90 per cent of asthma deaths could have been prevented UK
Asthma affects 5.1 million people in the UK, including 500,000 whose condition cannot be adequately treated with existing forms of medication. Alarmingly, of the 2.6 million worst affected, just 3 per cent have agreed with their local health service a personal action plan for controlling the condition.
'The plan outlines their symptoms, what triggers them and what medication they should take and when,' said Asthma UK spokesperson Kirsty Jackson. 'It means they can work out with their doctor when they should up their medication or when they could lower it. The plans also help to reduce stress, which can also be a trigger for asthma so it's a bit of a vicious circle. We'd like all 2.6 million to have a personal action plan.'
Sufferer Catherine Tunnicliffe, who is profiled in the report, said: 'I feel like I'm living with a timebomb. If I have a bad attack, I say to myself, "Is this the one that will kill me?". On a bad day, I feel like I'm drowning and I can't reach the surface of the water and am going to burst.'
The report paints a picture of fear and isolation, with attacks even triggered by such innocuous materials as make-up and deodorants. Ms Jackson cites the case of a woman in Tyne and Wear who was hospitalised after walking past a woman heavily doused in perfume.
Asthma UK is also funding research into the condition which is becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK. Recent figures for Scotland, found that 37 per cent of 13- and 14-year-olds had experienced symptoms - the highest rate in the world - followed by Wales at 34 per cent and England at 30 per cent (PHN, 23 February, page 5).
Among the areas being looked at by experts are a vaccine for asthmatics whose condition is triggered by cats, experimenting with the removal of soft furnishings, and looking at environmental factors including the 'hygiene hypothesis' - that our lifestyles are now 'too clean'. 'We know that genes play a part,' said Ms Jackson, 'but that doesn't explain a sixfold increase in children over the last 20 years.'
Key facts on asthma
-- In the UK, 5.1 million people are currently receiving treatment for asthma - 1.4 million children and 3.7 million adults.
-- On average, 1,400 people die from asthma each year in the UK. This equates to almost four people every day.
-- Every 16 minutes a child is admitted to hospital in England, Scotland or Wales because of their asthma.
-- An estimated 75 per cent of hospital admissions for asthma are avoidable and up to 90 per cent of deaths from asthma are preventable.
-- There are 18,000 first or new episodes of asthma presented each week to GPs in the UK.
-- Asthma now costs the NHS an average of £850m per year.
-- Over 18 million working days are lost to asthma each year.
From: Public Health News
http://www.publichealthnews.com/news/showcontent.asp?id={41DFDB19-04FF-4C3A-BA23-FCE40221E4D5}
90 la suta din astm decese ar fi putut fi prevenite Regatul Unit - 90 per cent of asthma deaths could have been prevented UK - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate