People don’t realise how serious asthma is until they’re in the back of an ambulance. Because it is so common, they think it’s not a big deal – but it is,” says Averil Power, CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland.
470,000 Irish people have asthma, including one in five children. Averil has asthma herself since she was 12 years old, so she knows what she’s talking about.
“Asthma can be fatal if not controlled properly. One person a week dies in Ireland because of it. That’s over 50 a year and 90% of those deaths are avoidable given how manageable asthma is.”
While she now manages her condition well, she has ended up in emergency departments herself because of asthma attacks.
“I didn’t always do what I was supposed to do when I was younger – ie take the preventer medication all the time. Then I ended up in hospital, which was quite frightening because you can’t breathe and you think you’re going to die.”
20,000 Irish people present in Emergency Departments every year with life-threatening asthma attacks – one every 28 minutes – and 50,000 GP out-of-hours visits are related to asthma attacks each year too.
“This is just crazy given that it’s a condition that, if properly managed, should never cause any great difficulty.”
SHOULDN’T STOP YOU PLAYING SPORT
She lists off the sports people who have the condition – David Beckham, John O’Shea, Ronan O’Gara, Seamus Callanan…
“You can have asthma and play sport at a high level,” she says. “Lots of players have it and, if properly managed, asthma doesn’t have any major impact on what they do. A very small proportion of people have severe asthma, however, but for the vast majority it is totally manageable.”
FLARE-UPs HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T
USE the PREVENTER INHALER
She points out what happens if preventer medication (inhaler) is prescribed but isn’t used correctly.
“People don’t realise what’s happening until it’s too late. The problem could be building up in your airways for weeks – your airways narrowing on the inside until only a tiny amount of space is left for air to get through.
“If you’re having a really bad attack and you take the reliever medication, it won’t work then because the airways have got into such a dire condition. That’s why it’s so important to take your preventer medication all the time – even when you’re feeling well, as doing this keeps you well.”
60% DON’T TAKE THEIR MEDICATION CORRECTLY
Taking medicine correctly is vital.
“Up to 60% of people with asthma don’t use their inhalers properly, so they are losing out on the medication they’re taking. There’s no point in paying for an inhaler then half of it going into your teeth or into the air beside your mouth because you’re not inhaling it all into your mouth like you should be.
“Ask your doctor or pharmacist to show you how to do it properly so that you get the full value out of it.”
CAMPAIGNING TO GET ASTHMA
COSTS COVERED IN SCHEME
The Asthma Society continues to fight a battle to get asthma included in the HSE’s Long Term Illness Scheme.
People with diabetes and epilepsy get their medication free but not those with asthma.
“Yes, they can avail of the Drugs Payment Scheme where anything over €144 a month is covered, but they still have to come up with that €144 and many families can’t afford it,” the CEO says.
“The preventer medication costs around €70 a month and we know of many stories where those with asthma didn’t buy it because of the expense and then ended up in hospital. As a student, that happened to me. It isn’t fair that asthma isn’t included in this scheme.”
ANNUAL HEALTH REVIEW SOUGHT
An annual health review is being sought for those with asthma too.
Now included for those under six with asthma, the Society wants everyone with asthma to have this check-up.
“You need the review every year to manage the condition properly. You shouldn’t just be presenting to a GP when you have a chest infection or you’re in difficulty.
“You should be sitting down once a year to talk through all aspects of your asthma and how your health could be improved around that – are you using a peak flow meter, for example, are you on the right medication, are you exercising?”
ASTHMA – WHAT IS IT?
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways. It is marked by attacks of spasm in the bronchi of the lungs. People with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs, which react to triggers, causing a flare-up. In a flare-up, the airways swell and narrow. Mucous also builds up in the airways, which makes it harder to breathe.
An asthma flare-up can come on slowly, over days or weeks, or it can come on very quickly. A sudden or severe asthma flare-up is often called an asthma attack.
Key message: if your doctor says that you need to take preventer medication, take it.
‘I knew there was more to my asthma than I was being
BREDA FLOOD, OULART, CO WEXFORD
Retired principal Breda Flood and her husband Brendan are organic farmers in Co Wexford. Breda is now a major spokesperson and advocate for those with asthma.
She compares having asthma to trying to breathe through a soggy straw.
While she was diagnosed with asthma 30 years ago, she feels she only got a proper diagnosis of the complexity of her asthma in 2013.
“I’m in the best place I’ve been in in 35 years. I can walk without coughing now, talk without coughing and I’ve a lot more energy.”
Breda says she is no longer hampered by the fear and distress and exhaustion that she experienced for many years.
“That’s the worst thing – you don’t sleep because of the coughing, so you can’t function and you’re just not well so much of the time. And, of course, that has an impact on everyone around you as well.”
Seeing a consultant
Breda found life a struggle because of her condition for many years. She points to how she only saw a consultant a couple of times over the 30 years and never had an annual review of her illness. It was only when she took action in 2013 and sought out a specialist herself that she experienced improvement.
