Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal has an amazing article about asthma on the front page of Sunday’s New York Times (10-13-13). It was titled The Soaring Cost of a Simple Breath. She revealed that 40 million Americans have asthma, but the cost of the medications is breaking the bank.
According to Dr. Rosenthal, two popular inhalers, Advair and Symbicort, cost somewhere between $250 and $350. They usually last about a month. Global sales of the two products totaled over $11 billion. GSK spent $99 million advertising Advair. A shot of the new asthma medicine Xolair can cost as much as $1500 and needs to be repeated every two weeks. Over 100 million prescriptions are dispensed for asthma drugs every year.
Keep in mind that none of these medications cures asthma. At best, drugs like Advair (fluticasone-salmeterol), Alvesco (ciclesonide), Asmanex (mometasone), Dulera (mometasone-formoterol), Flovent (fluticasone), Foradil (formoterol), ProAir (albuterol), Pulmicort (budesonide), Serevent (salmeterol), Singulair (montelukast), Spiriva (tiotropium), Symbicort (budesonide-formoterol), Ventolin (albuterol) or Zyflo (zileuton) help control symptoms.
Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) like budesonide, fluticasone and mometasone calm the inflammatory lung reaction by suppressing the immune system. But there is no free ride. Side effects include:
- Upper respiratory tract infections, sinusitis/sinus infection, pharyngitis
- Throat irritation, hoarseness, vocal disturbances, Candida (yeast) infections in mouth or throat, polyps
- Headache
- Digestive tract distress, nausea, vomiting, gastritis
- Cough, nasal inflammation and/or congestion
- Arthritis or muscle aches and pains, muscle cramps & spasms
- Skin rash, itching, allergic reaction, angioedema, bruising (purpura)
- Suppression of the adrenal glands
- Growth retardation in children
- Visual disturbances, cataracts, glaucoma
- Osteoporosis, reduced bone mineral density
Even more worrisome are the complications associated with long-acting bronchodilators (LABAs). These include salmeterol (found in Advair & Serevent) and formoterol (in Foradil and Symbicort). There is an ongoing controversy about the benefits and risks of LABAs. That’s because such drugs have been linked with “an increased risk of fatal or potentially fatal asthma episodes.” There is also a concern that LABAs can have adverse effects on the heart among older patients.
What if many cases of hard-to-treat asthma could be cured instead of managed? That is the basis for Dr. David Hahn’s new book, A Cure for Asthma? What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You–and Why. David Hahn, MD, MS, has devoted decades to studying the root cause of many cases of asthma. He has discovered that infection with a sneaky bacterium called Chlamydia pneumoniae may be responsible for a great deal of lung inflammation and airway constriction. Ignoring the infection by treating symptoms of wheezing and shortness of breath leads to lifelong exposure to medication and often a great deal of suffering.
Dr. Hahn offers an alternative. He has found a way to help the body eliminate the smoldering infection. It involves the antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax, Z-Pak). To learn more about the science and read amazing stories from people who have benefited from Dr. Hahn’s research and regimen, check out his brand new book, A Cure for Asthma? You can watch a video with Dr. Hahn and Jim Quinlan, whose story is featured in the book.
We are proud to be publishing this ground-breaking book. If you know someone with asthma, please let him or her know about this important information. We are offering an early bird discount for those who place the order before our official publication date of November 28th, 2013. Save 15% by ordering today. The discount code when you check out is CURE15. Here is a link to more information about Dr. Hahn’s provocative new book. If you want to go straight to the shopping cart, here is the link.
