Asthma patients can be effectively treated and can participate in activities at school and work place
“Research shows that with proper treatment, nearly all asthma patients can achieve and maintain good asthma control thereby enabling them to participate efficaciously in school, work and other normal activities of routine daily life”. This was stated by Dr Shahid Javed Husain, Consultant Pulmonologist and Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (AKUH,K) while speaking at a ‘Signs, Symptoms and Care' programme on ‘Asthma and Smoking' held in Hyderabad.
In his presentation on “How to improve the quality of life of asthma patients” Dr Husain said that though asthma is incurable, it can however be effectively treated. He stressed the need of having a scrupulous medical history, physical examination and tests of lung function as prerequisites for diagnosis of asthma.
Highlighting the prime objective of asthma treatment, he said that the objective is to control of the disease. In order to gain control, patients need regular use of anti-asthma medicines as well as primary knowledge of taking the concerned medications and avoiding risk factors or “triggers”. Inhalers act as the first line therapy for asthma patients. Discussing the growing level of reservations among people in Pakistan about the use of inhalers, he stressed the fact that it is undoubtedly the most secure means of transmitting medicine to the lungs and all misconceptions about its usage should be eliminated.
The programme was also addressed by Dr Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi, Consultant Pulmonologist and Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine at AKUH,K. In his presentation on “How to Quit Smoking”, he referred to research conducted globally and said that if current trends of smoking prevail, tobacco would kill many millions more prematurely, during this century.
Dr Zubairi further shed light on the government's budget allocation for health promotion and found it inadequate as compared to the marketing and advertising budgets of tobacco companies operating in Pakistan. He said that tobacco use can be decreased by addressing issues such as price, image, exposure, cessation experience, and monitoring. Clinical and ‘quitline'-based cessation services can double an individual smoker's chance of quitting, and these are highly cost effective compared to other clinical interventions.
Cessation services should be provided by the clinical care system, which should itself be smoke-free. A doctor's brief advice to patients who smoke is effective but rarely done. Over-the-counter nicotine replacement medicine can also be important in helping smokers quit. Tobacco dependence is generally under-treated. People trying to quit should use medications in conjunction with as much counseling as possible.
As part of its outreach programme and societal commitment to creating awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKUH,K has organised over 230 ‘Signs, Symptoms and Care' programmes in Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Nawabshah, and the UAE, benefiting more than 40,000 people. Aga Khan University Hospital 's Patient Welfare Programme offers financial assistance to those patients who are unable to afford the medical cost of treatment. Since the inception of this welfare programme in 1986, over PKR 1.6 billion has been disbursed to more than 300,000 needy patients.
For further information, please contact:
Department of Public Affairs
Aga Khan University
Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi-74000.
Fax: 4934294, 4932095
www.aku.edu
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