May is Asthma Awareness Month: How aware are we?

Asthma is a worldwide disease affecting an estimated 300 million individuals globally. Some authors also reported prevalence of Asthma as a wave of “Asthma epidemic”. In majority of children, asthma develops before 5 years of age, and in more than half, asthma develops before they reach 3 years of age.

Although asthma triggers vary from person to person based on if you have allergic asthma or non-allergic asthma, some of the most common triggers include: allergens such as dust mites, pollens; irritants in the air; respiratory infections such as colds, flu, sore throats, and sinus infections; exercise and other physical activities; sudden changes in weather; expressing strong emotions like anger, fear; some medications and pets.

CHALLENGES IN ASTHMA DIAGNOSIS

• International guidelines advise that asthma diagnosis be based on both the presence of symptoms and objective measurements of variable airflow obstruction.
• In daily practice, there are important barriers to perform lung function tests which can occur more frequently in a primary care setting but also in secondary care setting.
• Most of the time medication is initiated without putting much effort into further diagnosis.
•  In almost 30% of diagnosed patients asthma is ultimately excluded when objectively assessed.

    COMMON SYMPTOMS OF ASTHMA

•           Wheeze
•           Chest tightness
•        Shortness of breath
•        Cough

    A diagnosis of asthma is made more likely if your symptoms:

•        Keep coming back, or happen at the same time each year
•        Family history of asthma
•        Worse at night or in the early morning
•        Triggered by exercise, allergies or infections
•        Improve with reliever medication

    COULD IT BE ANOTHER HEALTH ISSUE AND NOT ASTHMA?

•        Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
•        Pneumonia
•        Heart disease
•        Cystic fibrosis
•        Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
•        Lung infections (especially in young children)

    Key message

    It is very important for the patient to be diagnosed and to know what triggers the problem. Monitoring your asthma is crucial to reduce symptoms. While there’s no asthma cure, keeping an asthma diary helps you recognize asthma attacks and prevents  from becoming seriously ill.