New drugs to treat allergies are safe: expert

With millions of people suffering from different allergies worldwide, an expert has said that new generation anti-histamine drugs to treat them are safe, effective and do not produce sedative effect. In an interview with The Hindu in connection with a prestigious global medical conference being hosted atHyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) here by the World Allergy Organisation (WAO), Dr. Ruby Pawankar, the first woman to head the 35,000-member body has dismissed as non-scientific the treatment of fish medicine to treat asthma. 'Severe allergies, Severe Asthma: New Strategies forOptimal Treatment and Prevention' is the theme ofthe four-day event beginning on December 6. Superior infrastructure facilities at HICC and the presence of a number of good hospitals has enabledHyderabad to bag the event over three other cities, according to Dr. Pawankar. Around 2,500 delegates, including 70 world-renowned experts, are expected to attend the conference. A medical graduate of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, she is living in Japan since 20 years. Excerpts: Q: Which is the most common form of allergy Around 400 million people across the globe suffer from nasal allergy, followed by 300 million from asthma and 200 million are affected by food allergies. We presumethe number of those affected by asthma is under-estimated. All over the world around 2.5 lakh people die of asthma annually. The other types of allergies are those relating to skin, insects andoccupation among others. What are the reasons for rise in asthma cases Asthma cases are indeed increasing. An internationalstudy of asthma and allergies in children found that there was a doubling of asthma in developing countries. Allergies are becoming more complex and severe. Causes could be many, including genetic,lifestyle-related, food allergy and environmental and what is called "hygiene hypothesis". Allergens are increasing due to global warming. Climate change and global warming is having an impact on migration of allergens. Your views on the treatment protocol for allergies First generation anti-histamine drugs whichcause sedation are no longer recommended. We recommend second generation drugs which don't have sedative effect. They are safe and effective.Nasal and skin allergies arecontrolled by these drugs. Also the newer inhalers containing steroids are safe. What is WAO's role in combating various types ofallergies? WAO is leveraging internationally with various ministries of health, the UN and WHO to bring allergies on the agenda of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) along with diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and other ailments. More resources could be garnered if it is declared as an NCD. Deaths due to allergies and asthma are unwarranted. We have to partner to make a reduction in burden of allergic diseases. How well-developed is the discipline of allergies treatment in India? It is not well-developed in India. WAO is working closely with Union Ministry of Health to make this a full-fledged specialty. WAO has prepared a position paper on the syllabus for post-graduate and under-graduate courses. What is your view on fish medicine treatment for asthma? I have heard about it and feel it is absolutely non-scientific and has no scientific basis. Let someone furnish scientific data on how it cures asthma and I will then believe it.

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Advice from a Cloud (Ifa Cloud Could Speak)

Everyone deserves water to drink, so shower your kindness on sinners and saints alike. People will see different things in you: relief, or comfort, or a fearsome sign of a storm. Pay no attention to any of that; but do your job peacefully. It's a beautiful thing to provide shade on a hot day (to comfort those in distress). You sometimes drift aimlessly, butby the will of Allah, you get in the right drift and current again. Oppose evil with thunder and lightning, but with others be soft as cotton. Not everything is what it seems: the darker the cloud, the more water it carries within, to cleanse the earth and bring new life. Never forget, you are mainly madefrom water. Make sure to always replenish yourself with pure sustenance. There's a rainbow right behind the storm. Can you think of any other advice a cloud might give?

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Antidepressants Can Raise Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

Hypertension can cause problems for both mother and child. By ANAHAD O'CONNOR Published: April 09, 2012 Taking antidepressants during pregnancy raises the risk of high blood pressure in expectant mothers, a new study shows. Antidepressants are one ofthe most commonly used medications in pregnancy, and hypertension can cause problems for both mother and child. About one in five women suffer from depression during pregnancy, and up to 14 percent of those women end up using an antidepressant medicationto treat it. Though the drugs are commonly prescribed to pregnant women, there has not been much research on the effect theycan have on a mother's health. The new study, published in The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, looked at more than 13,000 pregnant women, 1,200 of whom had pregnancy-induced hypertension with no history of the condition before they became pregnant. The researchers found that women taking antidepressants of any kind had a 53 percent greater risk of high blood pressure. Those who were taking Paxil, which belongs to the most commonly prescribed classof antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRI's, saw their risk rise even higher, by 81 percent/

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