Cough

The raspy hacks and rattling coughs of children's colds are music to Dr. David Alexander's and Dr. Barbara Kelly's ears. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia pediatricians are studying over- the-counter cough medicines, and they need 200 children ages 6 to 12 to test them. The study, which is funded by a pharmaceutical company and being conducted at Abington Memorial Hospital, will look at the effectiveness of three different cough remedies and a new combination of over-the-counter drugs.

The "galloping" bacterial pneumonia that killed Muppets creator Jim Henson last week can be controlled - but only if a person recognizes that a mild fever and cough suddenly has become much worse. Five symptoms can signal the onset of bacterial pneumonia, a condition that can be life-threatening, according to Dr. Paul Epstein, chief of Graduate Hospital's pulmonary division. "If a person with a low-level virus suddenly develops high fever and chill, a cough with phlegm, or phlegm mixed with blood, or chest pain, or shortness of breath, these five things should tip you off that you need to see a doctor immediately.

HOW THINGS have changed over the past 40 years or so: Our cars used to get eight miles to the gallon. Now, with all of the fuel efficiency technologies, our cars still only get eight miles per gallon, but now they are humongous. We used to get so drunk and wonder how we got that tattoo. Today we just get the tattoo. Every child wanted to become president of the United States. Today they want to be a charter school CEO. If you broke up with someone, you were called an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend.

Children who live with cigarette smokers have an impaired cough reflex, meaning they are less able to clear the airways of potentially harmful particles and irritants. That is the finding of a new study at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, whose authors say it may help explain why such children are more likely to develop bronchitis and other respiratory infections. The researchers measured the cough reflex of several dozen Philadelphia-area children by having them inhale a mist containing a small amount of chili-pepper extract.

Former President George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized in Houston since the day after Thanksgiving to be treated for a lung ailment, reports the Houston Chronicle . Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993 and was vice president under Ronald Reagan for two terms, has battled a "lingering cough that has drawn concern," the Chronicle reports today. "President Bush is in the hospital," his chief of staff told a reporter. "We have kept this quiet out of respect for him. " She said Bush, 88, has bronchitis.

EAGLES COACH Andy Reid said he will take full responsibility for the End of the World. Injuries? (Cough, cough) Andrew Bynum needs another MRI. He might have inadvertently pulled a fast one. Everyone else is having panic attacks. The apocalypse Friday should be a relief to Philly sports fans, who already believe their world ended innumerable times in proverbial sports angst. A bunch of Phillies fans met their Grim Reaper in 1964 and he surprisingly looked just like Gene Mauch.

HOUSTON - Former President George H.W. Bush was in a Houston hospital Thursday for continuing treatment of a lingering cough. Bush, 88, has been in and out of the hospital recently for complications resulting from bronchitis, Methodist Hospital said in a brief statement. The hospital and Bush's spokesman in Houston, Jim McGrath, described Bush as in stable condition and said they expected the former president to be released by the weekend. He has been under hospital care for nearly a week.

THIS IS NOT THE PERFECT CRIME Stealing a car was Todd Lee Johnson's first mistake. Leaving his stuff inside was his second. Johnson began an 18-year prison sentence for carjacking this week. But before he did, he filed a claim against San Mateo County, Calif., for $2,794, asking authorities to return or reimburse him for items he left in the 1992 Saturn that he stole last summer. The belongings included a $350 wedding dress, as well as maps, jackets, shoes, books, luggage, a trench coat and a high school equivalency certificate.

Have you gotten your Tdap shot? If you don't know what that is, you aren't unusual, which helps explain why whooping cough, or pertussis, is making an alarming comeback. Nearly 18,000 cases, including nine deaths, have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so far this year, a pace not seen since 1959. Tdap is a booster vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Since 2005, when it was licensed, the CDC has recommended the shot for adolescents and adults, including pregnant women, because protection from childhood vaccination wanes.

