Chronic Bronchitis

Yearly flu shots are recommended for seniors (paid for by US Medicare), healthcare workers, and people with chronic lung diseases. However, there are those for whom it is not recommended: people who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs or who have had a severe reaction to a flu shot in the past; children less than 6 months old; people who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever. (They should wait until their symptoms lessen before they get the flu shot.)

Medicare advises people at higher risk for invasive pneumococcal disease including those over 64 years old and patients with HIV, splenectomy, sickle cell disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic disorders of the lungs or heart, and cirrhosis to get a one time pneumonia vaccination.

Smoking is the major cause of chronic bronchitis, but "... air pollution and dust or toxic gases in the environment or workplace also can contribute to the condition. In some people, chronic inflammation of the airways leads to asthma," according to thiis Mayo Clinic article. Prevention would obviously include not smoking, using unscented and non-toxic products in the home, workplace, and on your person, and avoiding indoor and outdoor pollution such as auto exhaust, smoke, and even fake buttery popcorn that pervades the lobbies of movies.

Editor's Note:

"Race" is sometimes mentioned as a risk factor in the development of certain cancers and a number of other diseases. When you read this in a discussion about an illness, note that the explanation seldom refers to anything biological. Instead, it usually refers to behavior, such as eating habits. The kinds of behavior usually mentioned as risk factors are culturally determined. They are not genetic or biological.

The Sierra Club says thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims in Mississippi and Louisiana may be living in unsafe conditions after tests it conducted showed dangerous levels of formaldehyde in 30 out of 32 FEMA trailers it tested.

According to a May, 2006 article in Dermatology Today, consumers of cosmetics are at risk for contact dermatitis due to fragrances and preservatives.

Although fragrances are the most common cause of contact allergy because of their presence in many skin care products, preservatives are often cosmetic allergens. Persons who become allergic to these preservatives can have widespread eruptions and may be quite uncomfortable as a result.

As ... reported in the 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on smoking, the toxins from cigarette smoke go everywhere the blood flows. Smoking kills nearly 440,000 Americans each year. On average, smoking reduces adult life expectancy by approximately 14 years.