RIYADH: The King Abdulaziz Medical City For National Guard Health Affairs is to launch a monthlong awareness campaign on asthma starting Saturday.
The campaign is to include lectures, exhibitions, seminars and workshops at National Guard Hospitals and schools throughout the Kingdom. Brochures will also be distributed informing members of the public about precautions they should take against the disease.
“Asthma is an allergic disease which can be fatal if treatment is delayed,” Dr. Hamdhan Al-Jahdali, head of respiratory diseases and head of the Outpatients Department at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, said in a statement.
He pointed out that asthma is fast becoming a common disease and that preventive measures should be adopted to control it by educating the public.
Asthma has assumed alarming proportions in Saudi Arabia with 20 percent of the Kingdom’s population in certain areas affected. In a recent survey in the Kingdom, car pollution and junk food were reported to be behind the rapid rise of asthma and allergies among children.
More and more babies, children and adults suffer from asthma and allergies. Such reactions are linked to nutrient and water deficiencies, insufficient activity and oxygen intake, consumption of certain foods, suppressed immunity, stress, drug usage, food additives and environmental toxins.
“Asthma is not a life-threatening disease, but aggravating, debilitating, and a hindrance to normal life. It inflicts financial burdens on sufferers; exposes them to long-term medication and subjects them to hospitalization and school and work absenteeism,” said Al-Jahdali.
Asthma attacks cause bronchial tube contractions, resulting in restrictive breathing that makes sufferers gasp for air. Asthma treatment starts with allergy tests to exclude allergens in food and chemical substances.
