A week away from dirty urban air improved the health of children with moderate asthma.

Seven-day excursion of schoolchildren to rural areas reduced inflammation of the respiratory tract and affected lung function.

"I assumed that we would see differences, but did not think about such statistically significant changes. I was particularly impressed by the significant improvement in lung function, "said study author Giovanni Piedimonte, professor of pediatrics at the Medical School in Virginia.

It was previously known that harmful air microparticles increase dependence on drugs and lead to frequent hospitalizations. Other types of contaminants led to respiratory tract infections, wheezing and aggravation of reactions to allergens.

Scientists decided to study the possibility of reversing the effect of dirty air.

They gathered a group of 37 children suffering from allergies and asthma, and for a week they were placed in country camps. At selected sites, scientists checked in advance the air, pollen and meteorological conditions. Right on the site, the children underwent tests for allergic reactions, in which nasal eosinophilic granulocytes were used - a kind of leukocytes differing in the presence of large granules in their cytoplasm, lung function.

A week later there was a fourfold increase in the level of nasal eosinophilic granulocytes and lung function - exhalation force.

The study confirmed the hypothesis that air pollution predetermines the course of asthma, and is reassuring because all these changes are reversible. However, for more accurate results it is necessary to compare the ecological indicators of the area.

Another study by Canadian scientists showed that the use of antibiotics in the first year of life slightly increased the risk of developing asthma health. Sumy. Ua.

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