Asthma Awareness Month: Are You Aware?
Xixi Cheng, Lisa Lam, Jacob McFarland
Contributing Writers
What do asthma and a goldfish have in common? Dusty the Goldfish is the symbol for Asthma Awareness for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Why a goldfish? The inability to breathe properly during an asthmatic attack has been commonly compared to how a fish would feel out of water. This month, the UCSF School of Pharmacy’s Project Asthma passed out goldfish crackers along with a fact sheet to inform students of asthma’s prevalence and to raise awareness about this common condition.
According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, approximately 34.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma by a health professional sometime during their lifetime. Moreover, an estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, with 250,000 annual deaths attributed to the disease. Lastly, asthma rates in children under the age of five have increased more than 160% from 1980-1994. As seen from these disheartening statistics, it is no question that asthma is quickly becoming a serious public health concern.
What is asthma? Asthma is a condition of the lungs associated with inflammation and narrowing of the airways. This condition typically develops during childhood but can affect people of all ages. Although not a curable disease, today’s therapies can effectively manage asthma and its symptoms. Common recurrent symptoms of asthma include chest tightness, wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. Airways of asthmatic patients are sensitive to and can react to environmental or foreign stimuli. These substances, also known as asthma triggers, can include environmental smoke (e.g., secondhand smoke), dust mites, outdoor air pollution, pet fur, or mold. Strenuous physical exercise, high humidity and strong emotional states can also lead to asthma attacks. However, individual responses to certain asthmatic triggers can vary.
Despite the prevalence of asthma, public knowledge surrounding the disease state is limited. As coordinators of Project Asthma under the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) student chapter in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, we aim to not only educate the public about symptoms of asthma, but also to provide counseling advice about the various treatment options. Our goals to educate and the public will be accomplished by attending health fairs to provide community outreach. Information about asthma will be provided at health fairs along with personal demonstrations and counseling techniques on how to properly use an inhaler.
The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) organizes an annual event called World Asthma Day which promotes asthma awareness and care around the world. The 2011 theme is “You Can Control Your Asthma.” GINA’s recent mission to campaign against falling prey to asthma took on its second phase of attempting to reduce asthma hospitalization by 50% in the next five years. Asthma remains a major public health concern, and the goal of reducing its associated prevalence and morbidity around the world will continue to be carried out in small steps, starting with the next community health fair.
References:
1. American Lung Association. Epidemiology & Statistics Unit, Research and Program Services. Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality, November 2007.
2. World Health Organization. Global surveillance, prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases: a comprehensive approach, 2007.
3. Centers for Disease Control. Surveillance for Asthma - United States, 1960-1995, MMWR, 1998; 47 (SS-1).
4. The Global Initiative for Asthma. http://www.ginasthma.com/
5. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Chartbook on Cardiovascular,
Lung and Blood Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, National Institute of Health, 2009. (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/docs/2009_ChartBook.pdf)
Xixi Cheng, Lisa Lam, Jacob McFarland are first-year pharmacy students.
This article appeared in the May 26, 2011 issue of Synapse.
