Awareness drive on Asthma underway in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: ‘Breathe-free’is a public service initiative from Cipla recently organised #BerokZindagiYatrain various parts of the country. This is the extension of the national wide campaign to curb stigmas associated to Asthma. The month long campaign started on December15. According to Global Disease Burden 2016, India is second after China with Asthma prevalence as well as the Asthma mortality.

#BerokZindagi is an awareness campaign to build social acceptance of the disease and bust myths and misconceptions associated with Asthma and inhalation therapy. While striving to establish inhalation therapy as the smartest choice to combat the illness, this multi-channel initiative will also provide information &resources for both people affected by asthma and healthcare professionals. This campaign that also aims to eliminate stigma around inhalation therapy and make it more socially acceptable will help foster further dialogue between patients and their physicians. It aims to help millions breathe-free and is here to support asthmatics by encouraging them to opt for inhalation therapy. Shying away from the condition will not improve quality of life, accepting it will do. Asthma can be controlled with medicines, but without the appropriate treatment, it can lead to frequent attacks. DrC Vijay Kumar, Pulmonologist, Apollo Hospital, said,“Ongoing education is of paramount importance in chronic diseases like asthma.

This is precisely where #BerokZindagiYatra enables patients to participate and have a more effective role in their own treatment, working together with doctors to achieve optimal inhaler use and disease control, thereby living life to the fullest. While encouraging an increased dialogue on the management of asthma, this campaign also directly resonates with our endeavour of enabling people with the condition to achieve more in their daily lives”.

According to Dr Surdarshan Reddy, Paediatrician, Apollo Hospitaladded, “It is very significant to change the perception towards Asthma and Inhalation Therapy. While inhalation treatment can play a crucial role in reducing the impact of Asthma on people’s lives, compliance is crucial. Inhaled medicines help to deliver the drugs directly to the lungs. But we need patients to adopt the treatment as they are prescribed in order to get the full benefit. Inhalation therapy works to control asthma by preventing & relieving symptoms and reducing flare ups, but they will work if patients work in partnership with their GP and take them in the way they are prescribed. Expanding one’s knowledge on this condition is vital as patients in India stop using Inhalation therapy mid-way which makes it difficult to control the disease.”