Today we commemorate world asthma day. Asthma has become a serious health problem in many countries regardless of the economic condition of the country. Asthma is a chronic disease of the respiratory tract characterized by narrowing of the airways, inflammation, and increased airway response to various stimuli that cause shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
Other symptoms that can arise include chest pain, coughing, and wheezing that can be felt by patients who come to the pulmonologist. In diagnosing asthma, the doctor will do it comprehensively starting from recording the symptoms experienced and a physical examination. Investigations also need to be done to determine what therapy will be given.
These are 5 myths about asthma that you should not believe:
1) Asthma is a disease that occurs only in childhood and will heal itself as the patient ages.
Asthma symptoms can appear at any age. When symptoms appear and the child is under 5 years of age, doctors cannot make a definite diagnosis of asthma. Usually, the doctor’s diagnosis is ‘possibly asthma’. Because to definitely diagnose asthma, a spirometry examination is needed. Spirometry is a method of evaluating lung function where the doctor will ask the patient to breathe with this device. You will see how much air enters and leaves the lungs. So that evaluation by spirometry is usually done in patients over 12 years of age to get a diagnosis of asthma. So, this first myth is not true.
2) Asthma can heal or go away on its own
Asthma is often thought of as a childhood disease that goes away with age. It is true that asthma often occurs in children. Asthma attacks are also more common in children. Even so, asthma doesn’t really go away. Research shows that asthma symptoms can change or become less frequent over time, but the condition persists. The condition in question is airway hyperactivity which can lead to chronic constriction and inflammation. Asthma can also occur in adults who never experienced symptoms as a child, usually as a result of prolonged or continuous exposure to asthma triggers.
3) It is not safe for people with asthma to exercise
Excessive, high-intensity exercise is a common asthma trigger, so it’s no surprise that many people believe that it is not safe to exercise or exercise if you have asthma. But asthma is no excuse for not living a healthy lifestyle. In fact, by exercising with the appropriate intensity, and the patient using controlled therapy recommended by his lung doctor according to the dosage and in the right way, then the inflammatory process that is the basis of this asthma can be controlled. So that patients can carry out their daily activities, even exercise properly without interruption, and can also help reduce the incidence of asthma attacks. Exercises to improve lung health, such as swimming, light walking to jogging were also found to be associated with improved quality of life and fewer asthma symptoms.
4) Masks are not safe for people with asthma
You may have heard that masks cause a dangerous build-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) which you end up breathing in. This is not true, the CO2 particles are so small that they easily pass through masks and even special protective masks like N95. Research has also proven that the use of masks does not reduce oxygen saturation in the blood. In fact, all people with lung disease are advised to wear a mask. Using a mask may indeed feel uncomfortable, but wearing a mask in conjunction with social distancing and maintaining cleanliness can protect yourself and others from contracting infectious diseases that can trigger asthma attacks.
5) Inhaled steroids used to treat asthma are dangerous
Steroids are one of the gold standard treatments that have been recognized globally for treating asthma. But steroids have gotten a bad reputation because many people speculate that inhaled corticosteroids can stunt children’s growth or become addicted. Many also think that the steroids used for the management of asthma are the same as the anabolic steroids used to build muscle. In fact, the steroids used for the management of asthma are corticosteroids which are actually similar to the hormones produced by the body. The corticosteroid that is routinely used is also an inhaled corticosteroid, which is an inhalation method so that it directly targets the airway, the dose is very small compared to the dose of oral medicine so that it does not pass through the digestive tract or enter the blood vessels. This inhaled corticosteroid works to suppress inflammation that occurs in asthma. The use of inhaled corticosteroids also of course must be under the close supervision of a doctor.
Sources: Pendidikan Pesakit