Winter is the deadliest season for asthmatics, warns charity as it predicts 26,000 will have a life-threatening attack in the UK over the cold months
- The prediction by Asthma UK was based on hospital data over the past five years
- Cold weather, cold and flu viruses, and dust make a deadly combination
- Almost half – 45% – of asthma deaths take place during the cold winter months
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Tens of thousands of people will be hospitalised with a life-threatening asthma attack this winter, a charity has predicted.
Asthma UK used hospital data from the past five years to come up with the estimate that 26,000 Britons will suffer an attack over the cold months.
The charity warned the deadly combination of chilly weather, cold and flu viruses, and even dust makes it the most dangerous season for asthma sufferers.
Almost half – 45 per cent – of asthma deaths take place in winter, with the chilly season claiming the lives of 6,503 people last year.
Tens of thousands of people will be hospitalised with a life-threatening asthma attack this winter, Asthma UK has predicted based on hospital data over the past five years (stock)
Asthma sufferers have sensitive airways, which can become inflamed and tighten when they come into contact with winter triggers such as plunging temperatures, cold and flu viruses, and mould.
Colds and flu are the most common winter triggers, affecting an estimated 4.4million people in the UK.
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Dr Andy Whittamore, clinical lead at Asthma UK and a practising GP, said: ‘Winter is the deadliest season for people with asthma, with plummeting temperatures, and colds and flu putting them at greater risk of being hospitalised for a life-threatening asthma attack.
‘Not only is it stressful for people with asthma to fend off these winter triggers but it is a huge worry for their friends and family, seeing them gasping for breath.’
WHAT IS ASTHMA?
Asthma is a common but incurable condition which affects the small tubes inside the lungs.
It can cause them to become inflamed, or swollen, which restricts the airways and makes it harder to breathe.
The condition affects people of all ages and often starts in childhood. Symptoms may improve or even go away as children grow older, but can return in adulthood.
Symptoms include wheezing, breathlessness, a tight chest and coughing, and these may get worse during an asthma attack.
Treatment usually involves medication which is inhaled to calm down the lungs.
Triggers for the condition include allergies canadian pharmacy, dust, air pollution, exercise and infections such as cold or flu.
If you think you or your child has asthma you should visit a doctor, because it can develop into more serious complications like fatigue or lung infections.
Source: NHS
Asthma UK is urging patients to take their preventer inhalers as prescribed to avoid attacks, as well as to keep their reliever with them at all times in case they feel wheezy.
It is also encouraging people to know when they need urgent help.
For example, if someone’s symptoms are so severe they need to use their blue reliever inhaler three or more times a week, it is a sign an asthma attack could be imminent.
This comes after a study released earlier this month by the Royal College of Physicians suggested that 56 per cent of the 1,737 medical staff questioned are worried whether they can keep patients safe this winter.
The NHS is set to face a bleak winter, with a report revealing more than 100,000 jobs are unfilled, trusts are £4.3billion in debt and 1,000 more patients are waiting a year for treatment than in 2017.
In the UK, one in 12 adults and one in 11 children are being treated for asthma. The condition kills three people a day, of which two thirds are preventable.
Symptoms include wheezing, breathlessness, a tight chest and coughing, which get worse during an asthma attack. Treatment usually involves inhaled medication to calm the lungs.
This comes after Asthma UK warned asthmatics of an inhaler shortage last Tuesday, which is expected to continue for the new few weeks.
Stocks are ‘very low’ of the Bricanyl Turbohaler, which may be used by more than half a million people, the charity said.
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER, 47, NEARLY DIED WHEN A ‘HARMLESS’ COLD TRIGGERED A DEADLY ASTHMA ATTACK
Karen Peacock nearly died when a ‘harmless’ cold triggered a life-threatening asthma attack last December
A customer service manager nearly died when a ‘harmless’ cold triggered a deadly asthma attack.
Karen Peacock, 47, from Paisley, was hospitalised last December after picking up a virus.
‘I’d been for a Christmas dinner with friends but when I got home I felt my chest tighten like it was a vice and I started gasping for breath,’ she said.
‘I managed to get myself to hospital, where doctors told me I was having a life-threatening asthma attack. I had to breathe through a mask and stay in hospital for 6 days.’
Ms Peacock is speaking out to raise awareness of the dangers of asthma over winter.
‘When it’s winter you accept you might get a cold or a virus but I never expected it to trigger something more deadly like an asthma attack,’ she said.
‘Looking back, I realised I had the warning signs that an asthma attack was imminent as I was using my reliever inhaler almost every day.
‘I want to encourage other people with asthma to get advice on winter triggers from Asthma UK – it might just save your life.’
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