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People’s beliefs about the benefits and risks of their asthma medication may be key to their willingness to take it as directed, a new study finds.

The study, published in the Annals of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology, looked at adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medication among 261 low- income, minority asthma patients.

Inhaled corticosteroids reduce inflammation in the airways and are the cornerstone of managing chronic asthma. To be most effective, the drugs must be taken regularly, even when people are symptom-free.

But studies suggest that many adults do not take their inhaled corticosteroids regularly, and that the problem is more common among minority patients than their white counterparts.

In the current study, researchers found that 70 percent of patients said they used their inhaled corticosteroids all or most of the time.

Perhaps not surprisingly, those who believed it was “important” to take the drugs even when they were symptom-free were four times more likely to be compliant compared with patients who did not share that belief.

On the other hand, patients who worried about medication side effects were only half as likely to adhere to their treatment as those without those concerns.

Finally, patients who were confident in their ability to take their inhaled medication correctly were more than twice as likely to be compliant as those who lacked such self-confidence.

The findings point to several areas where healthcare providers could improve low-income, minority patients’ medication compliance, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Diego Ponieman of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Doctors and nurses could, for example, help boost patients’ confidence by actively “coaching” them in how to take their medication properly, the researchers write.

In addition, they say, doctors should recognize that many patients worry about drug side effects and explicitly address those concerns.

The most common side effects of inhaled corticosteroids are considered relatively mild and include throat irritation and thrush, a yeast infection of the mouth.

The drugs are also much safer than the oral corticosteroids that may have to be given when a person has a serious asthma attack. So preventing attacks via inhaled corticosteroids is seen as a way of protecting patients from the risks of repeatedly using the oral versions — which include weight gain, elevated blood pressure and blood sugar, and decreased bone density.

By “bolstering positive beliefs and mitigating the negative ones,” Ponieman and his colleagues write, doctors may be able to convince more patients to stick with their inhaled-corticosteroid regimen.

Androgenetic alopecia (”male-pattern baldness,” “female-pattern baldness”)

Everyone loses hair, but men do it better–faster, earlier, and more extensively.

Doctors refer to common baldness as “androegentic alopecia,” which implies that a combination of hormones and heredity (genetics) is needed to develop the condition. (The male hormones involved are present in both men and women.)

Male-pattern baldness

Even men who never “go bald” thin out over the years. Unlike those with reversible telogen shedding, those with common male-pattern hair loss don’t notice much hair coming out; they just see that it’s not there anymore. Adolescent boys notice some receding near the temples as their hairlines change from the straight-across boys’ pattern to the more “M-shaped” pattern of adult men. This normal development does not mean they are losing hair.

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Young football players and other athletes face the risk of major heat injury and illness if they push themselves too hard in hot weather, warn sports medicine experts.

“Football might get the most attention for severe heat-related injuries and illnesses, but the risk in other sports is very real,” Michael F. Bergeron, a youth-sports heat stress expert and co-author of the American College of Sports Medicine consensus statement, said in a news release.

“Teaching coaches the warning signs of heat illness would be a huge step toward prevention. But it’s not enough. Coaches need to progressively introduce practice duration and intensity, as well as the uniform and any protective equipment, so that young athletes can safely adapt,” Bergeron said.

“Long gone are the days of refusing players water or using heat as a strategy to ‘toughen up’ a player. Unless the coach wants a collapsed athlete — or worse — on the field, it’s just not acceptable. All athletes need to be closely monitored for signs and symptoms of developing heat illness, and participation should immediately stop and medical attention should be promptly sought at the earliest point of recognition,” he added.

Heat-related causes account for the majority of indirect deaths in high school sports in the United States, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research. Heat stroke and other heat illnesses occur in a variety of athletes, including cross-country runners and wrestlers who train in heat-retaining rubber suits in order to lose weight before an event. Even members of marching bands have heat injury and illness risks similar to those of athletes.

The American College of Sports Medicine offers these guidelines for coaches:

-Don’t hold practices between noon and 4 p.m., which are typically the hottest hours of the day.
-In extremely hot weather, hold practices indoors or limit outdoor practices to lighter walk-through sessions.
-Increase the number and length of rest breaks in the shade and give athletes plenty of opportunities to drink sufficient fluids.

Ragweed, the bane of many allergy sufferers, will soon be in bloom.

That means several months of itchy, watering eyes, runny nose, sore throat, congestion and problems sleeping for the estimated 36 million Americans with seasonal allergies, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

Aug. 15 was the unofficial start of ragweed season, which affects some 10 to 20 percent of Americans.

About 17 species of ragweed grow in the United States, mostly in the East and Midwest. As the plant matures, ragweed flowers release the pollen, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Though each plant lives only one season, the weed produces one billion pollen grains that can travel up to 400 miles in the wind.

Allergy sufferers typically don’t get relief until first frost.

Hay fever-type symptoms are the most typical ragweed reaction, though some with ragweed allergies react to eating some fresh fruits and vegetables, including bananas, cucumbers, zucchinis and melons. They develop itchiness and mild swelling around the mouth, called oral allergy syndrome.

To reduce your exposure to ragweed and deal with the symptoms, the AAAAI and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommend these steps:

-Keep the windows closed. Use air conditioning, which cleans, cools and dries the air, preferably with a -HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter. This helps remove pollen from indoor air.
-Consider staying indoors when pollen or mold counts (mold is another common allergen) are high.Pollen counts tend to peak between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rain and cool morning temperatures (below 50 degrees) slow release of pollen.
-Have someone else mow your the lawn or rake leaves, which stirs up pollen and molds. Also, dry sheets and clothes in the dryer instead of outside, where they can collect pollen.
-If you must be outside on high pollen-count days, wear a pollen mask.
-Take a shower before bed to wash pollen from your hair and body and prevent pollen from settling on your pillow.
-Some ragweed allergy sufferers get allergy shots, which alleviate symptoms in up to 90 percent of patients, according to the AAAAI. If you think you may need these, or to better determine what exactly you’re allergic to, see an allergist/immunologist.

When home and family issues interfere with work, employees take more sick days, a new study has found.

Belgian researchers assessed work-family conflict among nearly 3,000 workers and found that absenteeism was higher for those who reported that problems at home were interfering with work. These employees felt the demands they faced at home made them tired at work.

Workers with high levels of home-work interference were more likely to have at least three sick leave episodes per year and to take 10 or more sick days per year, the study authors found.

Although some workers reported work interference at home, this did not increase use of sick days.

The findings suggest that companies seeking ways to reduce employee absenteeism might want to consider “family-friendly employment policies or specific strategies that enable a better harmony between private and work life, such as flexible work schedules,” according to lead study author Els Clays of Ghent University and colleagues.

But more research is needed to assess whether such policies actually reduce sick leave, they noted.