Apr
30,
2018
Spring is here but itchy and runny noses are not over! Discover why!
Apr 30, 2018
We tend to believe that when winter is finished and spring is flourishing, colds are over. However, many people still experience respiratory tract infections in springtime, for various reasons:
- Respiratory tract infections caused either by viruses or bacteria are important factors that exacerbate asthma course in at risk populations (1, 2, 3).
- Airborne pollen exposure increases with consequences on asthma and allergic rhinitis in susceptible subjects.
- In spring, asthma medication prescriptions and emergency department visits increase (4).
- 334 million people have asthma worldwide, and 14% of the world’s children experience asthma symptoms (5).
- Seasonal rhinitis or hay fever, triggered by airborne pollen exposure, affect as much as 10% of adults and over 20% of children (6)
References
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- Busse W. W. et al., Lancet.-2010 September 4; 376 (9743):826-834
- De Schutter I et al, BMC pediatrics-2012, 12:83
- Moreno-Valencia Y et al. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2015 Aug 19. doi: 10.1111/irv.12346.
- Sposato B. et al. Eur rev Med Pharmacol Sci -2015; 19:942-949
- Global Asthma Network. The Global Asthma Report 201http://www.globalasthmareport.org/
- Mallol J, Crane J, von Mutius E, et al. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Three: a global synthesis. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 2013; 41:73. http://isaac.auckland.ac.nz/