World Asthma Day is held each year to raise awareness of Asthma worldwide. The theme for the year 2023 is “Asthma care for all’.
Asthma is a common respiratory condition affecting millions of people worldwide. People with a family history of asthma are prone to develop the disease at some point of their lives. Obesity is also a proven risk factor for asthma.
The symptoms of asthma include breathlessness on exertion, sometimes even at rest, mostly associated with wheeze, cough with or without sputum production and chest tightness. The symptoms are usually triggered by respiratory infections such as viral illnesses and exposure to allergens or cold air and climate changes, as well as air pollution. Sometimes symptoms are also triggered with exercise and also certain medications. Asthma can be diagnosed by simple pulmonary function testing along with a few blood tests.
People living with asthma often have a serious impact of the disease on their quality of life, mostly due to symptoms such as breathlessness, wheeze and cough and they get recurrent exacerbations of the disease most of the time triggered by infections and climate change.
Though it could be a challenging condition, there are ways to control the symptoms of asthma and thereby improving the quality of life. This requires a personalized asthma management plan for every patient with asthma, which needs to be developed after consultation with your doctor. Patients need to identify their triggers, be regular with the prescribed medication and maintain an asthma diary to keep track of the symptoms. It is extremely important to learn the correct technique of using your inhaler, so that there is proper and effective delivery of the medication inside your airway. Regular visits to your pulmonologist is also important to titrate the medications and evaluation of your current lung function.
Vaccination is also a very important mode to prevent recurrent infections and the subsequent exacerbations. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination as well as covid vaccination need to be taken by all, especially the elderly population and those with underlying lung conditions. You can consult with your regular health care provider regarding the same.
Minimizing exposure to air pollutants also helps in reducing the symptoms and exacerbations of Asthma. Regular physical exercise as well as breathing exercises also helps to improve your lung function.
It is also important to raise awareness and educate others about asthma, which helps to reduce the stigma associated with it.
On this world Asthma day, let us join together to raise awareness about asthma and together we can support people living with asthma and ensure that they lead a healthy active life free from the limitations caused by their symptoms.
This blog is written by Dr. Anjali R. Nath, Consultant Pulmonologist at SPARSH Hospital, Bangalore
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