Childhood asthma often underestimated by parents

Posted on March 29, 2009

(NC)-With one of the highest rates of asthma in the world, most Canadians have a friend or family member who lives with the disease. It is estimated that approximately eight per cent of Canadian adults and 13 per cent of Canadian children have asthma, yet the seriousness of asthma is often underestimated.

According to the Asthma Society of Canada (ASC), approximately 20 children die each year from asthma and 80 per cent of these deaths could be prevented with proper education and daily asthma management.

For children with asthma, parents play an important role in daily asthma control, yet new findings from the Paediatric Asthma in Canada survey, which was developed by Leger Marketing, working with the ASC, show that parents of children with asthma may be lacking a sense of urgency and concern about the severity of the disease.

• 74 per cent of parents describe their child's asthma as mild, yet 44 per cent of parents have had to make unscheduled doctor appointments to deal with their child's asthma within the last year, and 26 per cent of parents have had to take their child to the emergency department
• More than 80 per cent of parents admit that their child has had an asthma attack in the last year.
• Although the Canadian Asthma Guidelines recommend the once or twice-daily use of an inhaled maintenance treatment, only 27 per cent of children use medication daily.

"Our vision at the Asthma Society of Canada is to empower every child and adult in Canada with asthma to live an active and symptom-free life, so the results of this survey are alarming and unacceptable," says Christine Hampson, President and CEO of the Asthma Society of Canada.

"All childhood asthma, regardless of the level of severity should be a concern and be taken seriously," said Hampson. "Recurring asthma attacks, multiple unscheduled doctor appointments, and emergency room visits, are some of the signs that your child's asthma is not effectively controlled and may be undertreated. It could also mean that there is an issue with compliance, which is a significant challenge of caring for children with asthma."

Recognizing the need, Health Canada recently approved Alvesco to treat children six to 11 years of age. Alvesco is a convenient, once-daily asthma treatment option that has shown to have no impact on growth: this may help to address compliance with physician recommended treatments.

"Families are very busy, but it's important to make daily asthma management a priority," added Hampson. "Parents should speak to a healthcare professional about available treatment options and how they can help control their child's asthma every day."

Visit www.asthmakids.ca for more information on asthma or to view the survey results.

Courtesy News Canada

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