Breathing

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

As he ran up and down the court, Andrew Bynum took deep breaths. It had little to do with the normal fatigue that surrounds a typical basketball game. It had everything to do with fighting an upper respiratory infection he suffered the night before the Lakers' 112-108 overtime victory Sunday over the Dallas Mavericks. "It was was just hard to breathe," said Bynum, who finished with 20 points on nine-of-24 shooting and 16 rebounds. "I was tired. " Still, Bynum managed to overcome a one-for-eight first quarter stretch.

Disco legend Donna Summer, 63, died Wednesday night, reportedly of lung cancer. As of press time, her family hadn't released details about her illness, so it was unknown what type of lung cancer she had, and how long she may have been ailing. According to the American Cancer Society , lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both women and men, killing more than 150,000 people per year -- more than colon, breast, ovarian and prostate cancers combined. In 2012, the group estimates, there will be about 226,000 new cases of lung cancer in the U.S. Survival rates of people with lung cancer are low. Only about half of people diagnosed with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (the more common type)

Seconds before showtime, the DJ took his place before the bank of monitors, switches and dials. He took a deep breath, a light flickered on above the door. Waffles was on the air. "It's the best in rock!" he said into the mike. "Let's start things off right!" With that, he kicked off a rollicking two hours on Mt. Rock Radio, the student-run station at Mt. San Antonio College. Howling guitars and heart-pounding percussion pulsed through the airwaves. The spiky-haired host, zinging with frenetic energy, drummed his fingers to the beat and sang along as he worked the boards and set up the playlist — Thin Lizzy, Joan Jett, the Ramones.

Big-time, bed-rattling snoring is more than just a detriment to good sleep or happy relationships. It's also a sign that airways aren't open and clear. In extreme cases, snorers spend chunks of the night gasping for breath, a dangerous condition called sleep apnea. If they could somehow open up their airways, they would breathe easier without all of the racket and without the risk. Instead of sucking air through a mask or going under the knife — two common approaches to apnea — many snorers hope they can get extra breathing room with the help of an oral appliance that fits inside the mouth.

For several years I have been taking atenolol for my blood pressure, Zoloft for depression and Prevacid for acid reflux. During this time, my breathing has gradually gotten worse, and now I can't walk more than 20 or 30 feet without stopping to catch my breath. Up to a couple of years ago, I walked four to five miles a day at a fast pace. Could this change have anything to do with my medicines? Atenolol (Tenormin) is a possible candidate. This beta blocker can affect the lungs and cause fatigue.

Physicians at University Medical Center may try to remove Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' breathing tube on Saturday, the next major hurdle in her recovery, Dr. Peter Rhee said Friday morning in Tucson. Doing so will finally allow them to assess how well she is able to talk after being shot in the head last Saturday morning in the mass shooting outside a Safeway. Her recovery continues to amaze the doctors who have been treating her. "We couldn't have hoped for any better improvement than we are seeing now given the severity of her injury," said Dr. Michael Lemole, a neurosurgeon who has been a key member of the team treating her. During the week, Giffords has passed a number of milestones, including moving her hands and arms, opening her eyes, responding to commands, sitting up in bed and lifting her legs.

The smoke-filled air of the recent Southern California firestorms made a lot of people very uncomfortable. Eyes burned and breathing was impaired while those of us with asthma and other respiratory disabilities were advised to remain indoors and turn on our air conditioners. That was good advice for those of us who had air conditioners. Now that winter is upon us with temperatures outside dropping, the air is once again filled with the smoke of fires, this time from the fireplaces of my neighbors.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is breathing on her own and moving both arms, both very encouraging signs of recovery, physicians at University Medical Center in Tucson said Tuesday. In an interview, Dr. Peter Rhee, the chief of trauma at the medical center, said Giffords was moving both arms, although her left arm was more active than her right, and moving her eyes. Previously, doctors had said that she was moving only her left arm, which is controlled by the right hemisphere of her brain ?

