New support for asthma sufferers
THE Asthma Society of Ireland has just launched their new Beating Breathlessness WhatsApp messaging support service, which is available to patients with asthma and COPD, and their family and carers.
Over 380,000 people in Ireland currently have asthma and 890,000 people will have it at some stage in their lifetime. The current Covid-19 pandemic is a time of particular worry for people with asthma and their families. Managing your asthma well has never been more important.
The Sláintecare-funded messaging service allows patients to WhatsApp message a respiratory specialist nurse about all aspects of their asthma management, using the support service number 086 0590132, and one of the Asthma Society’s respiratory specialist nurses will respond as soon as possible.
This service complements the existing Asthma Society’s existing adviceline — 1800 445464 — and according to a recent survey, has been an invaluable source of information for asthma and COPD patients since the pandemic began — second only to hse.ie in terms of trust.
The survey, conducted in April 2020 amongst 2,462 patients living with asthma and COPD in Ireland, asked patients about their concerns amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and discovered that 6 out of 10 people are concerned about contracting a severe form of coronavirus due to their asthma.
According to Sarah O’Connor, CEO of Asthma Ireland, there has been a ten-fold increase in queries to advice line services over the last couple of weeks alone.
It’s been an ‘insane’ time for the organisation, she admits. ‘Our level of awareness work is up 611 per cent from last year.
‘There’s never been a more important time to have a good asthma management plan in place and to stick to it,’ says O’Connor, speaking from personal experience, as she is an asthma sufferer and is also six months pregnant. ‘I know I need to mind myself, even though my asthma is controlled and mild,’ she says.
The organisation has launched a campaign to try to raise vital funding during this time when they are needed more than ever.
‘Asthma Ireland are making an emergency appeal. It’s enormously challenging, as we can’t fundraise in the usual way,’ says O’Connor.