World Asthma Awarness Day!

Did you know that May is Asthma Awareness Month? If you didn't know that then I doubt you knew that today (or yesterday, depending on the source) is World Asthma Awareness Day.

What is World Asthma Awareness Day?

• World Asthma Awareness Day is a day meant to highlight the effects of asthma and how we mitigate this respiratory disease. 

• Every year, there is a different theme for World Asthma Day. This year, the Global Initiative for Asthma made World Asthma Day’s theme  “Access to anti-inflammatory inhalers for everyone with asthma – still an urgent need”. They want to reinforce the idea that everyone, except young children,  with asthma should receive inhaled corticosteroids because they reduce the risk of asthma attacks and reduce the number of preventable deaths. 

•   Asthma is responsible for 450,000 deaths each year, and most of these deaths are preventable. 

• You can learn more about the Global Initiative for Asthma’s mission statement here. https://ginasthma.org/world-asthma-day-tuesday-may-5-2026/ 

How does asthma affect people?

• According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, asthma “is a long-term disease that causes your airways to become swollen and inflamed, making it hard to breathe.” There is no cure for asthma, but it can be managed. 

• Common symptoms of asthma are wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and tightness in the chest. When I was diagnosed as a child, it was due to how many coughing fits I had despite being past the age for whooping cough. 

What are triggers for Asthma?

• Second hand Smoke

• Dust mites 

• Mold

• Cockroaches and pests 

• Pet dander

• Nitrogen dioxide 

• Scents and fragrance 

• Outside air pollution

• Chemical irritants 

• Wood smoke 

You can prevent an asthma attack by reducing your exposure to triggers. 

Where to find more resources on Asthma

• The EPA has several pages talking about asthma and how to raise awareness among other people. They have teaching tools, fact sheets, publications, as well as a list of federal agencies and organizations that help promote community care and advance asthma research. 

• https://www.epa.gov/asthma/asthma-awareness-month

• https://www.epa.gov/asthma/asthma-awareness

• https://www.epa.gov/asthma/publications-about-asthma#factsheets 

https://www.epa.gov/asthma/federal-agencies-and-organizations-addressing-environmental-asthma

I hope you found this information interesting. Happy World Asthma Awareness Day! 👋🏾