World Asthma Day is marked every May across the globe. In the UK our national asthma charity, Asthma UK, has a fundraising week around this. If you are in the UK please visit their webpage - www.asthmauk.org and see what you can do to help, and for information about the condition itself. If you live somewhere else, please check your local asthma charities for similar events.
I
was one of the 40 percent of asthma sufferers diagnosed in adulthood -
my diagnosis was, appropriately enough, on World Asthma Day in 2008. Although I’d guessed what might be wrong
with me, I was a little afraid to find out. After all, having asthma
puts limits on what you can do, right? Well, no actually! Having
uncontrolled asthma is horrible, as I found out, and it’s quite risky
too, but daily medication and a few sensible precautions have made all
the difference.
I’m lucky because I don’t have severe symptoms.
Since my diagnosis I feel healthier, happier, more active and have even
discovered gardening! I know that my asthma won’t get in my way and
that, as long as I take it seriously, it won’t define who I am.
1
million kids in the UK have asthma, but one third say they don’t know
what to do if they have an attack. If this happens when they’re alone,
or with someone who doesn’t know what to do, their attack may become
more severe until they have to be hospitalised. Having an asthma attack,
even a mild one is very scary because, although symptoms vary between
individuals - wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and so on - you are
effectively trying to breath in and out through a space that is only a
fraction of the size it should be -imagine a drinking straw compared to a
hosepipe!
Asthma UK use each “Putting Asthma in the
Limelight” week to highlight important issues Like educating kids with asthma so that they know what to do in an attack and
ensuring that more adults understand how they can recognise, and assist during,
an asthma attack. If you do not know what to do in an asthma attack,
please visit the Asthma UK website where you can find lots of important
and useful information that might help you help someone else. Since
there is a person with asthma in one in every five households in the UK
you probably know someone with asthma.
You can also make a
donation on the website and find out about other initiatives (such as
the Kick Asthma Holidays for kids and the campaign to get the UK
Government to supply asthma medication free of charge for those with
long-term requirements).