Around 7.5 million Pakistani adults and 15 million children suffer from asthma due to the increasing urban population, enlarging intercity industries, air pollution and other environmental factors, disclosed a detailed research study conducted by doctors associated with the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
“Around five percent of adults of total population and ten percent of total child population suffer from asthma in Pakistan, and the last few decades have seen a growing increase in these numbers,” Dr Nawal Salahuddin, associate professor of medicine at the AKUH, told Pakistan Today on the eve of World Asthma Day that is being observed on Tuesday (today).
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world and it is characterized by recurrent breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing. These symptoms vary over time, and from individual to individual.
The theme for this year’s World Asthma Day is “You can control your asthma” with Salahuddin arguing that the chronic disease is set to become a significant health issue in Pakistan given the increasing industrialisation and population pressures in urban centres.
The need of the hour, Salahuddin contended, is effective action to reduce the effect of asthma on individuals and their families, and to minimise its social and economic cost. AKU will be conducting a public awareness programme today, where a live demonstration on properly using an inhaler, spacer and peak flow meter will be given.
“It is not clear why some people develop asthma and others do not, but the strongest risk factors are a family history of asthma as well as environmental factors,” said Dr Naseeruddin Mahmood, a lecturer at the AKUH Paediatrics and Child Health Department.
Mahmood argued that tobacco smoke and outdoor pollution are known asthma ‘triggers’, especially in children. He called for the government to protect people from tobacco smoke by fully implementing the law which calls for the prohibition of smoking in all public places.
“Environmental pollution may lead a person to wheeze, but he or she should only be diagnosed as an asthmatic after a thorough physical examination and a spirometry (a lung function test), for there are other medical conditions that can be mistaken for asthma,” said Dr Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi, another associate professor at the AKUH.
“A spirometry test simply checks how much air you can inhale and exhale, and detects whether the airways in lungs are narrowing – a symptom that is common in asthmatics,” Zubairi said.
Dr Hashir Majid, also an assistant professor at the AKUH, said that other asthma ‘triggers’ besides air pollution and tobacco smoke include pollen, cigarette smoke, chemical irritants at work, and house dust mites in bedding and carpets. “This calls for a person to know about the different allergens and to identify and avoid those that trigger their bouts of coughing and wheezing. It has to be remembered that even cold air, extreme emotion, excessive physical exercise and even certain medication can be triggers,” he said.
“But a person can live a normal life when dealing with a chronic complaint such as asthma; the key is how to manage the disease,” said Dr Muhammad Irfan, another assistant professor at the hospital told Pakistan Today.
“Correctly using anti-asthma medication and avoiding allergens is really the cornerstone of achieving control. Inhalers are the first line of treatment and are the safest way of delivering medicine to the lungs,” Irfan said, but lamented that many asthma patients have serious reservations over using inhaler therapy and avoid regular use of medications that have to be inhaled.
