My son EJ suffers from Asthma to the point that we had to
rush him to the hospital and was confined for a week. It was a moment most moms like me fears most,
seeing your son with all the tubes and you can’t do anything about it and just
pray.
After that hospitalization, I thought EJ is free from asthma
but I found out that there is still a
chance that his Asthma would attack any time and I just home that it’s not so
soon and we could be able to control it.
GSK CELEBRATES WORLD ASTHMA DAY WITH ASTHMALAYA CAMPAIGN
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ALL ABOUT ASTHMA
“Asthma is a recurring inflammatory disorder in the airways of breathing, which undergoes variable expiratory flow and reversible bronchoconstrictions. In people with asthma, the airways are chronically inflamed. Certain triggers can make the inflammation worse and cause a narrowing of the airways”, shares Dr. Melvin Pasay, a pulmonologist and Medical Affairs Manager of GSK.
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| Common symptoms include constant wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing often late at night or early in the morning. Asthma can be triggered by dust, changes in weather (often cold), animals (pet hair in particular), exercise, tobacco smoke and stress. |
98 percent of Filipino asthma patients continue to lack
proper treatment
According to the Global Asthma Report, an estimated 300
million people worldwide are affected by asthma.¹ In the Philippines,
approximately 11 Million or 1 out 10 Filipinos are suffering from this
debilitating disease.² This incurable disease burdens patients with a sense of
imprisonment and constant restraint preventing them to live their lives to the
fullest.
The cause of asthma is unknown. However as shared by
Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Inc. (PSAAI) President,
Dr. Carmela Kasala, several predisposing factors to consider include genetic
history (personal history or first degree relative) with asthma, allergic
rhinitis, eczema; weight and smoking history. “While there is also no known
cure for asthma, this serious chronic disease can be controlled and effectively
treated. By establishing a strong partnership between a patient and his doctor,
results showed that asthma can be controlled” shares Dr. Kasala.
BURDEN OF HAVING ASTHMA
In the Asia Pacific, including the Philippines, a study
showed that activity limitation caused by asthma has been quite prevalent. A
mean of 44.7% of respondents reported that normal physical activity was
compromised, and 37.9% believed that their choice of job or career was limited.
A total of 52.7% of respondents said that sports and recreation were affected,
and 37.6% believed their lifestyle was restricted while almost 50% reported
sleep disturbances.³
“A lot of asthma patients have resigned and became
‘prisoners’ to their condition. Many seem to have created imaginary cages and
locking themselves up with lifestyle restrictions. They are assuming that
frequent symptoms, exacerbations and lifestyle limitations are inevitable consequences of having asthma - unaware that their
condition can be controlled,” observes Dr. Pasay.
ASTHMA CONTROL AWARENESS
What is alarming is that 98 percent of Filipino asthma
patients remain uncontrolled or only partly controlled.⁴
“This means that asthma patients will only use medication
when they have attacks believing that as long as there are no attacks they will
be okay. As such, they believe that it is enough that they have available
medicines to be taken on an as-needed basis,” shares Dr. Sylvia Yang, World
Asthma Day committee chair of Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP).
Regular visits and consultations with doctors likewise
became less as children grew up and had lesser asthma attacks. Most are relying
on peers, family and even online resources to provide limited information and
possibly, sub-optimal treatment for their condition. This makes patients underestimate their
condition leading to poor asthma control.
Cost of treatment is also a main consideration for
compliance, but the truth is uncontrolled asthma can lead to higher odds of
hospitalization and emergency room visits and become more expensive due to
direct medical cost like hospitalization
or medications and indirect cost like time lost from work, overall productivity
or even premature death.
WORLD ASTHMA DAY
In celebration of World Asthma Day, an annual event
organized by the "Global Initiative for Asthma” (GINA) to improve asthma
awareness and care around the world, GSK Philippines unveils “ASTHMAlaya Ka Ba
Talaga? campaign, a disease awareness initiative that also seeks to encourage
asthma patients, to be more proactive in consulting their doctors on how they
can achieve asthma control.
So how do you know if you need asthma control? It’s easy,
if you are an asthma patient who experiences daytime asthma symptoms (coughing
or wheezing) more than twice a week, wakes up at night due to asthma, uses an
asthma reliever more than twice a week or have any activity limitations due to
asthma, you may have uncontrolled asthma and need to immediately consult your
doctor.
The celebration was participated by advocates from
Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) and the Philippine Society of
Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Inc. (PSAAI) who are one with the advocacy of
furthering awareness and urgency among patients to consult their doctors for
proper asthma control.
As Dr. Pasay profoundly put it, “Our message is clear;
“You don’t have to serve a life sentence of limitations because of Asthma, be
in control and be ASTHMALAYA!”
For more updates, visit
https://www.facebook.com/winagainstasthma/, or for more in-depth information,
you can check out GSK’s website. https://health.gsk.ph
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