More than half of French asthmatics admit that they do not take their background treatment every day, which can lead to hospitalizations or even death.
- Unveiled on the occasion of World Asthma Day, the “Test my asthma” campaign is presented through a poster distributed in pharmacies and a digital deployment.
- The Facebook page “Asthma: Zero Tolerance” offers publications, testimonials and additional videos allowing patients to learn and share about their pathology.
In France, asthma is still a poorly controlled disease. More than half of patients admit that they do not take their background treatment every day. In addition, the very perception of treatment is sometimes erroneous: 89% of patients consider their asthma under control, whereas in reality only 17% have control over their disease.
4 questions to ask yourself
Gold, “Uncontrolled asthma can lead, in the most serious cases, to hospitalizations or even death”, recalls AstraZeneca, which is launching the new awareness campaign “Test my asthma”. “Asthma control is essential and requires the avoidance of triggering factors, therapeutic education and treatment compliance”adds the laboratory.
Asthmazero.fr website offers patients the possibility of evaluating their care, via an online test accessible in the section “Keep in control”. The patient must answer 4 questions:
– did he experience symptoms more than twice a week during the day?
– was he woken at night by his asthma?
– did he need to take his rescue medication more than twice a week?
– has he felt limited/impeded in his daily activities because of his asthma?
Regular follow-up by a doctor for possible adjustments is necessary
If it appears that his asthma is poorly controlled, the patient is invited to contact a doctor; a list of online dating platforms is available. Regular follow-up by a doctor for possible adjustments is also necessary, because needing your bronchodilator too often despite a background treatment can be a sign that the latter would not be suitable.
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that can be defined as a reversible obstructive ventilatory disorder (spontaneously or with treatment), bronchial hyperreactivity and/or recurrent episodes of respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, ringing in the chest, cough or chest tightness.
4 million patients in France
Asthma is not an anecdotal disease: it affects some 350 million people worldwide, including nearly 4 million in France. While all age groups are affected, it is the most common chronic disease in children, affecting 10% to 16% of them depending on school level. Each year in France, asthma is responsible for approximately 60,000 hospitalizations and nearly 900 deaths.
Asthma is said “severe” when he requires high-dose treatment with inhaled corticosteroids, combined with another disease-modifying treatment to prevent loss of control, or when he remains uncontrolled despite these drugs. It concerns 5 to 10% of asthma patients, impacting their personal, professional and relational lives on a daily basis and doubling their risk of hospitalization.
