It’s National Asthma Week and Asthma Australia, the peak asthma body, is encouraging the 2.3 million Australians with asthma to get their asthma under control.
One in ten have it
Did you know that one in ten Aussies have asthma?
This is pretty high by international standards.
Research tells us that we don’t manage asthma as well as we could. Out of control asthma means putting up with asthma symptoms and even asthma attacks. This can really interfere with every day life and doing the things you love.
The Symptoms
Would you recognise asthma symptoms?:
- Coughing, especially at night, with exercise, or when laughing
- Trouble breathing
- A tight feeling in the chest
- Wheezing – a squeaky or whistling sound
Some people may not even know they have asthma, especially if symptoms aren’t that severe or you just get used to them. Frequent asthma symptoms are serious – having trouble breathing, after all is a serious issue.
Guys often don’t take asthma seriously
It is common place for guys to not take asthma seriously. Many don’t discuss it with their GP and often skip taking essential preventer medications because they feel well and don’t think it’s needed. All too often guys don’t carry reliever medication with them either, unless it’s in their partner’s handbag! This might be because it’s a bit of a hassle or not that cool, but there is nothing cool about having an asthma attack.
At Asthma Australia we hear all the time that people believe that the condition they grew up with all of their life is ‘just a bit of asthma’ and nothing much can be done about it and it’s not that big of a deal anyway – that is not the case, it can become serious at any time.
Asthma can be controlled
With a little bit of effort asthma can be well controlled and it doesn’t have to get in the way of the things you enjoy, like playing footy or going to the game on Saturday, in fact many AFL players and elite athletes have asthma and manage it well so that it doesn’t interfere with game day performance.
If asthma is holding you or someone in your family back and you would like to start tackling it, visit Asthma Australia or give them a call on 1800ASTHMA for information, free resources and support.