“I was dying on my feet. I knew there was more to my asthma than I was being told. I was ultimately diagnosed with non-CF bronchiectasis, where mucus becomes lodged in your airways and becomes infected and exacerbates the asthma.”
Breda believes that doctors at GP level aren’t all as knowledgeable as they should be about asthma.
“About 50% don’t keep up to date with guidelines and research related to asthma. Asthma is not a simple condition and it can change as people age too.”
People still dying from asthma
Breda finds it horrifying that people are still dying because of asthma.
“I keep asking ‘why is this still happening?’ Often with young people who don’t survive, it may have been that they didn’t understand correctly how the medication should be taken or they thought they could do without medication if they are quite fit.
“Medication, I believe, should come with a very strong recommendation that this is being given to save your life. The preventer must be taken every day of your life. Take it especially when you’re well.”
Breda, a hurling and swimming coach,who has been on the board of the Asthma Society, has helped with bringing out educational material related to asthma, including the YouTube video and DVD Reach Your Peak.
“It’s all about education. The message is good – no matter what sport you play, there is no reason to stop if you have asthma but you do need to pay attention and take your medication.”
Breda takes her preventer medication every day and has her reliever inhaler with her if she is going out in cold air.
“I always have a scarf to protect me from cold air too or if I’m going into doorways where people are smoking. Often I have to duck.”
Quit smoking
Cigarette smoke has a bad effect on her and she has had to seek medical attention twice when people in stands at hurling matches were smoking in front of her. Involved in GAA, one of her major hopes is that all GAA clubs/matches/sidelines will soon be smoke free.
Breda represents Irish interests on the European Federation of Asthma and Allergy Association and is passionate about helping people to stop smoking.
“The sad thing is that many asthmatics smoke. If a person with asthma is smoking and they need corticosteroids, they need five times as much. Quitting can make such a difference.”
USEFUL INFO
• Medical devices like peak flow meters are available on www.asthma.ie, as well as info booklets and a video series for parents.
• Call the free helpline – 1800-445 464 – to discuss your asthma with a specialist nurse.
BREDA’S TIPS
• Use a peak flow meter along with an asthma tracker app on your phone. Breda uses one to record her daily levels, enabling her to have this information to hand at her next check-up. • Have courage to change GPs if you feel that he/she doesn’t know enough about asthma. Shop around for a good GP as you would for other services.
People don’t realise how serious asthma is until they’re in the back of an ambulance. Because it is so common, they think it’s not a big deal – but it is,” says Averil Power, CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland.
470,000 Irish people have asthma, including one in five children. Averil has asthma herself since she was 12 years old, so she knows what she’s talking about.
“Asthma can be fatal if not controlled properly. One person a week dies in Ireland because of it. That’s over 50 a year and 90% of those deaths are avoidable given how manageable asthma is.”
While she now manages her condition well, she has ended up in emergency departments herself because of asthma attacks.
“I didn’t always do what I was supposed to do when I was younger – ie take the preventer medication all the time. Then I ended up in hospital, which was quite frightening because you can’t breathe and you think you’re going to die.”
20,000 Irish people present in Emergency Departments every year with life-threatening asthma attacks – one every 28 minutes – and 50,000 GP out-of-hours visits are related to asthma attacks each year too.
“This is just crazy given that it’s a condition that, if properly managed, should never cause any great difficulty.”
SHOULDN’T STOP YOU PLAYING SPORT
She lists off the sports people who have the condition – David Beckham, John O’Shea, Ronan O’Gara, Seamus Callanan…
“You can have asthma and play sport at a high level,” she says. “Lots of players have it and, if properly managed, asthma doesn’t have any major impact on what they do. A very small proportion of people have severe asthma, however, but for the vast majority it is totally manageable.”
FLARE-UPs HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T
USE the PREVENTER INHALER
She points out what happens if preventer medication (inhaler) is prescribed but isn’t used correctly.
“People don’t realise what’s happening until it’s too late. The problem could be building up in your airways for weeks – your airways narrowing on the inside until only a tiny amount of space is left for air to get through.
“If you’re having a really bad attack and you take the reliever medication, it won’t work then because the airways have got into such a dire condition. That’s why it’s so important to take your preventer medication all the time – even when you’re feeling well, as doing this keeps you well.”
60% DON’T TAKE THEIR MEDICATION CORRECTLY
Taking medicine correctly is vital.
“Up to 60% of people with asthma don’t use their inhalers properly, so they are losing out on the medication they’re taking. There’s no point in paying for an inhaler then half of it going into your teeth or into the air beside your mouth because you’re not inhaling it all into your mouth like you should be.
“Ask your doctor or pharmacist to show you how to do it properly so that you get the full value out of it.”
