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Jerome Bettis has achieved significant things in his career as a NFL football player:

• 13,662 rushing yards over his career- 5th all-time
• Third in the NFL with 3428 rushing attempts
• Won the Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award in 2001
• Super Bowl Champion

What many people did not know is that he also has asthma and works very hard to keep it under control. According to an interview published in 2006 in Asthma Magazine, he was diagnosed with asthma when he first went out for football and his symptoms were well controlled after beginning medication. Like many young people, he began not keeping a close eye on his asthma in college and had a severe asthma attack during a game that required oxygen and an injection to help him breathe better. Jerome Bettis now works with the American Lung Association to promote asthma awareness.

According to the Walmart Pharmacy Website for their $4 prescription plan , Walmart has a HFA albuterol inhaler for sale for $9. This would be a significant cost reduction compared to currently available rescue inhalers since the CFC to HFA transition. Have you tried to access this reduced cost inhaler? ======================= Stay up to date: subscribe to the Asthma newsletter and join the discussion in the Asthma forum . Follow me on Twitter =======================

It is beginning to warm up where I live and I noticed in the paper today there were some tips and recommendations for planting. With the upcoming planting season, the asthmatic gardener may be at risk for worsening asthma symptoms. These 10 tips from American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology can prevent seasonal allergies from worsening your asthma and keep you in the garden longer:

1. Wear a protective pollen mask while gardening
2. Shower after gaedening to reduce seasonal allergen exposure in your home
3. Keep grass cut short and avoid mowing yourself if possible
4. Keep your hands away from your eyes and nose while gardening
5. Garden when pollen counts are lowest- typically rainy, wet, cloudy and windless days
6. After gardening, leave your clothes in your laundry room and brush off your shoes.
7. Use gardening gloves to minimize direct contact with allergens
8. Do not garden or limit your gardening to short time periods on "high" pollen days
9. Avoid poison ivy/sumac/oak- Where long pants and shirts or consider barrier skin creams to prevent unwanted contact with these allergens
10. If you are mold allergic, avoid damp, moist places and standing water

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Significant increases in asthma have been seen over a large portion of the United States from 2001 to 2008 according to a study preformed by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). According to the study 19 states had significant increases in the 3-year average prevalence of asthma with the highest increases in Oklahoma and Alabama (both about 2%). The only state that demonstrated a decline over the 3 year period was Nevada. In the press release lead study author Teresa A. Morrison, MD, MPH stated "This state-by-state analysis of annual trends in asthma prevalence is important for public health planning and for generating hypotheses to determine risk factors for this common condition."

Does asthma affect your mental health? According to the March issue of Chest, adults with asthma were two and one-half times more likely to experience serious psychological distress compared to those without asthma. Additionally, the more serious psychological distress experienced, patients reported poorer health related quality of life. What do you think? Does asthma affect your mental health? What do you do to keep asthma from affecting your mental health? Leave a comment or j oin the discussion in the forum .

The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology suggests these things to get the most out of your next doctor's visit:

• Educate Yourself: The more you know about your asthma the more you can proactively partner with your doctor to improve your asthma. If you do not know where to get the best information, ask your doctor for an information prescription .
• Keep good records: Track symptoms with a symptom diary and bring it to your appointment to show your doctor.
• Ask questions to get more out of your visit: Clear communication is essential and using these questions will help you improve communication with your doctor.
• Be proactive: Bring questions with you to your visit. If you do not understand make sure you speak up and ask the doctor to explain again.
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Sinusitis is one of the conditions that could be making your asthma worse with as many as half of chronic asthmatics having chronic sinusitis according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America . While cold symptoms are common this time of year, stuffy nose and headache lasting more than 2 weeks may be more than just a winter cold. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 31 million Americans develop sinusitis each year, leading to 18 million physician visits and $5.8 billion in overall health expenditures.

Buteyko breathing exercises were developed by Ukrainian physician Konstantin P. Buteyko in the 1960s. Dr. Buteyko believed that asthmatics chronically hyperventilate, or breathe too quickly, resulting in chronically low levels of carbon dioxide. In asthmatic patients, he believed, the low carbon dioxide levels lead to inflammation and bronchoconstriction . Buteyko breathing involves controlling your breathing by decreasing both the volume of each breath and the number of breaths you take per minute. Through a series of exercises you retrain how you breathe. Additionally, Buteyko breathing places an importance on nasal breathing and relaxation techniques.

According to the Asthma In America survey:

• 70% of doctors report regular spirometry use to measure patient airflow on an ongoing basis, but only 35% of patients report having spirometry in the past year.
• While more than 9 out of 10 of doctors stressed the importance of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of asthma, less than 2 out of 10 of asthma patients reported anti-inflammatory medication use in the prior four weeks.
• While more than 8 out of 10 of doctors report prescribing peak-flow meters to their asthma patients, only 6 out of 10 patients have ever heard of a peak flow meter. However only 3 out of 10 asthma patients actually have a peak flow meter and only 1 in 10 actually use it at least once a week.
• While 7 out of 10 physicians report developing asthma action plans for their patients, less than 3 out of 10 patients report receiving an asthma action plan from their asthma care providers.

As a practicing physician that sees both adults and kids with asthma, this is pretty disturbing to me. Why do you think there is such a discrepancy between what physicians and their patients report? What do you think can be done to improve these numbers? What would you suggest

Caffeine decreases wheezing, coughing, and other symptoms of exercise induced asthma (EIA) according to a study from the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University. In a press release, the authors describe the effects of caffeine on EIA in 10 patients. A dose of 9 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight before exercising was equivalent to using an albuterol inhaler before exercising. Lower doses of 3 and 6 mg/kg, respectively, did not decrease symptoms as well as the albuterol inhaler, but decreased the symptoms compared to placebo. No additional benefit was seen when combining albuterol with caffeine. What does this mean for me? One should not go out and ramp up their caffeine intake on this study. It will however guide further study as researchers begin to look at other treatments for EIA.