Many asthmatics at serious risk as they are failing to control condition, say experts

Professor Marcus Butler, a ­respiratory physician in St Vincent’s Hospital, ­Dublin, and medical director of the Asthma Society of Ireland, warned the findings showed many people with the condition needed to seek help.

“Frequent symptoms and more serious flare-ups of asthma, also known as asthma attacks, are a clear sign that your lungs are inflamed and you need an asthma review,” he said.

“Equally, waking at night with your asthma should be a prompt to seek help. Your medications may need to be revised or you may need additional support to identify and manage your asthma symptoms and triggers.

“If you frequently need your rescue inhaler or steroid tablets to relieve asthma flares, it means that your asthma is uncontrolled, putting you at risk and can sometimes permanently harm how your lungs function.”

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He was speaking on World Asthma Day, with Ireland having one of the highest prevalences of the condition, affecting 450,000 people.

The Asthma Society, which carried out the survey, said symptoms should not be considered an inevitable part of having the condition and may indicate a serious risk to health or life.

There were 81 asthma deaths registered in Ireland in 2022.

More than half of the 1,205 people surveyed revealed they themselves or their child had an asthma attack in the last year, and nearly a quarter had an attack in the previous month.

Almost one-quarter of adults and children have used their reliever or rescue inhaler at least once daily – a sign of untreated symptoms.

And 43pc have resorted to steroid tablets at least twice for asthma in the past year, with one-fifth having taken them more than three times. This is a more serious sign of uncontrolled asthma.

Approximately 74pc said they or their child’s sleep had been disturbed by asthma in the past year.

Eilís Ní Chaithnía, chief executive of the Asthma Society of Ireland, said it had launched a campaign to empower people to take control of their health and lead full lives, symptom-free.

It includes circulating Asthma Awareness Week packs through the HSE’s integrated respiratory hubs.

There is a range of resources on asthma.ie to help people assess their asthma, and information about the disease.

Additional help is available on its advice line and WhatsApp messaging services.

People worried about managing their asthma should speak to their GP and seek an asthma review.

A full medical review will assess the patient’s lifestyle, medication and dosage, any concerns about staying on medication, inhaler technique, symptom triggers such as stress, mould, pollen, viruses or exercise, and also an examination of lung function.

Dr Butler said that doctors and healthcare staff needed to keep up to date also with the latest clinical guidelines “and ensure our patients have the required support, information and treatment”.