More than 35 million Americans suffer chronic lung disease such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, according to the American Lung Association. Lung disease and other breathing problems are the No. 1 killer of babies younger than 1 year old. Other conditions, including cystic fibrosis, lung cancer and AIDS, also make breathing difficult, according to the American Association for Respiratory Care.
This summer, a group of University of Kentucky students and staff has been patrolling campus grounds -- scouting out any student, employee or visitor lighting a cigarette.
Laura Finlayson, 40, from Westwood, New Jersey, just couldn't seem to shake her persistent cough. It lingered for months and was so violent that she ended up in the emergency room with bruised ribs.
Smoking will increase your risk of cancer, emphysema, heart disease, stroke, and dying young, but if you manage to dodge all those bullets, it may actually reduce your need for joint-replacement surgery later in life.
A study published Monday in a Canadian journal concluded that smokers who take Chantix, one of the most popular smoking cessation drugs, could increase their risk of heart problems.
You know spring has sprung when hundreds of people daily turn to Twitter to vent about their itchy eyes, dripping nose and uncontrollable sneezing and coughing. And if it's not obvious that allergies can ruin a person's day, watch how many tweets go by that use "allergies" and the f-word in the same sentence.
A 1-year-old boy whose family fought a Canadian hospital over whether he should be allowed to die received a tracheotomy at his St. Louis hospital early Monday morning.
Fewer U.S. adults are smoking, and those who do smoke are on average smoking less, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Marijuana makes you slow and raises the risk of addiction, memory problems and cognitive functions, some health agencies warn.
Of the 84,000 chemicals on the market today -- many of which are in objects that people come into contact with every day -- only about 1 percent of them have been studied for safety, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Tuesday.
When Eugenie Smith's hands started tingling, she figured her biking gloves needed more padding. When she felt out of breath after a short walk on a treadmill, she assumed it was pneumonia. When her chest hurt, Smith chalked it up to indigestion.
Cleanup workers exposed to spilled oil may be at long-term risk for breathing trouble and other health problems, according to a new study examining the aftereffects of a 2002 oil spill in Spain.
Two-year-old Ethan Wily had a cold recently, so at first it wasn't surprising that he started coughing last week after eating some pistachio gelato.
It's a wild, nasty world under the sheets.
When Charity Tillemann-Dick was 4, her parents took her to her first opera.
You dread this: Runny nose, scratchy throat, maybe a cough. And worse, it's 80 degrees outside.
States are tracking the health consequences of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, including respiratory and skin irritation problems in Louisiana and Alabama, health officials said.
A growing body of research is linking five chemicals -- among the most common in the world -- to a host of ailments, including cancer, sexual problems and behavioral issues.
Kindra Arnesen's husband often calls while he's out on a shrimping trip, so she wasn't surprised to hear her cell phone ring the night of April 29 while he was on an overnight fishing expedition.
People who take vitamin E supplements regularly for years -- whether they are smokers or nonsmokers -- may lower their risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the lung condition that is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
The former beauty queen stared into the camera, but this was no pageant or performance. She looked frail and thin, and her hair was rumpled. But Eva Markvoort smiled weakly.
If you have perpetually clogged and swollen sinuses, secondhand smoke -- even in small amounts may be to blame. According to a new study, secondhand smoke may be responsible for up to 40 percent of cases of chronic sinusitis.
"Saline irrigation" may not sound sexy, but Kelly Nance says she's hooked.
"Saline irrigation" may not sound sexy, but Kelly Nance says she's hooked.
Feel like you can't breathe? Do you have the uncontrollable urge to rub your eyes every 10 seconds?
When the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, they produced a dense cloud of smoke and vaporized concrete and drywall.
Every day, nearly 4,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 18 try their first cigarette, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Do you cough, wheeze, or get short of breath when you exercise in cold weather? You could have asthma, but you've got plenty of company. Exercise-induced asthma is surprisingly common among people who work out in cold climates, whether they're jogging around the neighborhood or gunning for gold in Vancouver.
Peanuts are like poison for people who have severe food allergies to them. For some, ingesting even a tiny piece of peanut can trigger a potentially fatal reaction.
