A recent item from the New Zealand Herald on unflued gas heaters and how much they cost New Zealand in asthma-related health costs is here.
We still need to study the link between paracetamol use in young children and asthma in more detail.
Paracetamol should still be used to treat a fever (of 38.5 degrees or higher) in young children. This is especially true if the child has had convulsions caused by fever before of if they are getting dehydrated.
The risk of asthma in the future is likely to be less than the risk of not treating a high fever immediately.
In children of any age with an established diagnosis of asthma, paracetamol should be used with caution, especially if the asthma is severe or poorly controlled. If in doubt parents and caregivers should discuss this with their doctor.
Along with paracetamol a number of other risk factors exist that should be taken into account when considering a child's respiratory health, including having parents with allergies, living near heavy traffic and passive smoking.
