Hope for asthma sufferers who want to get active<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Asthma is incurable but can be controlled.<\/p>\n
Most people with the disease can still enjoy an active life
\nwithout suffering its symptoms.<\/p>\n
Characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and
\nwheezing, the disease varies in severity and frequency from one
\nperson to another.<\/p>\n
An attack may come at any time.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five-year-old Puspita Andrini, for instance, suffered
\nacute asthma during childhood. Now, after several years, she
\ndoesn't suffer relapses.<\/p>\n
\"I remember having from asthma when I was still a kid. I had
\ndifficulty breathing and had to take different medications on a
\nregular basis,\" said Puspita, an employee at a foreign investment
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
Like other children with asthma, she would have to refrain
\nfrom certain activities in order to mitigate her chances of
\ngetting an attack.<\/p>\n
\"Now I enjoy life like other healthy people,\" she said.<\/p>\n
An asthma attack is caused by inflammation of the air passages
\nin the lungs. It affects the sensitivity of the nerve endings in
\nthe airways so that they become easily irritated. In an attack,
\nthe lining of the passages swell, causing the airways to narrow
\nwhich reduces the flow of air into and out of the lungs.<\/p>\n
Asthma hits all age groups and often begins in childhood.<\/p>\n
The main risk factors, called triggers, are exposure --
\nespecially during infancy -- to indoor allergens, such as
\ndomestic mites in bedding, carpets and stuffed furniture, cats
\nand cockroaches, and a family history of asthma or allergies.
\nViral infections and over exercise can also trigger symptoms.<\/p>\n
According to pulmonologist Pradyna Paramita of the Indonesian
\nAsthma Foundation, people with asthma can prevent the symptoms
\nfrom reoccurring.<\/p>\n
\"People with asthma need to see their doctors regularly in
\norder to help them control their condition and be free of the
\nsymptoms,\" said Paramita of the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital
\nfollowing a seminar on asthma here last Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"But many people suffering from light asthma are not aware of
\ntheir disease and are reluctant to consult a doctor.\"<\/p>\n
The seminar was organized by the Indonesian Pulmonologists
\nAssociation and marked World Asthma Day, which falls on May 3.
\nThis year, the celebration takes the theme Let Every Person
\nBreathe, and hopes to remind all people with asthma to manage
\ntheir disease properly so that they can live healthy and
\nproductive lives.<\/p>\n
Apart from the seminar, the asthma foundation is also planning
\nto hold a symposium entitled Understanding Asthma and Its
\nManagement at the foundation's headquarters at Persahabatan
\nHospital in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, along with a mass asthma
\nexercise the following day at Taman Impian Jaya Ancol
\nrecreational park in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The events are intended to spread information and awareness
\nabout asthma to the public,\" Paramita said.<\/p>\n
The foundation, which was set up in 1986, has an asthma
\nhotline with a phone number (021) 4894444 for those wanting to
\nlearn more about the disease.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the hotline is still not very well-known.<\/p>\n
\"So far the hotline only receives an average of five calls a
\nday either from people with asthma or those wanting to learn more
\nabout the disease for their relatives,\" Paramita said.<\/p>\n
The foundation also manages an asthma club, which among other
\nthings organizes asthma exercises, in 14 provinces.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, it has 20 clubs while the one at Persahabatan
\nHospital has between 60 to 100 members.<\/p>\n
\"The exercises train people with asthma to control their
\ndisease by training their breathing muscle,\" Paramita said.<\/p>\n
The exercise is the seventh management step for people with
\nasthma.<\/p>\n
The other steps, which are popularized by WHO and the Global
\nInitiative for Asthma (GINA), are understanding asthma,
\nevaluating the various stages of the disease (light or acute),
\navoiding trigger factors, using the right medications, handling
\nacute attacks immediately and getting regular check-ups.<\/p>\n
Serious<\/p>\n
Despite the absence of specific data on the number of people
\nwith asthma in Indonesia, it is estimated that 5 percent of the
\ncountry's 210 million people are suffering from the disease.<\/p>\n
\"Out of the 5 percent, 10 percent have died because of it,\"
\nParamita said.<\/p>\n
Although asthma does not kill on the scale of chronic
\nobstructive pulmonary diseases, failure to use the right drugs or
\ncomply with treatments, doubled with an under-recognition of the
\nseverity of the problem, can lead to unnecessary deaths.<\/p>\n
Around the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO)
\nestimates that between 100 million and 150 million people --
\nroughly equivalent to the population of the Russian Federation --
\nsuffer from asthma and the numbers are rising. Worldwide, deaths
\nreach a staggering 180,000 annually.<\/p>\n
The human and economic burden associated with the disease is
\nsevere.<\/p>\n
WHO said that worldwide the economic costs associated with
\nasthma are estimated to exceed those of tuberculosis and HIV\/AIDS
\ncombined.<\/p>\n
For instance, in the United States, direct and indirect annual
\nasthma care costs exceed US$6 billion.<\/p>\n
Because asthma is a chronic condition, it usually requires
\ncontinuous medical care. Patients with moderate to severe asthma
\nhave to take long-term medications daily -- such as anti-
\ninflammatory drugs -- to control the underlying inflammation and
\nprevent symptoms and attacks. If symptoms occur, short-term
\nmedications, inhaled short-acting beta2-agonists, are used to
\nrelieve them.<\/p>\n
According to Paramita, medication is not the only measure to
\ncontrol one's asthma.<\/p>\n
\"It is also important for people with asthma to learn the need
\nto avoid asthmatic triggers. Each person must know what triggers
\nhe or she should avoid to be free of attacks,\" she said. (ste)<\/p>",
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