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News: Asthma rise due to gas stoves

Recently you may have seen a health news that says that gas stoves cause asthma in children.

In the U.S., an estimated 8.3 percent of children have asthma. Asthma is much more common in poor children and children of color. Poorly ventilated apartments, possibly with gas cooking, are also more common in those groups. 

A 2022 paper found that gas stoves emit methane, even when they are off. The authors estimate a 34 percent  increase in the risk of asthma with exposure to gas stoves. 

cheerful indian man frying flatbread in pan on gas stove
Photo by Michael Burrows on Pexels.com

Takeaway:

  • Ventilate your house.

  • You don’t need to change out your gas stove urgently. However, if you have a child with (or at risk for) asthma, you may want to consider changing it for an induction stove.
  • Use a HEPA filter with an activated carbon filter. At least one study showed that installing such a filter in the kitchen lowered nitrogen dioxide levels by half as much as replacing the stove. It is more effective than the range hood fan.


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YOGIC BREATHING EXERCISES FOR ASTHMA

Rabbit breathing Kneel on the ground, sitting back on your heels. Rest elbows and hands flat on the floor pointing forward. Stick out your tongue and pant quickly like a rabbit. Use the rib cage to breathe. Continue for 20 breaths.

Rapid abdominal breathing Relax your face, neck and shoulders. Exhale forcibly, using your abdomen, and inhale passively by relaxing it. Repeat, letting your abdomen go in and out rhythmically and quickly. Start with three sets of ten breaths, one every two seconds. Relax for 20 seconds between each set. Increase number of breaths once you have mastered the technique.

Alternate nostril breathing Hold one nostril closed and breathe slowly and deeply with the other nostril. Change nostrils, concentrating on breathing into the lungs.

Sectional breathing Inhale by letting your abdomen bulge and exhale by drawing it in. Breathe slowly and deeply. Keeping chest and shoulders still, inhale by expanding your rib cage and exhale by slowly releasing your ribs. Then, keeping your abdomen and rib cage still, breathe in and out by allowing your shoulders to move up and down.


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YOGA POSES TO CONTROL ASTHMA

The Lion Pose:

(sim-HAHS-anna)
simha = lion

Step by Step

Kneel on the floor and cross the front of the right ankle over the back of the left. The feet will point out to the sides. Sit back so the perineum snuggles down onto the on the top (right) heel.

Press your palms firmly against your knees. Fan the palms and splay your fingers like the sharpened claws of a large feline.

Take a deep inhalation through the nose. Then simultaneously open your mouth wide and stretch your tongue out, curling its tip down toward the chin, open your eyes wide, contract the muscles on the front of your throat, and exhale the breath slowly out through your mouth with a distinct "ha" sound. The breath should pass over the back of the throat.

Some texts instruct us to set our gaze (drishti) at the spot between the eyebrows. This is called "mid-brow gazing" (bhru-madhya-drishti; bhru = the brow; madhya = middle).Other texts direct the eyes to the tip of the nose (nasa-agra-drishti; nasa = nose; agra = foremost point or part, i.e., tip).

You can roar two or three times. Then change the cross of the legs and repeat for the same number of times.

The Camel Pose:

(oosh-TRAHS-anna)
ustra = camel

Step by Step

Kneel on the floor with your knees hip width and thighs perpendicular to the floor. Rotate your thighs inward slightly, narrow your hip points, and firm but don’t harden your buttocks. Imagine that you’re drawing your sitting bones up, into your torso. Keep your outer hips as soft as possible. Press your shins and the tops of your feet firmly into floor.

Rest your hands on the back of your pelvis, bases of the palms on the tops of the buttocks, fingers pointing down. Use your hands to spread the back pelvis and lengthen it down through your tail bone. Then lightly firm the tail forward, toward the pubis. Make sure though that your front groins don’t "puff" forward. To prevent this, press your front thighs back, countering the forward action of your tail. Inhale and lift your heart by pressing the shoulder blades against your back ribs.

Now lean back against the firmness of the tail bone and shoulder blades. For the time being keep your head up, chin near the sternum, and your hands on the pelvis. Beginners probably won’t be able to drop straight back into this pose, touching the hands to the feet simultaneously while keeping the thighs perpendicular to the floor. If you need to, tilt the thighs back a little from the perpendicular and minimally twist to one side to get one hand on the same-side foot. Then press your thighs back to perpendicular, turn your torso back to neutral, and touch the second hand to its foot. If you’re not able to touch your feet without compressing your lower back, turn your toes under and elevate your heels.

See that your lower front ribs aren’t protruding sharply toward the ceiling, which hardens the belly and compresses the lower back. Release the front ribs and lift the front of the pelvis up, toward the ribs. Then lift the lower back ribs away from the pelvis to keep the lower spine as long as possible. Press your palms firmly against your soles (or heels), with the bases of the palms on the heels and the fingers pointing toward the toes. Turn your arms outwardly so the elbow creases face forward, without squeezing the shoulder blades together. You can keep your neck in a relatively neutral position, neither flexed nor extended, or drop your head back. But be careful not to strain your neck and harden your throat.

Stay in this pose anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. To exit, bring your hands onto the front of your pelvis, at the hip points. Inhale and lift the head and torso up by pushing the hip points down, toward the floor. If your head is back, lead with your heart to come up, not by jutting the chin toward the ceiling and leading with your brain. Rest in Child’s Pose for a few breaths.

