What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic lung disease in which the airways are hypersensitive to certain triggering factors (stimuli or allergens). When exposed to these factors, you get inflammation: the mucous membrane lining your airways swells and the bronchi (windpipes) narrow. The passage of air to your lungs is therefore obstructed and breathing becomes more difficult.
With a mild form of asthma you may have few symptoms. But with severe asthma, your daily activities can be hindered. Also, some people with asthma respond strongly to certain factors and not at all to others… In short, the severity of the disease varies from person to person!
Fortunately, there is a treatment that ensures that you can live well with the disease and keeps symptoms to a minimum. Provided you use the medication properly!
It runs in the family
Does a family member suffer from asthma? He may not be the only one! Heredity plays an important role. You often see several people with asthma in one family.
How do you prevent an asthma attack?
You have allergic and non-allergic asthma. In allergic asthma, our own immune system reacts to harmless foreign substances (‘allergens’) in our environment. But other non-allergenic factors can also trigger asthma attacks.
Do you know what triggers an asthma attack in you? Avoid that as much as possible!
Triggering factors
Allergenic stimuli
Dust mites
- Ventilate your home and bed every day and remove dust.
- Choose synthetic bedding and smooth floor coverings that are easy to clean.
Pollen
- Keep doors and windows (especially in the bedrooms) closed on hot and windy days.
- Don’t mow your lawn yourself. Have it mowed regularly so that it does not have the chance to bloom.
- Wash or rinse your hair before bed to remove pollen.
- It is best to exercise outdoors in the morning or immediately after a rain shower.
- Do not leave your laundry to dry outside, as this will catch pollen.
- Wear sunglasses when you go outside
Pets
- Regularly clean the areas where your pet often spends time.
- Do not allow pets in the bedroom.
Mold
- Limit the humidity in your home. Sufficient ventilation.
- Keep an eye on your houseplants, mold can grow on the moist soil.
Non-allergenic stimuli
Physical effort
- Limit outdoor sports and avoid intensive exercise when there are high pollen and ozone concentrations in the air.
- Limit physical exertion in dry and cold outdoor air.
Mist and irritating products: cigarette smoke, perfume, household products, paint fumes…
- Don’t smoke (anymore). Avoid smoking in the home.
- Limit the use of irritating products.
Respiratory tract infections
How is asthma treated?
With the right medication you can keep your complaints under control and reduce the risk of (severe) asthma attacks. This way you can live a good life with the disease, because you cannot cure it.
You have maintenance medication and emergency medication. Inhaled corticosteroids form the basis of daily maintenance treatment and inhibit inflammation in your airways. You usually have to breathe it in (‘inhale’) with a puffer. In principle, bronchodilators (‘bronchodilators’) are used exceptionally in asthma attacks and widen the airways. If you follow the maintenance treatment properly, you can control your asthma well and you should (almost) no longer need emergency medication.
Proper use of medicines
Many people with asthma suffer from symptoms because they – often unconsciously – do not use their medication properly. You must of course master the technique of inhaling medication through your puffer! With the right technology you have the best guarantee of effective treatment and therefore a life without (serious) complaints from your asthma. To help you with this, you can contact your pharmacist for a Guidance Discussion Good Use of Medicines (GGG).
Guidance = paying? Time consuming? No and no! Such a guidance conversation is perfect free and takes just fifteen minutes time consuming. During that conversation, your pharmacist will inform you about asthma, your treatment and show you how to optimally use your inhaler. After a few weeks you can also have a follow-up meeting, at which you can discuss any problems you may still have with your medication and check whether you have your asthma under good control.
Live better with asthma, your pharmacist can help you!
Sophie Etienne is a pharmacist in Schaerbeek (Brussels) and has already guided many people who were not taking their medication properly. “For example, someone blew into the puffer instead of inhaling the medication. That just happens! Then it quickly becomes clear to us why the asthma is not under control: if you do not even ingest the medicine…” According to her, the solution is very simple: explain everything again, from start to finish. With clear information and the right actions, the patient takes back control over the disease.
Stephanie Valentin is a pharmacist in Saint-Géry (Walloon Brabant) and she always finds a quiet moment to guide people with asthma in the pharmacy. “We make an appointment together with the patient, at a time when there are two of us in the pharmacy or during the afternoon when it is calmer. Then we can sit down quietly and have a conversation.” She ensures that the patient understands the disease well and can use his medication properly at the end of the conversation. “We really take the time to properly explain the use of such an inhaler, even if the patient has been receiving treatment for asthma for some time. We also show the My Puff app and a video. We imitate the inhalation technique together with children or young people.“
What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic lung disease in which the airways are hypersensitive to certain triggering factors (stimuli or allergens). When exposed to these factors, you get inflammation: the mucous membrane lining your airways swells and the bronchi (windpipes) narrow. The passage of air to your lungs is therefore obstructed and breathing becomes more difficult.
