To counter air pollution, that has triggered a “medical emergency” for asthmatic children in the national Capital, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) is sending a team to spread awareness and train children of around 600 schools — both Government and private.
Also, the IAP has introduced a new manual named Asthma Training Module (ATM) with a range of facility to educate children about the disease as according to reports number of children suffering from asthma visiting the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has increased.
“We had first incorporated this module in 2003 but with improvement it has been upgraded. Earlier, the ATM was treated with single algorithm but now there are two different approaches to treat Asthma in children below and those above 5 years of age. There is also a detail on the usage of drugs and variation in their efficacy for different individuals,” said Dr Varinder Singh, president of Paediatric Respiratory Society.
Underlining the significance of breaking myths involved in treating asthma, Singh said that people believe “inhaled medicine” is the last resort due to its alleged side effects.
“When a medicine is inhaled it reaches lungs where it is needed while when we swallow a medicine or inject medicine it has to pass through the entire body and very small amount reaches the airways,” said Dr Krishan Chugh, Director and Head of Department, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.
He said in this season, viruses and smog add to the problems. “Our lungs react to pollution level higher in particulate matter… in this any child with uncontrolled cough should be watched,” said Singh.
Calling ATM a tool for parents to deal with children suffering from asthma, the Associate Professor Paediatrics, AIIMs, Dr. S.K. Kabra said, it is important for the parents to understand the trigger factors and consider the psychosocial aspect of asthma.