World Asthma Day 2024: Asthma is a chronic condition in which the airways become narrow and breathing becomes difficult. Although asthma can be a serious condition, it can be managed with the right treatment.
Every year, the first Tuesday of May is marked as World Asthma Day to increase awareness about the condition and highlight the challenges people with asthma face every day. This year, the theme of World Asthma Day is “Asthma Education Empowers”.
As asthma is a chronic condition, proper treatment and management measures are crucial. Asthma can be controlled with the effective use of inhaled medication. According to research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 84 percent of the patients use their inhaler incorrectly missing out on most of the benefits and relief it may provide.
7 common mistakes every asthma patient should avoid while using inhaler
- Not using the right technique: It often takes time to master the right technique for your inhaler. If you use metred dose inhalers (MDIs), you should breathe in slowly and steadily while pressing the canister on the inhaler once. Continue to breathe in slowly over 3 to 5 seconds, until your lungs feel full. In case of dry powder inhalers (DPIs), you need to breathe in quickly and deeply until your lungs feel full.
- Forgetting to shake your inhaler before use: It is important to shake the product, especially if you are using MDIs, to ensure the medicine and propellant mix properly
- Not lift chin before using inhaler: Lifting your chin helps the medicine go down into your lungs more efficiently.
- People often breathe in or breathe out too quickly. This should be avoided to get the proper amount of the medicine.
- It is important to tightly seal your lips around the inhaler so that the medicine doesn’t escape and you get the full dose.
- It is important to hold your breath after using your inhaler. This gives the medicine more time to settle into your lungs.
- You should always rinse your mouth after using a steroid inhaler and this will prevent side effects such as oral thrush.
