World Asthma Day
The New Mexico Department of Health calls on New Mexicans this World Asthma Day to know their risks of Asthma and to master the ways of controlling their illness.
The theme of World Asthma Day 2014 is “You Can Control Your Asthma.” – a relevant topic statewide, particularly for the southeast region of New Mexico.
A Department of Health report released earlier this year found that adults and children from counties in the Southeast Public Health Region of the state continue to be more likely to visit emergency rooms or be hospitalized for asthma than adults and children from other Regions of the state.
“For a vast majority of people with asthma, the disease can be controlled and emergency department visits and hospitalizations can be avoided,” said Department of Health Secretary Retta Ward, MPH. “Good primary care is critical to reducing preventable complications often associated with asthma.”
From 2010‐2012, the rate of asthma emergency department visits in the southeast region was 62.7 per 10,000 population. The northwest region had the next highest asthma emergency department rate, at 41.1 per 10,000 population. In addition, from 2008‐2012, the rate of asthma hospitalizations in the southeast region was 14.9 per 10,000 population. The northeast region had the next highest asthma hospitalization rate, at 8.5 per 10,000 population.
Six Actions to Control Asthma
Controlling asthma requires daily attention. Working with a healthcare provider to create an action plan for managing asthma long-term and handling symptoms, most people with asthma can avoid attacks, have few symptoms, sleep through the night, and be physically active.
If you have asthma, you and your healthcare provider can work together on six key actions to make your breathing easier.
- Use inhaled corticosteroids to control asthma if you have persistent asthma. Your doctor will help you choose the best treatment.
- Use a written action plan to highlight two things: 1) what to do daily to prevent attacks, and 2) how to handle symptoms or asthma attacks.
- Assess asthma severity at the initial visit to determine what treatment to start to get your asthma under control.
- Assess and monitor how well controlled your asthma is at follow-up visits. Your doctor may need to adjust your medicine to keep asthma under control.
- Schedule follow-up visits at periodic intervals, and at least every six months.
- Avoid or control environmental exposures such as allergens or irritants that worsen your asthma.
These actions are based on guidelines for improving asthma control and care from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) that is coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health.
If you have asthma but have not yet developed an asthma action plan, the Department of Health encourages you to work with your healthcare provider to develop one and discuss how to use it. If you have a child with asthma, help them by working with the school nurse to ensure they have an asthma action plan at school.
To learn more about asthma triggers and treatments, as well as the statistics on asthma in New Mexico, please the Asthma section of our website.
Media Contact
We would be happy to provide additional information about this press release. Simply contact David Morgan at 575-528-5197 (Office) or 575-649-0754 (Mobile) with your questions.