Improving child asthma awareness and care

Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by recurrent breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness and coughing. Globally, an estimated 300 million people currently suffer from asthma and its prevalence is increasing.

This is particularly evident among children, given that approximately 35 per cent of annual asthma hospitalizations are recorded amongst individuals below the age of 18.

Asthma is a disease which does not impact the sufferer alone. Fifty-two per cent of children with asthma miss school because of their condition.

Among children and adolescents aged five to 17 years, asthma accounted for a loss of 10 million school days and cost caretakers several hundred millions because of work absenteeism globally.

Although asthma cannot be completely cured, it can be effectively treated. Research shows that with proper treatment, nearly all asthma patients can achieve and maintain good health, enabling them to participate in school and other normal activities and prevent visits to the emergency departments and hospitals.

In conjunction with World Asthma Day 2012, the Asthma Council Malaysia (ACM), supported by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd (GSK), is taking the initiative to enhance asthma education and management among children by launching a comic book on asthma and announcing the distribution of RespiChambers, a device designed to optimize delivery of inhaler medication to the lungs, at participating clinics and hospitals.

There will be a media briefing on asthma and how it can be controlled by Dr. Norzila Mohamed Zainudin a consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Chest Physician, Paediatric Institute, Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Vijaya Surendran, Group Product Manager of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd.

The briefing will be held on May 29 at 10.00 am at DoubleTree in Hilton, Kuala Lumpur. For more information or to reserve a seat please contact Joanna Ooi at 03-62095206 or Rachel Wong at 03-62095219.