You have asthma? Take care

The Asthma Foundation
News release
For immediate use

3 May 2010

You have asthma? Take care.

Tomorrow is World Asthma Day and the theme is ‘you can control your asthma’.

In New Zealand, the Asthma Foundation is stressing that people with asthma can often improve their lives greatly if they manage their illness, in fact even more than they might expect. Asthma can be a burden, but through managing it, people can stay safer and be freer to live their lives as they want.

Speaking today at the beginning of Asthma Awareness Week in New Zealand (3 to 9 May), Asthma Foundation Chief Executive Jane Patterson said: “Asthma is really common in New Zealand – 1 in 4 children and 1 in 6 adults has asthma. There is no cure yet.

“Therefore it is vitally important that we get our message out. If you or someone you care about, a child for example, has asthma and its keeping them up at night, or they have to use their reliever inhaler three or more times a week, then we urge you to talk with your doctor about this at your next visit or contact your nearest Asthma Society [to find this out visit www.asthmafoundation.org.nz].

“It is important that you have an asthma management plan too, which you create in partnership with your doctor or district nurse. The plans are available on our website and tell you what to do if your asthma gets worse.

“We have our Balloon Day appeal on this week and I encourage people to support us because we enable and support the work that the Asthma Societies around New Zealand affiliated to us do. They work hard and change lives through providing people with expertise on asthma control.

“There is still a lot of work to be done to help people manage their asthma properly. The high number of hospitalisations proves this. We also need to keep up the level of research to make further progress. Asthma needs to be attacked from all angles.”

You can donate to the Balloon Day appeal by visiting our secure website at www.asthmafoundation.org.nz. Alternatively, call 0900 4 ASTHMA (0900 4 278 462) to make an automatic $20 donation, or pick up one of our lovely red lollipops at your nearest participating Mitre 10 stores in exchange for a gold coin donation to Balloon Day .

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More information: Communications Manager, Malcolm Aitken on 027 62 52 835.