December 11th – The World Asthma Day

In the News: April 8, 2020

World Asthma Day is held every year on December 11th. The event was first held in 1998 by the World Health Organization in collaboration with a number of international organizations involved in research in the field of bronchial asthma. The goals of World Asthma Day are to increase knowledge of asthma among the population and patients, inform about prevention, identify new disease cases at an early stage, improve the quality of asthma healthcare.

Daily, new information about asthma appears on the web. Some of facts is true when other facts are confusing. There are many different institutions engaged in the arrangement and conduct of this asthma world day. Asthma Inhalers Online is actively involved in collecting information necessary to convey the information to the targeted audience. Let’s get figure out some significant issues of bronchial asthma.December 11th - The World Asthma Day

What is bronchial asthma and what are risk factors?

Bronchial asthma is a disease of the respiratory system. This is characterized as difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, suffocation, coughing or wheezing.

Risk factors for bronchial asthma can be classified into:

  • internal (causing a person’s predisposition to this disease);
  • external (contributing to the disease manifestation in predisposed people, as well as provoking exacerbations (asthmatic attacks).

Internal risk factors for bronchial asthma include:

  • heredity;
  • gender;
  • obesity.

The presence of one or more of these factors does not mean that such a person will necessarily get bronchial asthma. But the probability of getting sick significantly increases when combined with certain external factors.

External risk factors for bronchial asthma are also called “triggers”. The influence of triggers directly causes the pathological process, contributing to the disease manifestation, or its exacerbation.

The most important triggers of asthma are:

  • different allergens (especially inhalation, directly acting on the respiratory tract);
  • occupational hazards;
  • environmental pollution;
  • smoking.

Also, triggering factors contributing to the exacerbation of asthmatic attacks can be:

  • physical exercise;
  • emotional overstrain;
  • exposure to cold or overheating;
  • acute respiratory diseases (viral or bacterial);
  • menstruation and pregnancy;
  • some medications and other reasons.

Preventive measures

  1. Air the room regularly.
  2. If possible, change your place of residence.
  3. Do not get animals, fish and birds in the house. If got, keep them clean, thoroughly vacuum carpets, more often do wet cleaning.
  4. Do not use perfumes, deodorants, air fresheners, scented candles.
  5. Buy hypoallergenic laundry detergents and disinfectants.
  6. Temper.
  7. Treat respiratory infections on time.
  8. Go in for sports, keep a healthy lifestyle.
  9. Do walking more often.
  10. In the summer, go to the sea.
  11. Do not smoke. Avoid smoking rooms.
  12. Try to keep as few carpets and soft toys in your home as possible. Soft toys do not forget to wash at a temperature of 60 °C. If they cannot be washed, you can pack them in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer.
  13. Change bed sheets at least once every 2 weeks.
  14. Reduce the number of indoor plants.
  15. Replace heavy blackout curtains with washable ones.
  16. Store all books in glazed shelves.

Myths and judgments about bronchial asthma

Asthma is a childhood disease and is often “outgrown – 50% true and 50% false.

In approximately 90% of cases, asthma develops in childhood. During the period of the body growing, it may not manifest itself in any way, but this does not mean that the disease has receded. At an older age, asthma can again manifest in severe pneumonia, stress, after childbirth or during the period of fertile function distress in women. Sudden manifestations of asthma at the age of 45-50 most often mean that a person has been asthmatic since childhood.

Asthma carries only allergic nature – false

This stereotype did not arise by chance. Most often asthma does occur on the background of allergies. However, doctors distinguish 5 clinical phenotypes of bronchial asthma, and only one of them is allergic. For example, asthma that develops in adulthood is not allergic.

Asthma – a consequence of frequent colds and untreated bronchitis – 50% true and 50% false.

When a person constatlt suffers from frequent colds, another disease develops known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Asthma often occurs on the background of an allergy.

In rare cases, frequent and untreated colds trigger a complex receptor mechanism, and the so-called exercise-induced asthma occurs. In this case, the patient encounters difficulty breathing and coughing during physical exertion.

Asthma is a hereditary disease – true.

Asthma is inherited from relatives – that is, directly from parents. If the parents are asthmatic, then the likelihood that the child will have the same diagnosis exceeds 90%. These statistics mainly concern the first child. The second and subsequent children may not have asthma. There is no single explanation for this phenomenon.

This is a part of information people should be aware about. For more details, consult your healthcare provider. The doctor will explain all the details considering your individual case.

Category: Asthma