World Asthma Day - Help us improve children’s lives in Tameside.

Today, 6th May, is World Asthmas Day, the asthma team at Tameside Hospital are hoping to raise awareness for the residents of Tameside.

World Asthma Day is a yearly event to raise awareness about Asthma. Asthma is a Chronic respiratory disease affecting around 5.4million (1.1 million of these are children) in the UK alone. Around 3 people die from Asthma in the UK each day.

Asthma is having a huge effect on children in Tameside, they have one of the highest admission ratings in England.

Tameside has more than 3 x the amount of hospital admissions in children under the age of 19, compared to the average in England. Some of the key factors that have an impact on the children in our area is deprivation, outside and inside pollution and second-hand smoke. Secondly, the education around Asthma and how important it is to take medications which are prescribed.

The Asthma team at Tameside Hospital are trying to get the number of admissions down, because each admission a child has to hospital in relation to their Asthma, increases their chances of having a life-threatening episode.

One of the projects that the Asthma team have going on at the minute includes seeing patients for Asthma reviews, if the child has been into A&E with their asthma, during this review we are educating families on the importance of taking medications as they are prescribed. They are also going through allergies and triggers and signposting families to Allergy UK.

Allergy UK has some great tips on how to deal with allergies, such as removing teddies from children’s beds so they are free from dust mites, and ways to improve damp and mould in their houses and how to seek help with living conditions. The team are also conducting FENO tests – which measures the levels of Nitric Oxide on the lungs, which indicates inflammation. Children can “suffer” in silence as they think the way they are living is just “normal”, these tests allow us to see the bigger picture on what is going on inside the lungs.

The Asthma team at Tameside Hospital said: "We are having a big push on trying to get families to quit smoking, in order to give children, the best possible chance at life. We now have devices at Tameside hospital to measure the levels of Carbon monoxide (the chemical from second-hand smoke) in the child’s blood from their breath. We are referring patients and families who want to quit to `BE WELL Tameside’, they are a group who offer free advice and guidance to anyone in the area. There’s also a free app called Manchester Smoke Free for anyone wanting to quit smoking."

There are some small things people can do to help the children in the Tameside community. Walk to school, to stop air pollution from around schools, or park away from the school and walk a short distance. If you do have to drive to schools, please don’t leave your car idling, switch off the engine. Ensure your child is taking their inhaler as they should be, even if you think “they are well”.

The Asthma UK website has Inhaler technique videos available, this way you can ensure your child is getting their full dose of medication. Take all used/unwanted inhalers to your community pharmacy to be destroyed of correctly, never just throw them into your general waste, this has a negative impact on the air quality in Tameside. Refer yourself on BE WELL Tameside or download the Manchester Smoke Free app to start your smoke-free journey.

Did you know…..

· Did you know having an allergy and asthma is very serious, and can lead to higher risks of severe exacerbation?

· Did you know the blue inhalers, mask asthma symptoms instead of treating them?

· Did you know even if you are under a hospital for your asthma, you should still have an annual review with the GP asthma nurse?

· Did you know asthma is a variable condition? So an attack every 2 years doesn't mean your asthma is controlled in between this time.