Source: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/1705


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AIR QUALITY AND YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH

You may have heard about the recent study that links poor air quality with high risk of Autism. Children spend most of their time indoors and the Air Quality matters. Children’s breathe much closer to the ground than adults, and as a result, heavier airborne chemicals pose more of a risk to children than to adults.

The EFEFCT:

a) There is a strong correlation between poor indoor air quality and asthma. Asthma is the 3rd leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15.

b) Longer Term effects of air pollutants like VOCs and Ozone are Cancer, Headache and Neurological diseases.

ACTIONS

1) Ventilate you house frequently.

2) Eliminate products in your home that contain VOCs (e.g. products NOT certified by GREENGUARD Environmental Institute) & unnecessary chemicals.

3) Use non-fragrant, water-based cleaners

4) Avoid any product with odor

5) Keep indoor humidity at < 60% relative humidity.


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LATEST RESEARCH ON PASSIVE SMOKING AND YOUR CHILD

LATEST RESEARCH FINDING from Finland and Australia: Passive smoking causes lasting damage to children’s arteries, prematurely ageing their blood vessels by more than three years, say researchers. The damage – thickening of blood vessel walls – increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in later life, they say in the European Heart Journal. Experts say there is no "safe" level of exposure to second-hand smoke. This study goes a step further and shows that passive smoking can cause potentially irreversible damage to children’s arteries increasing their risk of heart problems in later life

· KEY FINDINGS:

· Smoke can stay in the air for up to two and a half hours even with a window open. It may be there even if you can’t see it or smell it.

· Second-hand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer.

· Children who breathe in second-hand smoke have an increased risk of asthma and coughs and colds, as well as SIDS death, meningitis and ear infections.

Best thing that you can do for your child: Quit Smoking


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NEWS FLASH: OBESITY TRIGGERING FASTER ONSET OF PUBERTY

STUDY:

girls with higher body mass index, may start developing breasts more than a year before their thinner friends — perhaps as early as second grade.

DETAILS:

The study tracked 1,200 girls ages 6 to 8 in three cities — San Francisco, Cincinnati and New York — from 2004 to 2011, carefully documenting their BMI and their maturation process. The girls who are obese are clearly maturing earlier. White girls are maturing about four months earlier than in a landmark 1997 study. Other recent studies have shown that puberty may be starting earlier in boys, too.

About 17 percent of U.S. children and teens, or some 12.5 million kids, are obese, according to the CDC. On average, black girls start breast development at age 8.8, Hispanic girls start at age 9.3 and white and Asian girls start at about age 9.7.

WHY IS IT BAD?

Those who hit puberty earlier could be at higher risk of breast and other cancers because their bodies spend more years making and being exposed to estrogen. They also tend to start having sex or use drugs/alcohol at younger ages and are more likely to become depressed or develop low self-esteem.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Rising obesity rates seem to be a main driver behind early breast development and puberty. Watch your child’s BMI carefully.


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FIGHT CANCER BY FIGHTING AIR POLLUTION

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) claims that 223,000 lung cancer worldwide is from air pollution. And there os also convincing evidence that air pollution increases the risk of bladder cancer. IARC reviewed thousands of studies on air pollution tracking populations over decades and classified air pollution and "particulate matter" as Group 1 human carcinogens. That ranks them alongside more than 100 other known cancer-causing substances in IARC’s Group 1, including asbestos, plutonium, silica dust, ultraviolet radiation and tobacco smoke.

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six common air pollutants. These commonly found air pollutants (also known as "criteria pollutants") are found all over the United States. They are particulate matter, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. Of the six pollutants, particle pollution and ground-level ozone are the most widespread health threats.

LEARN ABOUT AQI

The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you about the unhealthiness of your air.

AQI of 100 or below is decent. Anything above is dangerous. AQI of 200+ is infrequent. It also changes per the seasons.

You can find about AQI value for your city at www.airnow.gov

WHO IS AFFECTED BY POOR AIR QUALITY

· People with lung diseases, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, can be particularly sensitive to ozone.

· Children are at higher risk from ozone exposure because they often play outdoors in warmer weather when ozone levels are higher, they are more likely to have asthma (which may be aggravated by ozone exposure), and their lungs are still developing.

· Pregnant women.

· And Elderly adults

WHAT DOES POOR AQI DO?

· Irritate the respiratory system

· Reduce lung function

· Cause lung tumors

· Aggravate Asthma

· Make lungs susceptible to lung infection

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT?

OTHER RESOURCES:

State Air Quality Resources
American Lung Association (ALA) of Texas
Inter-Tribal Environmental Council
Outdoor Burning in Texas
Quemar al Aire Libre en Texas
Texas Air Quality Index Program
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) – Air Quality
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Contacts
Compare county level air quality: http://www.epa.gov/aircompare/compare.htm
Today’s Ozone Forecasts

Source: EPA, Reuters and Others


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ASTHMA CIGARETTES

THE DANGER OF BELIEVING IN ADS

This classic advertisement from the early 20th century shows how crooked companies have exploited people.

It is an ad. for a tobacco cigarette and they sell on its “Asthma curing abilities.”

Ooh! But they are considerate …. It is not recommended for children under 6!

And the kicker: It is called DOCTOR BATTY’S. Exploiting the trust consumers place on the word “Doctor”.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Don’t trust commercial speak.

Know their motives.

And on the same vein, if you come across a study, check out who funded the study.