Free ‘Take a Deep Breath’ program to cover symptoms, therapies, proper management
By Correne Martin
A free educational program offering an overview of asthma symptoms, evaluations, therapy options and proper management will be offered to the public on Monday, Sept. 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at the Crossing Rivers Health George Family Education Center in Prairie du Chien.
Crossing Rivers’ Allergy, Asthma, Immunology Specialist Dr. John Moore will present information and demonstrations, alongside Respiratory Therapist/Certified Asthma Educator Sheila Schuety. Partners of Crossing Rivers Health is hosting the program.
What exactly is asthma and what does a person with the condition experience?
“Symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing when laughing, or wheezing can be signs of asthma. When a person is experiencing those problems, their lungs are tightening, their muscles are constricting without good reason or their air isn’t moving as quickly through their lungs as it should be,” Dr. Moore articulated. “Triggers can be different for each person. It may be diesel oil or smoke fumes in the environment; it could be allergies to molds, cats, etc., or it could be exercise-related. Any of these triggers may cause a person to struggle when breathing. Their chest starts to feel tight and, oftentimes, they’ll experience some anxiety with that.”
For young patients, Schuety added, their asthma can be precipitated by smoking in the home. However, for a significant number of patients—of all ages—they simply have a predisposition to asthma.
Certainly, proper management is the goal for those diagnosed. However, even diagnoses can vary. Some patients may have mild intermittent asthma and respond nicely to an albuterol inhaler, while others can have moderate to very serious asthma and they may need breathing treatments or oxygen.
“Usually when someone comes into the hospital, it’s through the emergency room,” Schuety said. “Most of the time, albuterol does the trick, but for the more severe patients, they have to be put on oxygen or, a lot of times, steroids can be part of the protocol too.”
All therapies are tailored to the patient, based upon severity of the asthma and the symptoms. Sometimes, conditions such as allergies, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, COPD, viral illness or otherwise, can intensify asthma. Also, dry versus humid or wet climates, the person’s lung function, and even their family history can affect symptoms. So all of these factors play a part in patients’ treatment and management.
“There’s so much variety. Some people react well to certain medications where others might do better with others,” Dr. Moore said.
He shared that, new to the medical field is drug-gene testing, which can determine how patients’ genes can affect their bodies’ response to medications. Although, tests are not available for all medications at this time and insurance providers may not cover the costs, depending on the policy and reasons for testing.
Treatment options, medication management, evaluation steps, proper techniques of medication administration and more will be discussed on Sept. 12.
According to Ruth Skelly, district community health educator for Partners of Crossing Rivers Health, her auxiliary organization is pleased to sponsor this program to bring more awareness to asthma as well as allergies.
“At Crossing Rivers Health, we have had four programs this year that were so well attended that we had to go out and get extra chairs,” Skelly noted. “We are looking for another good turnout.”
“Fifty-three percent of people have an asthma attack each year,” Dr. Moore avowed. “Some have them every month or more often than that.”
“It can be very scary for those people,” Schuety said.
Registration for “Take a Deep Breath” is encouraged by calling 357-2621 or visiting crossingrivers.org.
