Dubai: Fourteen per cent of UAE’s population suffers from asthma.
In light of World Asthma Day (May 3) Rashid Hospital is organising a campaign from 9am to 12pm to raise awareness about the condition.
Doctors and nurses will offer free check-ups and share information on how to manage asthma.
The condition occurs when the airways are inflamed and narrowed, making breathing difficult, and triggering coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
According to the World Health Organisation, 235 million people suffer from asthma.
“Asthma can be caused by a combination of genetic [inherited] factors and environmental factors. If you are prone to have asthma, getting exposed to dust, smoke and chemicals, to name a few, can trigger and aggravate asthma,” said Dr Jamal Mustafa, senior pulmonologist at Rashid Hospital, during DHA’s smart clinic on Monday.
He said severe stress and airborne allergens, such as pollen, mould, cockroaches and dust mites can also aggravate asthma.
Dr Mustafa said the chances of having asthma increase if you have a blood relative who suffers from asthma, if you are overweight, or a smoker, and if you are exposed to pollution and other occupational triggers that involve using chemicals.
“Many patients stop taking the medication prescribed after they notice that they have started improving, which is wrong, while we have noticed that others do not know how to take the inhalers and nebulisers correctly, causing their asthma to become worse,” said Laila Ebrahim Salama, respiratory nurse at Rashid Hospital.
Statistics show that there has been a two per cent increase in the number of people suffering from the condition in the UAE between 2012-2014.
International statistics have also shown that there has been a worldwide increase of the condition.
