Sharing the Health! The Lung Association fought hard to win protections called the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards put in place in 2011. Since then, these protections have become a tremendous success story, each year prevent- ing up to 11,000 early deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks. They’ve also dramatically reduced dangerous mercury pollution, as…
Fibrosis File Be sure to check out the latest videos from the PF War- riors meetings and seminars at https://pfwarrior.com/video/ Research News Physicians at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler have devel- oped a drug that could reverse scarring in the lungs that occurs in pulmonary fibrosis. A fragment of a protein,…
The Ryan Report Home Oxygen Guru – The HO2G Pen Ready for Spring! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for spring and summer. Time to get out after being stuck inside for most of the winter. To those of you affected by spring flooding and weather-related disasters, I send positive vibes your way.…
Ask Mark … Mike C. is interested in endobronchial valves and asks what the differences are between them. Mark replies, The Zephyr and Spiration endobronchial valves are designed to improve lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life for people with emphysema by bypassing the areas of the lung that are most affected by their…
Editor’s Note Taking a break from the everyday routine of coping with lung disease proved to be a fun time on a recent Sea Puffer’s trip to the Caribbean. After touring Bonaire and seeing the salt flats, we had a White Party to celebrate finding the lost shaker of salt (aka, Phil Cassler of Wisconsin).…
Respiratory News People with COPD-related anxiety would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, a new trial in ERJ Open Research finds. The respiratory symptoms are often upsetting and many experience anxiety as well. This anxiety can aggravate a person’s health, potentially resulting in repeated visits to the hospital. Cognitive therapy is a type of psychotherapy in…
Answers to our Insurance Quiz in the November/December newsletter: Which government program helps elderly Americans pay their health care costs? Medicare is the health insurance program that helps seniors pay for health Medicaid is the program for those with low incomes. In health insurance, “network” means what? A network is a group of doctors,…
The tax-filing season The tax-filing season began on January 28, even amid the government shutdown. This is the first tax year under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – an over- haul of the code that doubled the standard deduction ($12,000 for singles and $24,000 for married-filing-jointly), and eliminated personal and dependent exemptions. The law…
Sharing the Health! Peg Studdard puts her oxygen tubing in a mesh bag with a towel for 10 minutes in the dryer to warm it up. When she takes it out and stretches it out, it lays flat and eliminates the kinks in the tubing that would shut off her oxygen supply. When using…