http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The health impact of indoor air pollution is a real environmental health issue, which is believed to have a bearing on respiratory conditions such as asthma. This has prompted a European study to take action. While outdoor pollution is often cited as the cause of many asthma related issues, indoor threats are also being addressed in the light of World Asthma Day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-impact-indoor-air-pollution-europeans.html Health Tue, 07 May 2013 08:00:02 EST news287130134 The chance of infection in some hospital wards varies dramatically according to whether the nurses leave the windows open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-energy-efficiency-infection-hospital-wards.html Other Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:32:24 EST news285345137 (Medical Xpress)—For decades, no one worried much about the air quality inside people's homes unless there was secondhand smoke or radon present. Then scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) made the discovery that the aggregate health consequences of poor indoor air quality are as significant as those from all traffic accidents or infectious diseases in the United States. One major source of indoor pollutants in the home is cooking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hidden-dangers-air.html Health Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:10:01 EST news284885427 (HealthDay)—Many Americans use space heaters to provide extra warmth during winter, but they can cause burns and fires if not used properly, an expert warns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-space-heater-safety.html Health Sat, 09 Mar 2013 04:40:01 EST news282025600 The hazards of breathing outdoor air in some Chinese cities have been well-documented. Now a University at Buffalo study confirms that breathing indoor air also carries significant cancer risks, especially for Chinese women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-indoor-air-chinese-women-nonsmokers.html Health Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:24:58 EST news278677463 Inexpensive, locally-produced ceramic cookstoves may produce less smoke than traditional indoor 3-stone firepits, but they don't significantly reduce indoor air pollution or the risk of pneumonia in young children, according to results from a small, year-long observational study by researchers working in rural Kenya. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-ceramic-indoor-cookstove-significantly-child.html Health Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:34:56 EST news274556088 Electronic cigarettes are experiencing somewhat of a boom at the moment. An estimated two million people in Germany have already turned to the vapor cigarette, which many view as a healthy alternative to conventional smoking. However, a number of voices, primarily from the political sphere, are warning of possible health risks, claiming that the long-term consequences cannot yet be foreseen. Studies to date have come to mixed conclusions. There is a general lack of substantiated facts, fuelling an ongoing battle between supporters and opponents. By carrying out a new, independent study, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI in Braunschweig hope to introduce a degree of objectivity into this emotional topic of debate. The scientists' goal was to find out whether e-cigarettes pollute the surrounding air, thus affecting bystanders of an e-cigarette user. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-electronic-cigarettes.html Addiction Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:00:02 EST news274098753 (Medical Xpress)—Older women in the developing world are likely to see direct health benefits such as reductions in blood pressure in a relatively short amount of time once they switch to cleaner burning cookstoves, according to a study by Colorado State University environmental researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-cleaner-cookstoves-health-world.html Health Thu, 29 Nov 2012 08:00:16 EST news273397551 Marking the fourth annual World Pneumonia Day, November 12th, world leaders and the Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia are calling for major efforts in the fight against childhood pneumonia, which remains the number one killer of children under age five. Pneumonia claimed 1.3 million lives in 2011 alone, and was responsible for nearly one in five global child deaths. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-pneumonia-killer-children-decline-global.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:57:11 EST news271936622 Providing parents who smoke with measurements of their homes indoor air quality (IAQ), in addition to usual smoking advice, leads to better IAQ and reduces children's exposure to second hand smoke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-air-quality-device-children-exposure.html Health Fri, 07 Sep 2012 07:51:55 EST news266223106 (HealthDay) -- Turning on the exhaust fan above your kitchen stove and cooking on the back burners can reduce the amount of air pollution from gas stovetops and ovens, a new study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-exhaust-fan-gas-stove-pollution.html Health Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:50:01 EST news262543365 The rapid shift from nomadic life to modern-day culture in the United Arab Emirates has exposed residents to significant indoor air quality risks that can lead to respiratory illness, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-culturally-sensitive-arab-emirates-indoor.html Health Wed, 09 May 2012 17:13:05 EST news255802377 Second hand smoke exposure among nonsmokers has declined over time as clean indoor air laws have been adopted. However, there has been concern that such laws might encourage smokers to smoke more in their homes or other private venues. Children living in a home with an adult smoker are up to twice as likely to take up smoking themselves. Now, a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine concludes that strong clean indoor air laws are associated with large increases in voluntary smokefree policies in the home, as well. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-indoor-air-laws-home.html Health Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:10:01 EST news239947186 An international effort to replace smoky, inefficient household stoves that people commonly use in lower and middle income countries with clean, affordable, fuel efficient stoves could save nearly 2 million lives each year, according to experts from the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-world-stoves-contribute-million-deaths.html Health Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:00:12 EST news237732587 Mothers who are exposed to particular agents during pregnancy could give birth to children with a higher risk of asthma, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-mother-occupation-pregnant-asthma-children.html Health Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:32:16 EST news236230328 A Johns Hopkins Children's Center study of Baltimore City children who have asthma and live with smokers shows that indoor air cleaners can greatly reduce household air pollution and lower the rates of daytime asthma symptoms to those achieved with certain anti-inflammatory asthma drugs. Although the air cleaners improved the overall air quality in homes, they did not reduce air nicotine levels and did not counter all ill effects of second-hand smoke, the researchers warn. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-indoor-air-cleaners-ease-asthma.html Health Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:00:03 EST news231433837 An estimated two billion people in the developing world heat and cook with a biomass fuel such as wood, but the practice exposes people – especially women – to large doses of small-particle air pollution, which can cause premature death and lung disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-indoor-air-pollution-linked-cardiovascular.html Health Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:19:17 EST news229339147