Sneezing Season Brings Asthma, Allergy Tips

Spring's arrival brings joy ... pollen ... and sneezes. The time is right to find out if seasonal respiratory difficulties are the result of allergies or asthma, health experts said Thursday. ">Health Officials Try To Raise Awareness Of Allergy, Asthma At events in and near Washington, D.C., health officials urged members of the public to undergo a medical screening if they suffer shortness of breath or wheezing. Asthma is a serious ailment: It kills an estimated 5,000 people per year. But it doesn't have to hinder an active lifestype, as Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome "The Bus" Bettis affirmed. "You can do whatever you want to do -- as long as you effectively manage the asthma," Bettis, an asthma sufferer, said. Along with his mother, Gladys, the running back attended Asthma Awareness Day on Capitol Hill. The annual event is put on by the Allergy and Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics. Also attending was "Rex Morgan, M.D.," cartoonist Woody Wilson, who was honored by the group for raising awareness by including an asthma-related plotline in the comic strip. The organization said that more than 17 million people in the U.S. have asthma and that the Centers for Disease Control predicts that the number will reach 60 million by 2020. "Asthma is not just about wheezes and sneezes -- it can kill," organization president Nancy Sander said. "But most asthma deaths are preventable with education and treatment."

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