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World Asthma Day - ‘Insufficient awareness, stigma hitting treatment avenues’
Asthma is a widespread non-communicable disease (NCD) that causes the airways to narrow, swell, and produce excessive mucus, making it difficult to breathe
With 262 million people affected globally by asthma, this year’s World Asthma Day theme ‘Asthma Care for All’ aims to promote effective disease management through better access to quality medication and healthcare resources, said Dr BP Singh, Respiratory, Critical Care and Specialist for Sleep Medicine, in a press conference on Tuesday.
Dr S Niranjan, consultant neonatologist and paediatrician said, “Even though inhalation therapy is the cornerstone of asthma management in India, the social stigma associated with inhalers has added to the mismanagement of the disease. This is especially true among children, where parents often conceal the condition, and therefore, avoid or delay treatment until symptoms worsen.”
“Asthma is estimated to affect more than 30 million people (3 crore) in the country with the majority remaining undiagnosed or undertreated. Further, the country’s asthma deaths make up a large portion (42%) of the global total. This is mainly due to insufficient disease awareness and misconceptions regarding inhaler therapy,” said Dr Singh.
Asthma is a widespread non-communicable disease (NCD) that causes the airways to narrow, swell, and produce excessive mucus, making it difficult to breathe.
“Asthma in India is plagued by social stigma, misconceptions, and myths with only about 23% of patients in India calling their condition by its actual name. This resistance to label their condition contributes to the under-diagnosis of the disease in the country, where 70% of severe asthma cases remain clinically undiagnosed,” said Dr Singh.