With a mild form of asthma you may have few symptoms. But with severe asthma, your daily activities can be hindered. Also, some people with asthma respond strongly to certain factors and not at all to others… In short, the severity of the disease varies from person to person!
Fortunately, there is a treatment that ensures that you can live well with the disease and keeps symptoms to a minimum. Provided you use the medication properly!
It runs in the family
Does a family member suffer from asthma? He may not be the only one! Heredity plays an important role. You often see several people with asthma in one family.
How do you prevent an asthma attack?
You have allergic and non-allergic asthma. In allergic asthma, our own immune system reacts to harmless foreign substances (‘allergens’) in our environment. But other non-allergenic factors can also trigger asthma attacks.
Do you know what triggers an asthma attack in you? Avoid that as much as possible!
Triggering factors
Allergenic stimuli
Dust mites
- Ventilate your home and bed every day and remove dust.
- Choose synthetic bedding and smooth floor coverings that are easy to clean.
Pollen
- Keep doors and windows (especially in the bedrooms) closed on hot and windy days.
- Don’t mow your lawn yourself. Have it mowed regularly so that it does not have the chance to bloom.
- Wash or rinse your hair before bed to remove pollen.
- It is best to exercise outdoors in the morning or immediately after a rain shower.
- Do not leave your laundry to dry outside, as this will catch pollen.
- Wear sunglasses when you go outside
Pets
- Regularly clean the areas where your pet often spends time.
- Do not allow pets in the bedroom.
Mold
- Limit the humidity in your home. Sufficient ventilation.
- Keep an eye on your houseplants, mold can grow on the moist soil.
Non-allergenic stimuli
Physical effort
- Limit outdoor sports and avoid intensive exercise when there are high pollen and ozone concentrations in the air.
- Limit physical exertion in dry and cold outdoor air.
Mist and irritating products: cigarette smoke, perfume, household products, paint fumes…
- Don’t smoke (anymore). Avoid smoking in the home.
- Limit the use of irritating products.
Respiratory tract infections
How is asthma treated?
With the right medication you can keep your complaints under control and reduce the risk of (severe) asthma attacks. This way you can live a good life with the disease, because you cannot cure it.
You have maintenance medication and emergency medication. Inhaled corticosteroids form the basis of daily maintenance treatment and inhibit inflammation in your airways. You usually have to breathe it in (‘inhale’) with a puffer. In principle, bronchodilators (‘bronchodilators’) are used exceptionally in asthma attacks and widen the airways. If you follow the maintenance treatment properly, you can control your asthma well and you should (almost) no longer need emergency medication.
Proper use of medicines
Many people with asthma suffer from symptoms because they – often unconsciously – do not use their medication properly. You must of course master the technique of inhaling medication through your puffer! With the right technology you have the best guarantee of effective treatment and therefore a life without (serious) complaints from your asthma. To help you with this, you can contact your pharmacist for a Guidance Discussion Good Use of Medicines (GGG).
Guidance = paying? Time consuming? No and no! Such a guidance conversation is perfect free and takes just fifteen minutes time consuming. During that conversation, your pharmacist will inform you about asthma, your treatment and show you how to optimally use your inhaler. After a few weeks you can also have a follow-up meeting, at which you can discuss any problems you may still have with your medication and check whether you have your asthma under good control.
Live better with asthma, your pharmacist can help you!
Sophie Etienne is a pharmacist in Schaerbeek (Brussels) and has already guided many people who were not taking their medication properly. “For example, someone blew into the puffer instead of inhaling the medication. That just happens! Then it quickly becomes clear to us why the asthma is not under control: if you do not even ingest the medicine…” According to her, the solution is very simple: explain everything again, from start to finish. With clear information and the right actions, the patient takes back control over the disease.
Stephanie Valentin is a pharmacist in Saint-Géry (Walloon Brabant) and she always finds a quiet moment to guide people with asthma in the pharmacy. “We make an appointment together with the patient, at a time when there are two of us in the pharmacy or during the afternoon when it is calmer. Then we can sit down quietly and have a conversation.” She ensures that the patient understands the disease well and can use his medication properly at the end of the conversation. “We really take the time to properly explain the use of such an inhaler, even if the patient has been receiving treatment for asthma for some time. We also show the My Puff app and a video. We imitate the inhalation technique together with children or young people.“
