Poor asthma management for most

More than three quarters of people with asthma have revealed that they do not have an asthma management plan, according to an Asthma Society of Ireland survey. An asthma management plan is an essential element in controlling your asthma.

Furthermore, only half the respondents said they have a peak flow meter, a device which measures how hard you can blow air out of your lungs and helps to show whether or not your asthma is controlled.

The survey found that 37% of respondents had received the annual flu vaccine, even though respiratory viruses cause 60% of asthma attacks in adults and 80% in children.

Only one fifth of survey participants had spirometry, which measures lung function, to diagnose or monitor their asthma.

The results of the survey were revealed at the launch of World Asthma Day, which takes place today.

They confirmed the findings of the recent HARP (Helping Asthma in Real Patients) study, which found that up to 60% of people with asthma failed to meet international criteria for asthma control. It also found that of uncontrolled patients, more than three quarters were using their reliever inhaler at least once a day, a clear sign of uncontrolled asthma.

For more information on asthma, see our asthma clinic here. 

[Posted: Tue 05/05/2009]