Swine flu 'hits airways harder'

Swine flu has killed at least 500 peop BBC News H1N1 swine flu attacks the respiratory system in a more sustained way than the standard seasonal virus, research in animals shows. Tests showed swine flu multiplies in greater numbers across the respiratory system, and causes more damage. And instead of staying in the head like seasonal flu, it penetrates deeper into the respiratory tissues - making it more likely to cause pneumonia. The University of Wisconsin study appears in the journal Nature. It also suggests that swine flu may mimic the flu virus which caused the great pandemic of 1918, in which millions died. The 1918 virus also had a greater ability than standard flu to cause damage to the respiratory system. The researchers carried out their work on ferrets, monkeys and mice. They also analysed samples taken from people who survived the 1918 pandemic and found that they seem to have extra immune protection against the current virus - again suggesting similarities. However, the Wisconsin team stressed that swine flu produced, in the vast majority of cases, only mild symptoms, and is still sensitive to anti-viral drugs.Read more...

Food Allergies and Breathing Problems

By Caroline Bourke

Although many people who do not have asthma consider it to be a problem with breathing, it actually goes much deeper than that. For people that suffer from asthma on a regular basis, the effects can not only be uncomfortable but they may actually be life-threatening. As a result of the bronchial walls closing, it becomes increasingly difficult for an individual that is undergoing an asthma attack to breathe properly. As a matter of fact, there are cases in which these walls close to the extent where the air is cut off completely and the individual loses consciousness or perhaps even dies.

Although there are some pharmaceutical treatments for asthma, these are merely only things that are going to control the symptoms to a certain extent, not things that are actually going to be able to cure the problem and control it for the long term. Most people realize that in order to do so, they are going to have to adjust their lifestyle considerably but for individuals that suffer from this problem on a regular basis, it is really going to be well worth the effort.Read more...