Earlier this year I became intrigued by a neti-pot and was surprised that many of you used them for sinus allergies and symptoms. A study presented at the recent American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology meeting found that neti-pot use may actually increase your risk of infection.

Stopping neti-pot use was associated with a 62% decrease in sinus infections. The authors pointed out that neti-pots do provide relief of bothersome sinus symptoms, but that chronic use may wash away some of your bodies natural defenses and increase your risk of infection. What do you think?

According to an article published in the November issue of CHEST, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, acetaminophen use in both children and adults may be associated with an increase in asthma and wheezing.

The authors reviewed 19 different studies that collected data on both asthma and wheezing as well as acetaminophen use. Patients using acetaminophen were significantly more likely to have asthma than those that did not use acetaminophen. Similarly in children, acetaminophen use was more common in children during the year preceding a diagnosis of asthma and more common during the first year of life.

Researchers have several possible, but unproven explanations related to acetaminophen's impact on the pathophysiology of asthma. First, acetaminophen lowers the levels of an antioxidant in the lung called glutathione. Antioxidants, as I have written about previously, in the diet have been associated with less development and symptoms of asthma. Likewise, acetaminophen may allow one of the key enzymes that causes inflammation in asthma, cyclooxygenase, to act unchecked. Finally, acetaminophen may cause increases in IgE levels.

As a parent, I was surprised there were enough children who had not received acetaminophen to even adequately study this. But I was also concerned given how commonly acetaminophen is used to treat fever and pain in kids. Importantly, many other common fever/ pain meds, like ibuprofen, have not been studied to see if similar relationships exist. I doubt many physicians or parents will change how they treat children's fever or pain base on this one study, but it is an interesting topic to keep your eye on.

What do you think?

What would you like to see covered on the asthma site. Let us know so we can give you the asthma information you want!

Are you zinc deficient? While not a common question, a study presented at Chest 2009, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, found that patients with allergic asthma had significantly lower zinc levels than patients with other types of asthma.

Zinc is an antioxidant that may have anti-inflammatory properties related to the pathophysiology of asthma and is commonly found in beef, chicken, and pork. Many of the symptoms of zinc deficiency can be very non-specific-- rash, tiredness, poor appetite, and slow wound healing. As a result mild forms of zinc deficiency may be difficult to diagnose.

While the results of this small study should not make anyone  run to the health food to get zinc supplements, researchers will likely keep looking to learn more about the relationship between zinc and asthma.