A simple breathing and relaxation technique can reduce respiratory symptoms, irregular breathing, depression and anxiety among asthma patients, researchers at University College London have found. "A lot of people under stress breathe from their upper chest," says lead author and physiotherapist Elizabeth Holloway. "We teach people to relax their shoulders and breathe calmly from their tummy. At rest and in normal life, you should be breathing gently through your nose, not deep breathing."

The midair meltdown of a JetBlue pilot last month confirms what I try to deny while flying: Hurtling 30,000 feet above the Earth in an aluminum tube is indubitably nutty. JetBlue passengers tackled the pilot on the New York-Las Vegas flight, the airline said, when he stormed the cabin, rambling, due to a "medical situation. " While I sympathize with the captain's medical situation, I wonder if he was acting out what the rest of us are thinking when we're on a plane: I want off. I tried recently to become a fearless flier.

Virginia Beach residents were warned Friday to avoid the site of a Navy jet crash lest they come in contact with toxic materials sent swirling into the air upon impact. They were also warned to leave alone any debris they might find from the downed aircraft -- and to call 911 to report it. Even as emergency responders were searching Friday afternoon for victims in the apartment buildings struck by the aircraft, investigators began trying to piece together the wreckage. A Navy official said the jet suffered "catastrophic engine failure" shortly after takeoff from Naval Air Station Oceana, causing the F/A-18 Hornet to drop out of the sky, as one witness described it. The crash occurred around 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the two pilots aboard ejected safely.

Once the buzzer struck, the confetti dropped at Staples Center, the 18,997 fans roared and plenty of the Lakers embraced. Andrew Bynum wrapped a bearhug around Pau Gasol, claiming, "We got one. " Kobe Bryant, too, hugged Bynum and then lightly tapped his chest. The Lakers had just finished clawing, defending and making clutch shots en route to a close victory against the Boston Celtics. So it was understandable that the emotions ran high and the excitement boiled. It sounds like everything that transpired after the Lakers' Game 7 victory of the 2010 NBA Finals.

Hundreds of Burbank residents who have yet to comply with a city ordinance that requires them to remove their wood roofs were given some breathing room last week, 20 years after the law was enacted. Homeowners with exposed wood roofs will probably now have two more years to change them. A "roof-over" — a wood shingle or shake roof covered by another type of roofing material — will get an eight-year reprieve. The extensions, coming just months before a 20-year-old August deadline for the replacements, are expected to be finalized by the City Council in the coming weeks.

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

Newtzilla is back. Six weeks ago, during the last Newt Gingrich surge, I wrote here that "conventional weapons are useless against Newtzilla…. Everything bad about Gingrich — the flip-flops, the wives, the ego — is known. Once voters have convinced themselves they can overlook that stuff, it's hard to change their minds simply by repeating it. " For a while, it looked like I was wrong. The relentless artillery fire from Mitt Romney's "super PAC" seemed to have felled the gray-maned leviathan in the cornfields of Iowa.

Breathing through the mouth can cause headaches and pains in other parts of the body, says the Academy of General Dentistry. "People who breathe through their mouths tend to push their heads forward and their lower jaws backward," explains Dr. Joseph Discipio, an academy spokesman in Chicago. "This changes the way the upper and lower teeth fit together and throw the teeth out of balance." The imbalance, says Discipio, can strain muscles in the jaw, causing pain.

Ma Ying-jeou, the incumbent president of Taiwan, has now won his hard-fought battle for reelection. What does it mean for the United States? To state it plainly, Ma's victory means one less headache for any U.S. administration, Democratic or Republican. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. The U.S. ended its formal treaty commitment to protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack in 1979, but it continues to be committed to the island's security through legislation. Ma is seen as the candidate least likely to provoke China or otherwise put the U.S. in an uncomfortable position.

Try Not to Breathe A Novel Jennifer R. Hubbard Viking: 233 pp., $16.99, ages 14 and up Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24, claiming 4,400 lives annually, according to theU.S. Centers for Disease Control. That statistic alone is alarming, but at least 149,000 more young people attempt suicide and survive each year. It's this second statistic that Jennifer R. Hubbard humanizes in her young-adult novel "Try Not to Breathe," about a teenage boy struggling to find meaning after attempting to take his own life.