Asthma is one of the most frequent reasons for hospital admissions among children. According to the Texas Department of State Health, 593,000 children 0-17 years of age were hospitalized in the state of Texas due to current asthma problems in 2008.
May 3 marks World Asthma Day and Covenant Health wants to raise awareness about asthma and how to help improve asthma care in the Lubbock community. This year’s theme is “You Can Control Your Asthma” focusing on asthma control and the Global Initiative for Asthma’s (GINA) campaign to reduce asthma-related hospitalizations. Kim McAuley, pediatric quality specialist at Covenant, discusses more about asthma below:
- Asthma is a respiratory condition marked by spasms in the bronchi of the lungs causing difficulty in breathing. It usually results from an allergic reaction or other forms of hypersensitivity.
- An asthma attack can be set off by various triggers such as smoke, dust, allergies, pets, outside air, cold air, paint fumes, illness, exercise, perfume, cleaners, smog, car fumes, mold, flowers, trees or grass. It is important for children to stay away from their known triggers in order to prevent an attack.
- Established in 1998, World Asthma Day was started by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to raise awareness and concern about asthma around the world.
- The main purpose of World Asthma Day is to generate knowledge of the disease, its appropriate care and treatment methods amid the general public, health care providers, employees as well as government officials.
- Patients admitted to Covenant with asthma-related illnesses are educated on the seriousness of asthma and are provided an action plan by their physician to help control future attacks.
- The action plan contains three zones of asthma: the Green Zone, the Yellow Zone and the Red Zone. The zones range from a normal state of health (green zone) to a state of falling short of breath and needing medical attention (red zone). The action plan explains symptoms of each zone and necessary treatments and steps to take to get back to the Green Zone.
- Warning signs and symptoms of asthma include wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and complaining of chest pain.
Covenant’s asthma program also stresses the fact that asthma is not something that disappears. Physicians at Covenant want children living with asthma to have a good quality of life and to be able to do the same things other children are doing.
Covenant hopes to share its asthma program with the community in order to promote a better understanding of what asthma is and to help educate asthma sufferers.