Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
Rubbing ointments and asthma morbidity in adolescents
Marina Reznik1, Iman Sharif, Philip O Ozuah
1Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, 3415 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467, USA.
Objective:
To determine the relationship between the use of rubbing ointments and asthma morbidity in adolescents.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Settings/Location:
Inner-city high school in the Bronx, New York.
Subjects:
165 adolescents with asthma.
Outcome Measures:
Asthma morbidity, defined as emergency department (ED) use for asthma in the past year and over the lifetime.
Results:
While 127 (77%) of subjects used albuterol as the first treatment for their last asthma attack, 18 (11%) used rubbing ointments. The rubs and albuterol groups were similar in asthma severity, mean age, gender, and ethnicity. However, subjects in the the rubs group were less likely than subjects in the albuterol group to have made an ED visit over the past 12 months or over their lifetime. Regression analysis revealed that, after controlling for asthma severity, use of rubs independently predicted less lifetime ED use.
Conclusions:
After controlling for asthma severity, use of rubs by adolescents with asthma was associated with lower asthma morbidity as measured by ED use.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Asthma-IV: Diagnostic and Management
Clinical Assessment for Asthma:
This is the first step in diagnosing and managing asthma. It includes:
01:28Asthma I: Introduction
01:29Asthma-I: Introduction
01:24Asthma-III: Symptoms and Complications
Classification of Asthma
01:25Antiasthma Drugs: β2-Adrenoceptor Agonists
One class of bronchodilators includes β2-adrenoceptor agonists. These agents target the β2-adrenoceptors located on bronchial smooth muscle cells. By stimulating these receptors, β2-agonists induce relaxation in these...
01:13Asthma III: Clinical Manifestations