If you're trying to quit smoking, wearing a nicotine patch for up to six months -- far longer than is generally recommended -- may increase your chances of staying smoke-free, a new study has found.
In the rare cases when the H1N1 virus kills, scientists have found, it penetrates deep into the lungs, creating widespread damage -- a pattern similar to what killed millions during previous flu pandemics in 1918 and 1957.
Although fewer people are smoking -- and therefore less likely to die from cigarette-related causes -- the obesity epidemic may negate any gains in life span, according to a new study.
When Katherine Frazier was a teenager in Silver Spring, Maryland, back in the '60s, smoking was the "in" thing to do. She thought it was glamorous. She thought it was cool. Her friends smoked, her parents smoked, and at the time, no one knew that smoking tobacco could kill you.
A preliminary report suggesting that N95 respirators -- filtering devices worn over the mouth and nose -- protect against swine flu better than surgical face masks seems to be incorrect, researchers revealed during a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
Nearly one-third, or 28 percent, of adults and children hospitalized with H1N1, also known as swine flu, have asthma. That's more than any other chronic condition, according to a recent analysis of cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A wiry, slightly hunched man presses in a few numbers, the electronic lock gives way with a beep and the group presses into the crowded laboratory, plastered with ominous warnings about toxins and biohazards.
New research suggests that nearly half of patients hospitalized with the H1N1 virus had no underlying conditions, an increase from prior findings, a federal health official said Tuesday.
When Tyra Smith's boyfriend, Chris Lewis, first suggested they be guinea pigs in a H1N1 vaccination study in August, she wasn't so crazy about the idea. But then she warmed to it: While she doesn't like needles, she thought she'd help out because she knew H1N1 was a serious virus.
Health officials expect more than 3 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine to be available in the first week of October.
Sneezing and wheezing may stamp out those flames of desire. A new study reveals that allergies could be getting in the way of amorous activities.
If the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho scared you, here's another reason to scream: A new study says that potentially disease-causing germs can get trapped in showerheads and grow into biofilm, or coats of slime that deliver a bacteria blast along with your hot water.
"Look, we had some great times together and a lot of fun," Natasha Bishop said. "But now I feel we are moving in different directions and I need to end this relationship."
Even 6-year-olds at Hamilton Central School in central New York came to school prepared for swine flu. Jessica Poyer, a first-grade teacher, noticed in the spring that kids had begun bringing their own hand sanitizer, tissues and water bottles.
A soak in a steamy tub, surrounded by candles sure seems like a great way to unwind. But new research suggests that burning certain kinds of candles may generate indoor air pollutants.
Known for building skate parks and shaping the skateboarding scene in New York, Andy Kessler, 48, died this week after an allergic reaction to an insect sting, friends and family told news media.
About 1 in 7, or 13.5 percent of adults who encountered intense dust clouds after the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11 were later found to have asthma, compared with just 8.4 percent who had no dust cloud exposure, researchers in Atlanta and New York City reported on Tuesday.
There may be a reason that children's asthma rates are so high in urban areas. Youngsters with stressed-out parents and exposure to air pollution have a higher risk of asthma, according to a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This Caribbean city already known for cigars, furniture, chocolate and coffee may become a magnet for Americans seeking controversial stem cell therapy for life-threatening illnesses if a Florida cardiologist has his way.
Pamela Hampton stands at the kitchen sink, her gaze trained out of the window of her family's small hillside home. The disaster site is not visible from where she stands, but she knows it is there, down the hill, around a short stretch of highway, less than a mile away.
Two popular anti-smoking drugs will now carry warnings about the risk of severe mental health problems, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday.
When she was 2 years old, Sonali Mavinkurve caught a cold. But this time there was nothing common about it.
Blockbuster movies are less likely to portray smokers than they have in the past, according to a new study. What's more, this decline in on-screen smoking may have occurred in tandem with a drop in the number of adolescents who have lit up in real life.
Jack Schwartz, 8, has had seasonal allergy symptoms in the past, but his parents never needed to give him medication.
Adults who were exposed to large amounts of secondhand smoke during childhood have lungs that look different on CT scans from those of people who grew up in a smoke-free environment, a new study suggests.