I JUST READ Stu Bykofsky's series about the mounting problems at PACCA. I rescued a dog from the shelter recently, and, as soon as I brought him home, I noticed he was terribly ill. He was unable to keep any food or water down and was extremely lethargic. I was so concerned that, after a few days, I took him to a vet for fear that he was dying. He had mites under the skin and a severe case of pneumonia that likely started as untreated kennel cough. I ended up spending more than $1,000 to save my handsome dog. I'm outraged that PACCA didn't even utter a word to inform me that he was having health problems.

NEW YORK - Louisville is one of the best teams in the nation at forcing turnovers. Villanova is one of the worst teams in the Big East when it comes to committing them. The combustible mixture was on display Thursday night and the result wasn't a surprise. The fourth-ranked Cardinals used a relentless press and avenged a regular-season defeat at the hands of the Wildcats, capturing a 74-55 victory in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. With three wins over top-five teams this season, including Louisville, the Wildcats (20-13)

HOUSTON - Former President George H.W. Bush was released from a Houston hospital and went home Monday after spending nearly two months being treated for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues, a family spokesman said. Bush, 88, the nation's oldest living former president, was admitted to Methodist Hospital on Nov. 23. His stay included a week in intensive care last month. "I am deeply grateful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Methodist who took such good care of me," Bush said in a statement released by spokesman Jim McGrath.

EAGLES COACH Andy Reid said he will take full responsibility for the End of the World. Injuries? (Cough, cough) Andrew Bynum needs another MRI. He might have inadvertently pulled a fast one. Everyone else is having panic attacks. The apocalypse Friday should be a relief to Philly sports fans, who already believe their world ended innumerable times in proverbial sports angst. A bunch of Phillies fans met their Grim Reaper in 1964 and he surprisingly looked just like Gene Mauch.

After a run of topsy-turvy influenza seasons that included one pandemic and another with almost no flu, the new cough-and-cold season has arrived abruptly and in force. Across the country, influenza-like illnesses are showing up at their earliest point in nearly a decade. Locally, pediatric hospitals are already experiencing some of their highest emergency-room volumes since the peak of the pandemic three years ago. What is typically a one-two punch - various early-winter viruses followed by late-winter influenza - may be emerging in the Philadelphia region as simultaneous rises in the respiratory infection RSV and flu. Both hit young children hard.

With pertussis at its highest level nationally in a half-century, the Philadelphia region has been weathering a spike that in some places is more than triple the previous record set two years ago. "We're sort of way off the scale this year," said Stephen Ostroff, Pennsylvania's acting physician general. "It really started picking up in the summer, and once kids got back to school, the [pertussis] was already there. " Cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, often decline in late fall into early winter.

ARLINGTON, Texas - If the 2012 Eagles are afforded enough time, they will find a way to lose. Even in a game in which they took their biggest lead of the season, they collapsed Sunday night in the fourth quarter of a 38-33 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The unraveling has become a trademark of this team, and it occurred as it did so often this season. The secondary experienced a complete breakdown to the point that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo appeared as if he was playing backyard football.

HOUSTON - Former President George H.W. Bush was in a Houston hospital Thursday for continuing treatment of a lingering cough. Bush, 88, has been in and out of the hospital recently for complications resulting from bronchitis, Methodist Hospital said in a brief statement. The hospital and Bush's spokesman in Houston, Jim McGrath, described Bush as in stable condition and said they expected the former president to be released by the weekend. He has been under hospital care for nearly a week.

Children who live with cigarette smokers have an impaired cough reflex, meaning they are less able to clear the airways of potentially harmful particles and irritants. That is the finding of a new study at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, whose authors say it may help explain why such children are more likely to develop bronchitis and other respiratory infections. The researchers measured the cough reflex of several dozen Philadelphia-area children by having them inhale a mist containing a small amount of chili-pepper extract.

Have you gotten your Tdap shot? If you don't know what that is, you aren't unusual, which helps explain why whooping cough, or pertussis, is making an alarming comeback. Nearly 18,000 cases, including nine deaths, have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so far this year, a pace not seen since 1959. Tdap is a booster vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Since 2005, when it was licensed, the CDC has recommended the shot for adolescents and adults, including pregnant women, because protection from childhood vaccination wanes.