Asthma numbers on the rise in twin cities

Hyderabad: There is a rise in the number of asthma patients in the city, thanks to air pollution. The culprit is the increase in air particulate matter. Other factors include pollen, smoking, food habit, nutritional deficiency, hereditary predisposition and large ignorance amongst parents.

According to a study conducted by IPSOS 2018-19, one third of the population in Hyderabad will develop asthma at some time, mostly before the age of 20. The paediatric asthma segment has also seen a significant increase on a year on year basis (doctors reckon they see an estimated 30-35 new cases of children with asthma every month). There is a 45% increase in the number of people suffering from asthma as compared to 2018 say doctors.

Inhalation therapy

Doctors are batting for inhalation therapy, they say that the drug acts directly on the lungs instead of flowing through the bloodstream and other organs of the body. Thus, there is lesser drug dosage and hence fewer side effects. It is, in fact, the safest treatment option for asthmatics. The 2nd chapter of the #BerokZindagi campaign, "Asthma ke liye inhalers hain sahi -#InhalersHainSahi" was launched on Friday.

The new campaign #InhalersHainSahi focuses on generating awareness and education about asthma besides its appropriate line of treatment with inhalers and continues to inspire patients to live a barrier-free life.

Dr R Vijay Kumar said, "Inhaler is very important and it can be measured by the fact 16% of mild asthma patients are at risk for a near-fatal attack. 30 - 37% of adult asthma patients presenting a severe attack of asthma had mild asthma and 15 - 20% of adult patients dying with asthma had mild asthma."