From symptoms of asthma to its treatment modalities, various awareness messages on asthma were sent across to the public at a programme organised here on Sunday.
The event also marked the launch of www.breathefree.com, an educational website. Speaking at the event, chest physician and asthma consultant G.S. Kailash said more than 15 per cent of the world's population suffer from one form of allergy or the other. Nasal allergy, being the commonest allergy, might lead to asthma in some cases, he said.
Dr. Kailash said medical intervention in the initial stages would speed up the cure. The trigger factors for asthma were mostly bed mites, pollen dust, pollution, ice cream and cold water. Many asthmatic patients are allergic to food such as brinjal, peanuts, fish and eggs. Nearly, 30 million people are asthmatics in the country and India has 10 per cent of the world's asthmatics.
Film director S.A. Chandrasekar said he sought medical intervention at the right time to control his asthma. “Long hours of shooting in dust and heat triggers asthma. I have seen people in my unit battling asthma with inhalers. With right kind of medication and lifestyle changes, I have been able to keep it at bay so far,” he said.
Director Vasanth said the website was a step towards sensitising asthmatics to the various kinds of medication and help them gain knowledge about ways to treat chronic conditions. Music director Ramesh Vinayakam said a few singers who have done extremely well in their musical career have been asthmatics. An awareness skit was held as part of the event, which was organised by pharmaceutical firm Cipla.
