World Asthma Day 2024
World Asthma Day takes place every year on the first Tuesday of May and will be held for the 27th time in 2024. The day was initiated as a global initiative led by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) in collaboration with health care groups and asthma educators to raise global awareness about asthma, its causes, symptoms, treatment, and prevention measures. The World Asthma Day should also encourage individuals to take steps to prevent asthma and manage its symptoms effectively.
World Asthma Day
7th May 2024
Asthma is one of the most common chronic non-communicable diseases impacting more than 260 million peoples worldwide. Since 1998, lots of of events and activities have been taking place around the world as part of World Asthma Day. This year the World Asthma Day takes place under the theme “Asthma Education Empowers”. GINA underscores the importance of providing individuals with asthma the necessary education to effectively manage their condition and know when to seek medical assistance. Healthcare practitioners are urged to enhance their understanding of the ongoing preventable illness and deaths caused by asthma, as well as the documented evidence on successful asthma management. This knowledge equips them to offer reliable guidance and optimal care to their patients.
World Asthma Day 2024 theme:
Asthma Education Empowers
The main universal challenges requiring education include under- or misdiagnosis, insufficient utilization of anti-inflammatory inhaled corticosteroid inhalers, excessive use and dependence on short-acting beta2–agonist (SABA) inhalers, and inadequate identification of patients in need of specialist evaluation and additional care. In low- to middle-income nations, the scarcity of inhaled medications, particularly those containing corticosteroids, significantly contributes to the reality that over 90% of asthma-related deaths occur in these regions.
Facts about Asthma
What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic noncommunicable disease of the respiratory tract affecting children and adults. Inflammation occurs in the airways leading to the lungs, causing blockages and breathing difficulties.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
The most common symptoms of asthma include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. There are various diagnostic tests used to identify asthma, such as spirometry and peak flow measurement.
Treatment
Asthma cannot be cured, but it is possible to treat the disease to reduce and prevent asthma attacks. With Inhaled medications, peoples can live a normal, active life.
There are two major types of inhalers:
- Bronchodilators which open the airways and relieve symptoms
- Steroids which help reduce inflammation in the airways. This improves asthma symptoms and decreases the risk of severe asthma attacks
What factors can affect asthma?
Various factors are associated with an increased risk of asthma, including environmental factors, genetic predisposition, and lifestyle factors, although it is difficult to find one single direct cause. Asthma tends to run in families and is more likely in people who have other allergic diseases. Several other factors can increase the risk of asthma e.g.: a low birth weight, exposure to tobacco smoke, air pollution or overweight.
World asthma day infographic