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The article presents the key points related to the management of acute asthma among children in primary care. Topics discussed include the number of children under asthma treatment in Great Britain, its features that parents need to consider, and the requirement for asthma patients to have a personalised asthma action plan.

Several charts are presented depicting classification of asthma severity, its initial treatment, a stepwise approach for asthma management, and assessment of asthma control along with adjusting therapy in children.

The article offers information about the benefits of organic foods. The author compares the traditional foods (TF) that are grown using pesticides and other artificial products and the organic foods that do not involve the application of pesticides or other synthetic chemical products (POSCP). He mentions several heath problems such as organ damage, cancers including leukemia, breast cancer, and brain tumors, and asthma symptoms and attributes the same to the POSCP used in case of TF.

A table is presented which lists the components of severity to classify asthma severity and to initiate treatment in youths under 12 years of age which includes symptoms, interference with normal activity and lung function.

The author reflects on the study conducted by C. D. Thomson and colleagues regarding asthma in children. The author states that there had been no evidence in the relationship of dietary selenium levels with asthma which was tackled in the study and the effect of nutritional antioxidants to the development of asthma in children. An overview of the occurrence of allergic asthma in children is presented.

The article discusses the report "Examining Causes of the Inner City Asthma Epidemic" by Stanley J. Szefler showing the high asthma prevalence in populations living in poor areas in large cities. Topics discussed include asthma risk factors in large cities, contribution of medical health system in solving asthma problem in those places, and impact of social inequities on the asthma treatment process.

A correction to the article "Innate lymphoid cells in asthma phenotypes," by Leyla Pur Ozyigit and colleagues that was published in September 15, 2015 issue is presented.

The article presents a study suggesting substandard housing to be linked to health impairments such as asthma. Topics discusssed include record of asthma attacks in children exposed to environmental triggers such as pest infestation and mould, assessment of children who had asthma-related emergency department visits to hospital at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and increase in children previously admitted for asthma being re-admitted to hospital.

Background: The specific cause or causes of asthma development must be identified to prevent this disease. Objective: Our hypothesis was that specific mold exposures are associated with childhood asthma development. Methods: Infants were identified from birth certificates. Dust samples were collected from 289 homes when the infants were 8 months of age. Samples were analyzed for concentrations of 36 molds that comprise the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) and endotoxin, house dust mite, cat, dog, and cockroach allergens. Children were evaluated at age 7 years for asthma based on reported symptoms and objective measures of lung function. Host, environmental exposure, and home characteristics evaluated included a history of parental asthma, race, sex, upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms, season of birth, family income, cigarette smoke exposure, air conditioning, use of a dehumidifier, presence of carpeting, age of home, and visible mold at age 1 year and child''s positive skin prick test response to aeroallergens and molds at age 7 years. Results: Asthma was diagnosed in 24% of the children at age 7 years. A statistically significant increase in asthma risk at age 7 years was associated with high ERMI values in the child''s home in infancy (adjusted relative risk for a 10-unit increase in ERMI value, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.5-2.2). The summation of levels of 3 mold species, Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus unguis, and Penicillium variabile, was significantly associated with asthma (adjusted relative risk, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.8-2.7). Conclusion: In this birth cohort study exposure during infancy to 3 mold species common to water-damaged buildings was associated with childhood asthma at age 7 years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article reviews the article "Does Traffic Exhaust Contribute to the Development of Asthma and Allergic Sensitization in Children: Findings From Recent Cohort Studies," by L. Bråbäck and B. Forsberg, which appeared in the periodical "Alternative Medicine Review" in 2009.

Background: Asthma typically originates in early-life, and the impact of infection during immunologic maturation is a critical factor in disease pathogenesis. The progression of aberrant TH2 cell responses and disease development has been attributed to a lack of infections. However, exposure to specific pathogens such as Chlamydia may alter immunologic programming and predispose to asthma. Objective: To investigate the effects of chlamydial infection at different ages on allergic airways disease in later life. Methods: Neonatal, infant, or adult BALB/c mice were infected and 6 weeks later were sensitized and subsequently challenged with ovalbumin. Hallmark features of allergic airways disease were compared with uninfected allergic and nonallergic controls. Results: Early-life (neonatal and infant) but not adult chlamydial infection enhanced the development of hallmark features of asthma in ovalbumin-induced allergic airways disease. Notably early-life infection increased mucus-secreting cell numbers, IL-13 expression, and airway hyperresponsiveness. Neonatal infection attenuated eosinophil influx and ovalbumin-specific TH2 cytokine release and numbers of activated myeloid dendritic cells (DCs) in lymph nodes. By contrast, infant infection augmented features of allergic inflammation with increased airway eosinophils, TH2 cytokine, and DC responses. Both neonatal and infant infection increased systemic DC-induced IL-13 release from CD4+ T cells. The timing of infection had significant effects on lung structure because neonatal but not infant or adult infection induced increases in alveolar diameter. Conclusion: Early-life respiratory chlamydial infections modulate immune responses, alter lung function and structure, and enhance the severity of allergic airways disease in later life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the clinical importance of asthma control. It is difficult to find out the accurate assessment of asthma control because disease variability requires assessment of a variety of outcomes such as day and night symptoms, need for rescue medication and impairment of daily activities. For avoiding these problems, several tools have been developed including the Asthma Control Test (ACT), the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) and the Asthma Control Scoring System.