Developing an awareness and adherence to the right therapy is crucial for the treatment of asthma, was the focus of discussions organised in the city in connection with World Asthma day.
Inhalation therapy has proven to be beneficial in the battle against asthma. On this World Asthma Day, the specialists in the field of asthma treatment are striving to bust the myths around inhalation therapy.
Dr. T. Mohan Kumar, senior consultant at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital addressed the issue of patients discontinuing medication without consulting the respective doctors. “There are many reasons why patients stop inhalers. These include unnecessary concerns about the cost of medication, side effects, myths about inhaler devices and social stigmas”, he says.
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“It has been found that adherence to asthma medication regime is very poor and the rate of non-adherence has been estimated to be around 70 per cent,” says Dr. S. Nagarajan, consultant pulmonologist, Chest clinic Coimbatore. The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program has recommended the use of Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) therapy for the treatment of mild, persistent asthma across all age groups, including children. ICS therapy has been proven to improve the quality of life of patients.