Children breathe more easily in the countryside

Children with asthma can breathe easily if they spend a few days in the countryside, away from urban air pollution, a course saved by Giovanni Piedimonte, professor and head of pediatrics at the University of Western Medical School. Virginia, discovered.

The study, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, shows for the first time that limiting the exposure of children with allergies to air pollutants can improve lung function while reducing respiratory inflammation. .

Dr. Piedimonte explains: 'This finding is significant because inflammation creates health risks for children with chronic respiratory problems. Now we all know it just needs to provide a cleaner environment to alleviate children's asthma. '

He added : 'Research has shown that we can control asthma in children without the need for medication if the air is breathing cleaner'.

Researchers from the United States and Italy conducted research on 37 Italian children with mild allergies and asthma, taking them to a clean rural area with lower levels of contamination within a week.

The children participating in the study were patients aged 7 to 14 at an asthma treatment facility in Pescara, Italy. They stayed at a rural hotel during a picnic at Ovindoli, Italy. They did not use any medication or any treatment during the study period so that researchers could identify the relationship between air quality in the environment and signaling biomarkers. for inflammation.

Pollution, pollen and meteorology are controlled in both locations.

Piedimonte, a doctor at WVU Children's Hospital and director of the WVU Pediatric Research Institute, said: 'Pollutants that exist in the urban atmosphere in developed economies are the cause of the increase. Asthma rate in children. Even so, I was surprised to see the progress of lung function in children after only a few days living in cleaner air. '

Do not buy medicine to treat children with asthma (Photo: giadinh.net.vn)

Some harmful emissions in the air in industrialized countries include ozone, carbon oxides and benzene - all of which can lead to emergency and hospitalized children with asthma.'In addition, we have data showing that microscopic particles may be particularly toxic to children with asthma' , Piedimonte said.

The Health Information Center of the Department of Health and Human Resources, West Virginia University reports that 31,000 children in West Virginia have asthma. Until 2003, the US hospitalization rate for asthma was still higher than West Virginia. But now the reality is the opposite.

Piedimonte commented: 'West Virginia is experiencing asthma epidemic worse than anywhere in the United States. Risk factors include air pollution, low socioeconomic status, as well as high rates of obesity and smoking '.

The US National Health Foundation recently ranked the 39th overall health situation of West Virginia in the states, saying that high levels of air pollution are among the top challenges. Piediomonte concludes: 'Our research recognizes the critical nature of air quality for children with asthma and allergies. It is a matter of careful consideration before considering reducing the factors that affect the air, and introducing industrial pollution limits. '