A number of items relating to health have grabbed my attention lately. The first concerns kids and asthma:

One in three fatal asthma attacks worldwide involves a child with a mild form of the disease, and nearly half of all parents are unaware of the risk, according to a global survey presented Wednesday.

The report by the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology said the findings exposed a critical information gap between doctors who treat asthma and parents of kids diagnosed with it.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease caused by airway inflammation, and certain stimuli cause the windpipe to become obstructed. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing and a tightened airway that causes shortness of breath and can be life-threatening.

Many parents cut back on treatments such as drug inhalers when their children suffer side effects, the study found. Others switch medications or discontinue treatment altogether, it said, cautioning that doing so "can be dangerous and greatly impact health outcomes."

Another, this one from Austrialia, deserves attention, as well:

The Victorian Poisons Information Centre received 26 calls over five years from parents who had overdosed their infants on Donnalix Infant Drops.

All the babies had been accidentally given at least a double dose and, in 14 cases, the child was fed 10 times the correct dose despite clear instructions on the packaging. In 22 cases, the child was taken to hospital, often drowsy, floppy and flushed, with dilated pupils and a racing heart rate.

Even with over the counter meds, it is vitally important that all instructions are followed to the letter and that dosages are carefully monitored.

Also from Australia comes a worrying report on the health of today's young adults:

GENERATION Xs are at risk of dying before their parents with a new Australian study showing they are becoming obese faster than any other age group.

The Sydney University study found adults born between 1966 and 1970 were putting on weight more rapidly than baby boomers and adults of the pre-war generations.

..."At the rate at which some young adults are putting on weight, we could hypothetically see them dying before their parents."

Dr Bauman said the children of Generation Xs were also at risk as they had grown up with similarly sedentary lifestyles.

And for anyone contemplating pregnancy, please see this report about possible effects of some commonly prescribed hypertension medications:

In a group of 209 babies born to women taking ACE inhibitors in the early stages of pregnancy, a recent study published in the June 8, 2006 New England Journal of Medicine, reported that 18 or 7.1% of the infants, were born with serious birth defects.

... The study determined that infants exposed to ACE inhibitors were almost 4 times more likely to suffer cardiovascular problems and nearly 5 times more likely to have central nervous system malformations when compared to infants exposed to other medications or no antihypertensives drugs at all.

... Based on these findings, taking ACE inhibitors during early pregnancy “cannot be considered safe and should be avoided,” according to Dr William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, and leader of the study.

Here's a partial list of some common ACE inhibitors:
Capoten (captopril)
Vasotec (enalapril)
Prinivil, Zestril (lisinopril)
Lotensin (benazepril)
Monopril (fosinopril)
Altace (ramipril)
Accupril (quinapril)
Aceon (perindopril)
Mavik (trandolapril)
Univasc (moexipril)