World Asthma day
Whittington Health recognised World Asthma day on Tuesday 1 May with a stand in the hospital’s main entrance providing information and practical advice to patients, visitors and staff about asthma and the treatments available.The stand was a huge success with an estimated 150 people engaging in the inhaler tests and the information booklets provided, with both sufferers and non-sufferers of asthma being spoken to throughout the five hour session.
Dr John Moreiras, consultant paediatrician, explained that the two key messages of the day were the importance of ‘taking the right medicine at the right time and that sufferers of asthma must take their medicine correctly’.
Sister Colette Datt confirmed that “asthma can change, and it is important that patients step up and step down their medication as their condition fluctuates”.
Colette went on to say that a vast proportion of the people that visited the information stand could not use the inhaler properly, she said “Around 80 – 90 per cent of those spoken to could not use the test inhalers effectively, of course, some of these were non-asthma sufferers, but the figure is still quite high”.
In addition to the information provided on asthma, smoking cessation nurse Julie Browne was also on hand to provide information about how smoking can contribute to asthma. Julie explained that “Approximately 50 per cent of adults with asthma treated at the hospital are smokers. Of course, smoking has serious implications on general wellbeing as well as asthma”. Information about smoking cessation and the effects of smoking can be found on the Whittington Health website.
Asthma is a common condition which affects 15 per cent of children in the United Kingdom. Despite being manageable, asthma can have serious consequences and impact on people’s quality of life.
Last updated02 May 2012