Many of the over 2 million asthmatics in Taiwan receive insufficient quantities of medication or are misdiagnosed due to the complexity of the disease and misconceptions among the general public, doctors warned yesterday on the eve of World Asthma Day.
To publicize World Asthma Day, the Department of Health (衛生署) held a press conference yesterday at which senior doctors introduced the department's Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, as well as a manual for treating asthma patients -- and to discuss a recent study of the prevalence of childhood asthma in Taipei.
Kuo Shou-hsiung (
Asthma is chronic bronchial inflammation.
Kuo's study also showed that nearly 50 percent of patients are denied the appropriate medication -- either due to the complexity of the illness, which often leads doctors to misdiagnose asthma as flu, or to the patient's misconceptions about steroids.
"Most people are afraid of steroids because of their misconceptions about their side-effects, but steroids work very effectively in combating asthma and they have few -- and in any case only minor -- side effects" said Kuo.
Chao Kun-Yu (
Doctor Huang Jing-long (
"Asthma is more prevalent in highly developed countries because many aspects of modern lifestyles, such as housing and diet, are responsible for triggering the disease, " Huang said.
Asthma is caused by genetic and environmental factors. Children of parents with allergenic genes are particularly prone to asthma triggered by environmental factors -- such as the bacteria that cause flu, cigarette smoke and dust mites.
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching