The start of a new school year means, predictably, that
asthma attacks will rise.
USA Today explains why:
For millions of children with asthma, the start of the school year can bring a rise in severe attacks and trips to the emergency room.
More than six times as many asthmatic children of elementary school age are admitted to the hospital in early fall compared with the hot, smoggy days of summer, according to studies by scientists in the U.S. and Canada.
"Researchers speculate that it has to do with kids getting together in small indoor spaces again and passing around viruses," says Norman Edelman of the American Lung Association. "Getting a respiratory virus such as the flu or a cold can trigger an asthma attack."
Indoor air pollution as diverse as mold growing on ceiling tiles and fur shedding off the class hamster also can cause attacks. Even the fumes from strong cleansers used by janitors can pose a threat.
"Then there's the problem of the diesel-powered school bus sitting out front with its motor running," Edelman says.
Making matters worse, many parents send children back to school without giving teachers and school officials the information and medication they need to help prevent a potentially deadly attack.
According to a lung association poll, 73 percent of parents of children with asthma report they are concerned about how their child's asthma will affect participation in school, yet fewer than half talk to the teacher about their child's asthma (48 percent) or make sure medicine is available at school (42 percent).
The lung association recommends that parents sit down with their child's doctor and write up an asthma action plan that informs school staff about symptoms, daily medications and limits on physical activity. "We don't want children to end up having a crisis at school, especially when it can be prevented," Edelman says.
Pharmacists in the Crossfire
A month ago, the FDA approved over-the-counter sales of Plan B -- commonly referred to as the morning-after pill.
Today, the landscape is cluttered with a patchwork of laws -- some that allow pharmacists who oppose the drug to choose not to dispense it, and others that forbid them from doing so.
Stateline.org said:
Pharmacists have lost their jobs in Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin for their unwillingness to dispense emergency contraception. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, reversed policy and began stocking the morning-after pill nationwide in March after state regulators in Illinois and Massachusetts ordered pharmacies to carry the drug.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), a possible presidential contender for 2008, touched off a furor when his administration suggested that Catholic hospitals would not be subject to a state law mandating that emergency rooms offer emergency contraception to rape victims. He quickly reversed that stance.
States are split over whether to give priority to health care providers who have ethical concerns or to women seeking contraception.
Four states -- Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota -- have enacted "conscience clauses" that specifically protect pharmacists who choose not to dispense emergency contraception. Five more -- Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine and Tennessee -- have more general conscience clause policies that likely would protect pharmacists.
The Washington Board of Pharmacy at first considered enacting a conscience clause but reversed course after the governor weighed in. If [Washington Gov. Christine] Gregoire's proposal receives final approval early next year, Washington would join the nine other states that have adopted "must-fill" policies requiring pharmacists to fill all scripts. Some of those states, though, have provisions that allow pharmacists who have objections to refer a prescription to another druggist.
California, for example, requires pharmacists to fill all prescriptions, unless they notify their employer ahead of time and the employer makes arrangements so patients can receive their medicine promptly.
In Illinois and Maine, administrative must-fill rules are in force but conflict with conscience clause statutes that don't mention emergency contraception.
The American Medical Association passed a resolution last year calling on pharmacists to fill all prescriptions. It even suggested that, if no pharmacist within 30 miles of a patient would fill a script, the patient should be able to buy the drug from the doctor instead.
It means, as Stateline points out, that what was once a federal government issue is now a state issue:
The FDA's decision leaves states with even more questions to resolve: Should stores be required to stock Plan B, now that it's a non-prescription drug for women over age 18? Will pharmacy technicians, along with druggists, be covered by conscience clauses? And should other states follow the lead of nine states that currently let girls under 18 get the drug without seeing a doctor?
These questions fall to the states because, while the FDA regulates medicines, states police the doctors who prescribe drugs and the pharmacists who dispense them.
Restricted Drivers Licenses Lower Accidents/Deaths
It seems to be working. States are reporting a plunge in the number of teens involved in car accidents since they have adopted restricted drivers licenses. In Washington state, for example, accidents involving 16-year-olds dropped 45 percent since the restricted-license law took effect in July 2001.
A new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-sponsored study found:
Graduated driver licensing programs reduce, by an average of 11 percent, the incidence of fatal crashes of 16-year-old drivers, according to a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. When examining the most comprehensive programs, which include at least five of seven components [...], the researchers found about a 20 percent reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. The report was supported primarily by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Graduated driver licensing programs are a popular way to reduce the risk of vehicle crashes for novice drivers. We already knew that the programs reduced crash rates of young drivers, but we didn't know which programs were most effective in reducing risk," said Susan P. Baker, MPH, lead author of the study and a professor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management and Center for Injury Research and Policy. "After completing our study, it is clear that more comprehensive programs have the greatest effect."
Why FreeCreditReport.com Might Not Be Free
The Red Tape Chronicles explains how that TV commercial you often see late at night may not be selling what you think it's selling. (Although I have to say, once you are on the Web site, directly on the left-hand side of the page, it explains that to get the "free credit report," you must enroll in a $12.95-a-month credit monitoring program, which you can opt out of within the first 30 days of a free trial.)
Crash-Test Data on '07 Cars
By this time next year, new vehicles must include crash-test findings on window stickers, not unlike gas mileage ratings. Here is the official National Highway Transportation Safety Administration order [PDF].
Just-Released 9/11 NYC Video
Let me just say that this newly released home video of the attacks on the World Trade Center is riveting. The video was captured from a 36th-floor apartment window 600 yards away from the building. I have not seen anything else like it.
Cyclists Wearing Helmets More Likely to Get Hit
The theory behind the findings in a new British study is that drivers figure cyclists wearing helmets know what they are doing and drivers get closer to the helmeted cyclist than they would get to an un-helmeted rider. Vehicle drivers are more wary of unhelmeted cyclists. So goes the theory.
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Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
The World Trade Center video did not have a unique...