While investigators trudge through pig farms and remote villages in Mexico, searching for clues about the new swine flu, answers about the virus' origin may finally appear on a computer, based on genetic codes.
Roy Braswell was 9 years old when the flu pandemic of 1918 hit.
When the World Health Organization raised its influenza pandemic alert from a Phase 4 to a Phase 5 last week, there was a bit of a gasp heard round the world.
Over the past week, I've been inundated with questions about swine flu, via Facebook, Twitter, CNN blogs and e-mail. So this week I'm empowering people with information about swine flu: how to protect yourself, what all the numbers mean and why you shouldn't freak out.
In Mexico City, the government ran out of surgical masks after handing them out to one of every five residents.
A total of seven cases of a previously undetected strain of swine flu have been confirmed in humans in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. None of the patients has had direct contact with pigs.
Have you ever experienced itchiness or hives in your mouth area after eating raw fruit or vegetables? Do you also have seasonal allergies?
The wet tissues pile up as pollen from trees swirls in the air, clogging noses and tickling eyes without relief. This is what parts of March, April and May are like for many Americans.
Obesity shaves two to four years off the average lifespan, while being very obese can shorten your lifespan by 8 to 10 years, according to a new analysis of 57 studies including nearly 900,000 people.
Eighty-year-old Margie Graf is a health care success story, representing the kind of disease-preventing, cost-saving treatment the Obama administration envisions as it seeks to expand Americans' access to doctors.
Your saliva is doing all kinds of useful things for you all the time -- for instance, helping you chew and taste food. It's also home to more than 600 species of bacteria, which are harmlessly enjoying the moisture of your mouth.
For most, the flu is a winter inconvenience -- stuffy nose, fever, body aches and a few days of bed rest. But what seems fairly routine also can become life-threatening.
The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it has stopped reviewing drug applications from an India-based pharmaceutical plant, alleging that officials there falsified data and test results in applications, some of which the agency has already approved.
Pet owners will often go to any length to protect the health of their furry and feathered friends. Now a new survey suggests that one in three smokers would consider kicking the habit after learning that smoking poses a danger to pets.
Americans are living longer because the air they breathe is getting cleaner, a new study suggests. The average drop in pollution seen across 51 metropolitan areas between 1980 and 2000 appears to have added nearly five more months to people's lives, according to a study published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Smoking is bad for you, and by now, most of us know it.
A common misperception is that colds are associated with winter weather. But research shows that people actually get more colds during the spring and summer months.
Asthma affects 22 million Americans. It can cause wheezing, breathlessness and coughing. Asthma attacks are preventable, but they cannot be eliminated. Even though the condition is treatable, thousands die from complications each year. The National Institutes of Health provides guidelines for helping asthmatics cope with their illness. These guidelines, released in August 2007, include an "asthma action plan" for parents and schools, and recommendations to help keep asthmatics healthy.
We've all thought we were allergic to work in the figurative sense right? But it's actually possible to be physically allergic to work. The condition is called "occupational asthma" and about one in seven people suffers from it, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Some of the symptoms are the same as "typical asthma," such as quick, short sips of breath, wheezing, and tightness in the chest. Other symptoms include coughing, sneezing, congestion, and a runny nose. Since the condition is so similar to typical asthma, it becomes very difficult to diagnose.
Sinusitis affects 39 million people each year, making it one of the most common health problems in the United States. Makers of a noninvasive procedure called balloon sinuplasty say this treatment provides instant results and a quick recovery time.
You could blame weeds, trees, and grasses if you start itching, sneezing, coughing, and wheezing this fall. But the usual suspects aren't the only triggers. A host of household items -- candles, chemicals, stuffed animals, and spices -- may be the real culprits.
You could blame weeds, trees, and grasses if you start itching, sneezing, coughing, and wheezing this fall. But the usual suspects aren't the only triggers. A host of household items -- candles, chemicals, stuffed animals, and spices -- may be the real culprits.
On September 11, 2001, Kathryn Freed watched from two blocks away as a plane hit the World Trade Center's north tower.
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