CAMPAIGNING TO GET ASTHMA
COSTS COVERED IN SCHEME
The Asthma Society continues to fight a battle to get asthma included in the HSE’s Long Term Illness Scheme.
People with diabetes and epilepsy get their medication free but not those with asthma.
“Yes, they can avail of the Drugs Payment Scheme where anything over €144 a month is covered, but they still have to come up with that €144 and many families can’t afford it,” the CEO says.
“The preventer medication costs around €70 a month and we know of many stories where those with asthma didn’t buy it because of the expense and then ended up in hospital. As a student, that happened to me. It isn’t fair that asthma isn’t included in this scheme.”
ANNUAL HEALTH REVIEW SOUGHT
An annual health review is being sought for those with asthma too.
Now included for those under six with asthma, the Society wants everyone with asthma to have this check-up.
“You need the review every year to manage the condition properly. You shouldn’t just be presenting to a GP when you have a chest infection or you’re in difficulty.
“You should be sitting down once a year to talk through all aspects of your asthma and how your health could be improved around that – are you using a peak flow meter, for example, are you on the right medication, are you exercising?”
ASTHMA – WHAT IS IT?
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways. It is marked by attacks of spasm in the bronchi of the lungs. People with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs, which react to triggers, causing a flare-up. In a flare-up, the airways swell and narrow. Mucous also builds up in the airways, which makes it harder to breathe.
An asthma flare-up can come on slowly, over days or weeks, or it can come on very quickly. A sudden or severe asthma flare-up is often called an asthma attack.
Key message: if your doctor says that you need to take preventer medication, take it.
‘I knew there was more to my asthma than I was being
BREDA FLOOD, OULART, CO WEXFORD
Retired principal Breda Flood and her husband Brendan are organic farmers in Co Wexford. Breda is now a major spokesperson and advocate for those with asthma.
She compares having asthma to trying to breathe through a soggy straw.
While she was diagnosed with asthma 30 years ago, she feels she only got a proper diagnosis of the complexity of her asthma in 2013.
“I’m in the best place I’ve been in in 35 years. I can walk without coughing now, talk without coughing and I’ve a lot more energy.”
Breda says she is no longer hampered by the fear and distress and exhaustion that she experienced for many years.
“That’s the worst thing – you don’t sleep because of the coughing, so you can’t function and you’re just not well so much of the time. And, of course, that has an impact on everyone around you as well.”
Seeing a consultant
Breda found life a struggle because of her condition for many years. She points to how she only saw a consultant a couple of times over the 30 years and never had an annual review of her illness. It was only when she took action in 2013 and sought out a specialist herself that she experienced improvement.
“I was dying on my feet. I knew there was more to my asthma than I was being told. I was ultimately diagnosed with non-CF bronchiectasis, where mucus becomes lodged in your airways and becomes infected and exacerbates the asthma.”
Breda believes that doctors at GP level aren’t all as knowledgeable as they should be about asthma.
“About 50% don’t keep up to date with guidelines and research related to asthma. Asthma is not a simple condition and it can change as people age too.”
People still dying from asthma
Breda finds it horrifying that people are still dying because of asthma.
“I keep asking ‘why is this still happening?’ Often with young people who don’t survive, it may have been that they didn’t understand correctly how the medication should be taken or they thought they could do without medication if they are quite fit.
“Medication, I believe, should come with a very strong recommendation that this is being given to save your life. The preventer must be taken every day of your life. Take it especially when you’re well.”
Breda, a hurling and swimming coach,who has been on the board of the Asthma Society, has helped with bringing out educational material related to asthma, including the YouTube video and DVD Reach Your Peak.
“It’s all about education. The message is good – no matter what sport you play, there is no reason to stop if you have asthma but you do need to pay attention and take your medication.”
Breda takes her preventer medication every day and has her reliever inhaler with her if she is going out in cold air.
“I always have a scarf to protect me from cold air too or if I’m going into doorways where people are smoking. Often I have to duck.”
Quit smoking
Cigarette smoke has a bad effect on her and she has had to seek medical attention twice when people in stands at hurling matches were smoking in front of her. Involved in GAA, one of her major hopes is that all GAA clubs/matches/sidelines will soon be smoke free.
Breda represents Irish interests on the European Federation of Asthma and Allergy Association and is passionate about helping people to stop smoking.
“The sad thing is that many asthmatics smoke. If a person with asthma is smoking and they need corticosteroids, they need five times as much. Quitting can make such a difference.”
USEFUL INFO
• Medical devices like peak flow meters are available on www.asthma.ie, as well as info booklets and a video series for parents.
• Call the free helpline – 1800-445 464 – to discuss your asthma with a specialist nurse.
BREDA’S TIPS
• Use a peak flow meter along with an asthma tracker app on your phone. Breda uses one to record her daily levels, enabling her to have this information to hand at her next check-up. • Have courage to change GPs if you feel that he/she doesn’t know enough about asthma. Shop around for a good GP as you would for other services. 
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