Media Release

• 400 million asthma sufferers worldwide by the year 2025; 13% in India

Udupi, May 5: Kasturba Hospital here will organize an asthma awareness week from Tuesday May 6 to Friday May 9. The camp will include free lung health check-up, examination and advice by sepcialists.

Dr (AVM) T S Raghu Raman, chief operating officer and MS, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal said that the awareness week is organized by the department of pulmonary tuberculosis and chest disease  at Kasturba Hospital from 10 am to 4 pm with advice from specialists.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. The conservative estimates are that about 300 million people are suffering from asthma and by 2025 it is likely to be 400 million asthma sufferers worldwide. In India, there are 40 million who have the disease and the numbers are rising everyday. In recent decade there has been a global increase in the burden of the disease among both children and adults.

The more worrying aspect of the disease is that it accounts for about 1 in every 250 deaths worldwide and 90% of these deaths are preventable. Most deaths are due to delay in seeking help and sub-optimal long-term treatment strategies due to the lack of education and awareness about the disease.

An asthma attack with cough, difficulty in breathing, wheezing, gasping for breath, chest squeezing, leads to lung infection and tiredness. The problems of asthma are not only because of the direct complications of the disease but include socio- economic factors and it is not surprising that asthma is a leading medical cause of absenteeism of children from school and adults from work. During season, even a breath of fresh air can become dangerous as the pollen count is high in the atmosphere.

Asthma is sometimes hard to diagnose, because it can resemble other respiratory problems such as emphysema, bronchitis and lower respiratory infection. Therefore, the diagnosis of asthma is based on: repeated careful measurement of how efficiently the patient can force air out of the lungs. A thorough medical history and physical examination chest x-rays laboratory tests, spirometers and peak flow meters are used to measure how efficiently the patient can force air out of the lungs.

Spirometers record the rate at which a person exhales air from the lungs and the total volume exhaled. Peak flow is a measurement of the fastest rate at which a person can force air out the lungs. The patient inhales and exhales into a small hand held device called a peak flow meter. A simple scale on the meter registers a value for peak flow. This reading helps the doctor evaluate current lung function. Laboratory tests may include blood and allergy tests.
 
For appointments and further information contact Kasturba Hospital help-desk at 0820-2922761 / 0820-2922458.