Yatra to spread awareness about asthma

There is immense fear associated with the words ‘asthma’ and ‘inhaler’ and this fear was resulting in patients avoiding treatment.

Breathe Free Yatra – a clinic on wheels, an initiative by Cipla pharmaceutical company to increase awareness about asthma will touch ten places in Krishna and Guntur district.

The yatra flagged off here on Friday will touch Tiruvuru, Nuzvid, Gudivada, Machilipatnam and Vuyyuru in Krishna district, Tenali, Sattenpalli, Chilakaluripet and Narasaraopet in Guntur district.

Free check-up

Equipped with diagnostic tools, education material and team of counsellors the yatra will cover all the ten places offering free respiratory check-up with the support of the local doctors.

Chest specialist D.Sudeena said the paradox of asthma in India was that despite the availability and affordability of world-class treatment, asthma which was a totally controllable disease was depriving the asthmatics a normal life, subjecting them to traumatic attacks, hospitalisation and sometimes even death.

The scenario in Andhra Pradesh was no better when compared to the rest of the country, he said.

There is immense fear associated with the words ‘asthma’ and ‘inhaler’ and this fear was resulting in patients avoiding treatment.

Oral tablets

“It is indeed questionable why almost 80 per cent of asthmatics in India are on oral tablets whereas the rest of the world treats asthma primarily with inhalers, he said.