Asthma Day: Watch every breath you take!

Bengaluru: Around half of every ten patients who walk into city hospitals for outpatient procedures do so for respiratory ailments and allergies. "Ever increasing population, smoke and particulate matter coupled with a logarithmic increase in the number of automobiles plying the roads, frequent temperature swings and dry climate," says Dr Sachin Kumar, Senior Consultant,. Pulmonary, Sakra World Hospital, Bangalore, have made the city vulnerable to respiratory ailments like asthma.

The city is known for its educated, health-conscious population although the awareness on asthma and its prevention is still lacking. "There are many myths surrounding asthma and its treatment," said Dr Sachin, adding, "out of around 120 patients in a week, around 50 suffer from adult asthma and about 20-30 from paediatric asthma."

"There is an exacerbation of asthma symptoms, especially in patients with borderline lung functions caused by climatic variations. Nearly 17% of asthma patients in the state are also affected by heavy vehicular traffic, pollution and dust.

Apart from pollution, unhealthy lifestyle habits add to the onslaught on lungs. Healthy diets are shunned in favour of fast foods filled with preservatives. In today's cut-throat environment, when people are always in a hurry to get ahead, dietary short-cuts hugely affect health," warns Dr Chetan Kumar N G at People tree hospitals, Yeshwantpur.

Dr Nagendra Prasad, Consultant Allergy Specialist at Bangalore Allergy Center maintains that all is not lost and adds that Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) now provides a cost-effective way to combat the inflammation caused by obstructed tubes in the bronchial tree. The Centre has already treated some 2500 patients through Sublingual immunotherapy.