Could wheezing during upper respiratory tract infections in toddlers be prevented by putting steroid into their noses? This seemingly odd suggestion arose, apparently, because of recent evidence of “cross talk” between noses and lungs. (We know there are bugs in these noses.) In Leicester (

) 50 children aged 12–54 months who were prone to wheeze with colds were randomised to fluticasone aqueous nasal spray (50 μg into each nostril twice a day) or placebo spray for 12 weeks. The treated group did not cough or wheeze significantly less than the placebo group when they had colds.

Lucina was sad to read of the death, at the age of 88 years, of the Boston paediatrician Sydney Gellis on 6th December 2002 (Obituary.

). He was recognised as a great teacher of paediatrics and, although Lucina never met him, she was greatly entertained for many a year by his forthright comments in the Yearbook of Pediatrics.

Exclusive breast feeding for four months reduces the risk of hospital admission for lower respiratory tract infection or asthma among healthy infants in affluent populations by around 72%. This conclusion is the result of a meta-analysis of nine studies reported between 1980 and 2001 (

).

It must be a rare healthy child who is not fairly frequently hit by …