‘Western lifestyle, delayed diagnosis spark asthma’

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Aroosa Masroor
Asthma cannot be cured, but in majority of the cases it can be effectively controlled if we change our urban lifestyle, said Prof. Dr Nadeem Rizvi, Pakistan Chest Society (PCS) Vice President and head of the chest medicine department at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Talking to The News on the eve of World Asthma Day that falls on first Tuesday of May, which this year is May 5 (today), Rizvi elaborated on the diseases and its cure. Quoting a recent study conducted by the PCS on the prevalence rate of asthma in seven urban cities in Pakistan, Rizvi said about 5.5 per cent of people in Karachi suffer from the disease and a delayed diagnosis is further increasing the prevalence rate.

“Due to the misconception that asthma’s symptoms only include shortness of breath, most doctors tend to ignore other symptoms such as cough and wheezing, especially amongst children. For persistent coughs, patients are immediately prescribed antibiotics, which is wrong,” he said. He added that repeated attacks of cough in a patient should be taken more seriously and the patient be carefully examined.

Rizvi also informed that children below five years of age are more vulnerable to asthma due their exposure to indoor pollution. “Rapid urbanisation in developing countries such as Pakistan and adoption of western lifestyles such as use of carpets and thick curtains at home in which dust mites settle, stuffed toys, pets (especially cats) and cockroaches (whose excreta is a major source of allergen) leads to asthma in early childhood.” Doctors and patients need to be informed about this so the disease can be detected at an early stage and the prevalence rate can be controlled, he asserted. Keeping this in mind, the PCS has been trying to raise awareness among the doctors as well as the general public, however, they are mostly focusing on the training of the former. An awareness programme in this regard has also been organised at a local hotel on Saturday, May 9.

When questioned if asthma is hereditary, Rizvi clarified that while the disease is strongly influenced by one’s genetic make-up, it cannot be classified as a hereditary disease. “When one of the parent has asthma, the chances of the child having asthma rises to 20 per cent, and when both parents have asthma, the chances climb to 40 per cent so there does seem to be a hereditary component in one’s tendency to develop the disease.” Elaborating on the myths related to asthma treatment, he added that vaccine therapy – that is being advertised on billboards – should be avoided at all costs unless done in a hospital environment. He said that inhaled steroids is the best available treatment for asthma patients to date but due to the taboo attached with using an inhaler in public, most patients avoid opting for this line of treatment. “Also, steroids taken through an inhaler have no side effects as against taken in the form of tablets. Inhalers work best as it directly prevents inflammation of the airways,” he said stressing “We need to get over certain myths so the disease can be effectively controlled.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=175909