Asthma Week 2023
This year Asthma Week runs from 1 September to 7 September and Asthma Australia is focusing at how our homes can worsen asthma symptoms.
Things such as gas cooktops, wood heaters, mould and pests can aggravate asthma, so reducing these common triggers may help alleviate your symptoms at home.
One in nine Australians (about 2.7 million of us) are living with asthma.
Firefighting can aggravate asthma symptoms as it can involve many of the typical asthma triggers such as smoke, poor air quality, prolonged physical exertion, exposure to cold, dry or moist air and use of PPE such as breathing apparatus.
What is asthma?
The muscles in the airway tighten and the lining of the airway becomes swollen and inflamed, creating sticky mucous. This makes the airway narrow and breathing becomes difficult. Asthma can be treated and managed with a medical assessment and medications, for people to live healthy and active lives.
Symptoms
Some asthma symptoms may be caused by changes in the airway of your lungs, making it harder to breathe. Common symptoms include:
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
- Chest tightness.
Not all people with asthma have the same symptoms and not all people with asthma have all the symptoms.
Managing your asthma symptoms is important to live a full life free of symptoms when you know:
- what your symptoms are
- how to treat your symptoms
- how to avoid triggering your symptoms.
Consulting your GP and working with them to understand how bad or how often you experience asthma symptoms is important to get the right treatment.
Triggers
People with asthma can have different reactions to different triggers, some triggers are avoidable like perfume or smoke, while others are harder to avoid like pollen. Some triggers include:
- your environment
- lifestyle
- air quality
- cold and flu viruses
- smoke
- exercise
- allergies (pollen/dust/weather changes)
Knowing your asthma triggers and understanding how to avoid them can help lower your chance of having asthma symptoms.
Asthma action plans for first aid
People with asthma should complete an Asthma Action Plan with their GP. It’s a personalised guide on how to look after your asthma day-to-day and what to do if you have a flare-up or asthma attack.
The plan should be reviewed once a year for adults, every six months for children, and if your medicines or symptoms change.
It is important for those around you, such as family, friends, crew members colleagues, to be aware of your Asthma Action Plan, particularly so they know what to do and how to support you during a flare up or in an emergency. This will help to ensure that you get the medical care you need in a timely way.
Using an Asthma Action Plan means you will have:
- fewer visits to hospital
- fewer days off work, school or volunteering
- less use of reliever medicine.
Your Asthma Action Plan will cover:
- How to look after your asthma daily
- What to do if your asthma starts to flare-up
- What to do if your asthma flare-up is severe
- What to do in an asthma emergency
Download an Asthma Action Plan.
For advice what to do during an asthma attack go to the Asthma Australia website.
| Submitted by |
Madalene Cursio |