Respiratory Blog

Over the past 25 years, cases of asthma have risen by 40 million worldwide, going from 318 million in 1990 to 358 million in 2015. Fortunately, at the same time deaths from asthma have declined by more than 26%, dropping from 550 thousand to 400 thousand.

Propeller Health has come out with “smart inhalers” which use Bluetooth technology to interact with a patient’s smartphone and record data. Whenever the patient uses their inhaler, the time and location are recorded via a smartphone app. This allows the patient, and their doctor, to see when and where the patient suffers asthma attacks.

Dust mites, the microscopic parasites which feed on dead skin and hair left behind by humans, are one of the world’s most common asthma and allergy triggers. So a new study from England decided to test if asthmatic children would fare better when using mite-proof mattress and pillow covers.