May 4 is World Asthma Day. It was first held in 1998 at the suggestion of the Global Asthma Initiative. We offer you 6 myths about this common disease with their exposure.
A child can outgrow asthma
This myth appeared because people who suffer from asthma since childhood, its course may become easier in adulthood. This view is dangerous because it can contribute to a frivolous attitude towards the disease, poor adherence to treatment and poor control.
Asthma is a chronic disease. This means that once it appears, it cannot disappear completely. Dr. James Li of the Mayo Clinic points out that in adults, asthma can «disappear» for a few years, but then come back again. At the same time, most children do not even show signs of «outgrowth» of asthma. This is especially uncharacteristic for the severe course of the disease.
Another reason some people expect asthma to be «outgrown» is that other illnesses are sometimes mistaken for it. Breathing difficulties can be with bronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, recalled Dr. Lee.
Asthma is a nervous disorder
Sometimes you can hear that with asthma the main problems are “in the head”. That is, the main cause of seizures is panic, anxiety and other similar disorders. However, bronchial asthma is a somatic disease: with it, changes in the bronchi and the immune system are primary.
Psychological factors can influence the course of asthma. For example, depression and anxiety can make it difficult to control its symptoms.
Asthma is an infectious disease
This is an outdated concept of the disease. In the 1950s, scientists did not rule out that antibiotic therapy could be an effective treatment for asthma. However, all infectious hypotheses (later they appeared in a new form) did not stand the test of time. No specific pathogens were found in the disease, antibiotic treatment does not cure the disease.
Physical activity is contraindicated in asthma
Physical activity helps control asthma. All guidelines for the treatment of this disease converge on this. It is known that exercise can be a trigger for an asthma attack. Doctors believe that this does not mean that physical education is contraindicated, but that medical treatment of asthma should be reviewed and made sufficient. They indicate that in most cases this should fix the problem.
The study found that patients who follow their doctors' recommended levels of physical activity had better asthma control than those who were physically inactive.
Asthma is the same for everyone
This is not true, symptoms may vary from person to person. Moreover, they can be different in one person from an attack to an attack, experts from the Cleveland Clinic point out. One time it can be coughing, wheezing and heaviness in the chest, the other time it is predominantly shortness of breath.
Asthma is not fatal
In certain cases, this disease can proceed for a long time without significant deterioration, even without treatment. This may have contributed to the myth of her relative safety. Such an opinion can also “force” people to be treated worse.
Asthma can kill. According to WHO estimates, in 2016, more than 400 thousand people died from its consequences in the world. Most of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.