Talk:Asthma
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Listing oxygen as a treatment
Anyone object to listing oxygen as a treatment? In South Australia, ambulance paramedics switch over to oxygen when inhaled bronchodilators are not working. Hospital emergency medical teams administer adrenaline, which is also being considered for use by ambulance paramedics. Also additional symptoms: sweating, panic, anoxia, unconsciousness and death. -- Lawsonsj 21 Aug 2003
Oxygen is given to alleviate the hypoxia that is the result of the asthmatic attack, and not to treat the asthma per se. It does nothing to end the episode (unlike the treatments listed). As long as the distinction between the two is made, it would be a good addition. -- Someone else 04:32, 21 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Revert
User:203.221.225.81 thought it would be nice to replace the whole page with a page lacking links, structure and general wiki style. Is there anything from his labors (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Asthma&oldid=3382346) worth salvaging?? JFW | T@lk 13:52, 29 Apr 2004 (UTC)
User:Jfdwolff, what was the reason for reverting my addition of a link to a (albeit still short) list of diseases that involve gene promoter mutations? Courtland 2005-02-01 USA ~18:40 EST
Links with dermatitis
As a layman I keep coming across links between asthma and dermatitis. Anybody able to include anything on this? --bodnotbod 00:08, May 4, 2004 (UTC)
- Dermatitis is an aspecific term, but in this context probably refers to eczema. As it happens, I've just done a major rewrite of allergy and started atopic syndrome—I hope this answers some of your questions. Generally, there is clustering of eczematous skin conditions and allergic diseases, including asthma.
JFW | T@lk 00:12, 4 May 2004 (UTC)
- That's interesting. As I understood it eczema and atopic dermatitis were interchangeable - but AD is more generally used in the States and eczema in the UK. I say this as a reader, not an expert. My source would have been fairly good. I'll look at your links, if they don't clarify this question perhaps you could do so for me here? Would be most grateful. --bodnotbod 00:44, May 4, 2004 (UTC)
- Just to add to that: eczema currently redirects to dermatitis. You seem to be implying that that is wrong?
Link Between Allergies and Asthma
There is a definite link (http://www.aaaai.org/patients/advocate/2002/spring/jaci.stm) between common environmental allergies and asthma. Although the direct connection is not known 70% of asthma sufferers also have allergic Rhinitis, also known as a runny nose.
Also asthma is not a disease. It is an immunological disorder. It is a syndrome of hypersensitivity.
- Listen, if you think this article is wrong then be bold and make changes yourself. Asthma most certainly is a disease - it has particular symptoms and risk factors that delineate it from other conditions. Allergy plays an important role, but stressful life events contribute to many acute exacerbations. Furthermore, not all asthmatics have the atopic syndrome. JFW | T@lk 20:55, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Lungs OnLine - should it be referenced or not?
I'm wondering about the Lungs OnLine link (http://www.lungsonline.com/asthma.html) that 68.206.248.92 added back in Oct 2004 to the External Links section. I can't find information on who is responsible for maintaining the Lungs OnLine resource, and there are no authorship statements or dates associated with the information there. For these reasons I'm wondering if the Lungs OnLine link should be removed in favor of some other linkage that has better information about origin and purpose. What do you think? Or should I just shut up and delete it if I don't like it? Courtland 2005-02-01 USA 18:50 EST
Asthma mortality
Should we mention asthma is still potentially fatal?
- It would be quite appropriate. Please add what you think would best convey the history and present status of asthma as a cause of mortality. Courtland 07:06, 2005 Feb 12 (UTC)
Theories of asthma pathogenesis
I'm thinking that, per Wikipedia practice, the theoreticals in the article should be trimmed or presented in a different manner, particularly in the Pathogenesis section. I wanted to toss this into discussion and wait a while for input before hauling out an axe and chopping away; I do realize that there is support for a plethora of theories and don't want to diminish their importance with respect to stimulation of research, but perhaps they should be presented as that ... topics for research. Comments? Courtland 07:13, 2005 Feb 12 (UTC)
Butekyo claptrap
I removed this section because it is obviously quackery and devoid of any merit whatsoever. Two major hallmarks of charlatanism are 1) unsubstantiated claims and more importantly 2) demand that the person pay for "classes" to learn a "natural" (in the sense of not requiring machinery or supplies) technique. Having read the writeup on Butekyo, I note further that patients who go to these classes are then required to swear not to reveal the "technique" to others. Rubbish of the worst variety. I and other members of my family have dealt with asthma all our lives, and I assure you that breathing exercises do not by any means take the place of drug therapies. If this Butekyo nonsense stays in here, then I guess we also need to mention homeopathy, naturopathy, crystals, magnet therapy, falun gong, and every other "alternative medicine" we can think of. Jeeves 15:35, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)
vegetarianism and exercise
As an asthma sufferer, I've never heard of vegetarianism being recommended as a treatment, so I removed it. Certainly some foods can provoke allergic reactions, which may induce attacks, but just as many people are allergic to fruits/veggies as anything else. "Regular exercise" is another thing I've never heard of for treating asthma. If anything, some asthmatics must avoid certain exercises to avoid attacks. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this (there are many asthma sufferers in the world and I am only one). Jeeves 09:17, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- You're most certainly right. It's not standard medical practise to recommend vegetarianism as a treatment for asthma or being useful to help prevent asthma. As you said in the above section, charlatans abound everywhere. Alex.tan 09:03, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
