Today, Tuesday 2nd May 2023 is World Asthma Day. World Asthma Day is dedicated to raising awareness and helping improve the lives of the many people around the world who suffer from asthma, a common but potentially life-threatening ailment.
Why World Asthma Day?
Asthma is a condition that is increasing worldwide with at least 14% of children affected worldwide and growing. The World Health Organisation estimated that in 2016 340 million people suffered the condition and that there were more than 400,000 deaths due to the disease.
Asthma isn’t entirely understood but we do know there are multiple factors at play that creates an asthma sufferer that includes genetic and environmental elements that can change both the severity and the likelihood of responding to treatment.
Aggravators of asthma are many and include many factors including allergens, air pollution, and traces of chemicals in the air. In high enough concentrations, these can cause a severe asthma attack in cases that are otherwise mild.
Asthma is more prevalent in locations that suffer from low air quality and much of the time these areas tend to be low income and/or minority communities and as such already disadvantaged individuals usually suffer most. That is why learning about Asthma and raising awareness is growing in importance.
A few facts about Asthma.
- Asthma is not a childhood disease. Although many people think that most people will “grow out of” asthma, that is not necessarily true. In fact, it can occur at any age, including childhood, adolescence, adulthood and even the elderly.
- Asthma is controllable. Though there is not yet any known cure for asthma, it can often be controlled with low dose steroids that are inhaled.
- Asthma is not infectious. This is a disease of the lungs that is not contagious and cannot be ‘caught’. However, asthma attacks can be associated with viral respiratory infections or even allergies.
- People with asthma can exercise and perform sports. Though it is often thought that people with asthma can’t do sports or exercise, this simply isn’t true.
For more information check out the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) https://ginasthma.org/ , Asthma Australia https://asthma.org.au/ or the National Asthma Council https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/.
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