Local studies indicate that the prevalence of asthma in the Kingdom reached 15-25%, depending on the regions, and there are currently 300 million patients with asthma in the world. The frequent asthma symptoms often cause insomnia, fatigue during daytime, lower levels of activity, and absenteeism from school and work.
From this standpoint, World Asthma Day takes place on the first Tuesday of the month of May each year under the slogan: “You Can Control Asthma”; in an endeavor to promote and raise awareness among people infected with the disease, as well as people around them and the whole society on the way of prevention and treatment of this disease.
The report, released by the Media and Health Awareness Information Center at the Ministry of Health (MOH), defines asthma as: “A chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks ranging from difficulty in breathing and whistling. During the attack of asthma, the inner lining of the bronchi swells, resulting in their narrowness and limiting the airflow into and out of the lungs. However, severity and frequency of this disease vary from a person to another. It affects both genders and all ages, but it is more common among children.”
Based on the report, “The most prominent symptoms indicating the occurrence of an asthma attack are that the patient feels difficulty in breathing, whistling, and coughing, and these symptoms increase at night. However, there are other secondary symptoms for asthma, such as feeling of narrowness in the chest (tightness) or itchy skin. Also, there are some symptoms that accompany the severe asthma attacks, such as turning the lips’ color into blue, and feeling of palpitations, rapid breathing, difficulty in speaking, and extreme fatigue. While, the risk lies in the vulnerability to acute and severe asthma attacks, which can likely, May Allah forbid it, lead to death; due to suffocation if not be rectified and treated in due course.”
“Prevention of asthma, according to the report, is the most important step in the treatment. Therefore, we have to know all information about this disease, the triggering factors and ways to avoid it. For finding out the triggering factors for asthma attacks, the patient can use a notebook and write down everything about his illness: such as symptoms occurred to him, like difficulty in breathing or coughing, and the most important triggers such as performing exercise, catching cold or flu and eating a particular food, etc. Thus, the patient must take the seasonal influenza vaccine to alleviate the flu, avoid the stressful business, take enough rest, make sure of cleaning the house from dust regularly, and wear mask during cleaning.”
Furthermore, the most prominent and the main health messages of the World Asthma Day-2013 are: “Promoting the health awareness among community members about the most important asthma triggering factors in the environment and the way of preventing them, as well as the role of therapy in the prevention of asthma and its mitigation.”
It is worth mentioning that the MOH Media and Health Awareness Information Center is fully ready to receive any inquiries or questions from citizens and residents about asthma, its causes, symptoms and indications or signs. The Ministry also has a specialized competent staff dedicated to reply any inquiries regarding the treatment of this disease, the way of prevention, Allah willing, the most important medicines to be taken in case of infection and the way of using them. That is to be added to a group of female specialists to answer the questions from callers and persons concerned with this disease or others, especially in light of this atmosphere.
The MOH provides this service through the toll-free number: 8002494444, which is allocated by the Ministry for inquiry and finding out more information of interest to the sick and healthy people alike.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has further prepared a professional team to answer all your questions via MOH account on the social media site “Twitter”: @ SAUDIMOH.