9 Asthma Myths Doctors Want You To Stop Believing
And why you shouldn't rely on the blue inhaler alone to manage asthma attacks
Asthma is a chronic lung condition that affects about 20 per cent of children and five per cent of adults in Singapore. Although mortality rates here have dropped significantly over the past 30 years, health specialists say there are still many misconceptions people have about this common disease.
To equip you with tips and tricks to manage asthma more effectively, especially during the global coronavirus pandemic, The Singapore National Asthma Program (SNAP), Asthma & Allergy Association (AAA) and the National University Health System recently launched the "Beat The Asthma Blues" campaign.
We asked the Director of SNAP, Dr Lim Hui Fang (Senior Consultant, Division of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine at NUH), as well as the President of AAA, Dr Chiang Wen Chin, to debunk common asthma myths and set the record straight.
But first... are asthma patients more at-risk of getting severely affected by covid-19?
The short answer is no, asthma does not appear to be a risk factor for Covid-19 infection. This is based on what was observed during previous pandemics like SARS in 2005 and H1N1 in 2009.
However, poor asthma management and viruses increase the risk of viral-induced asthma attacks. As such, you should still continue taking your preventors and replacing them when they run out, especially during this pandemic.