing’,” said Dr. Becker.

Stay tuned. Researchers have called for a large randomized trial to settle the acetaminophen debate once and for all.

First published in Breathing Space, a supplement of Allergic Living magazine.