World Asthma Day

World Asthma Day is a worldwide holiday dedicated to asthma. This respiratory disease is accompanied by difficulty in breathing, wheezing sounds, etc. In serious cases, a person begins to simply suffocate. It is necessary to use a special inhaler to stop the attack. It is celebrated every year on the first Tuesday of May.

History

The history of World Asthma Day began in 1998, when the holiday was established by GINA. Its main areas of activity are helping to develop better inhalers, an information campaign to raise public awareness of the disease.

The first written descriptions of asthma date back to ancient Greece. Around the 1st century B.C. Areteus wrote a detailed description of the disease. Somewhat later the relationship between asthmatic attacks and plant pollen was established.

In its modern form, asthma was introduced in the 1800s by H. H. Salter, who accurately described the disease by sketching the respiratory system. He mapped the site of inflammation in the airways, entailing the negative symptoms characteristic of asthma. Triggers were identified: features of the climate, severe nervous overload, and foods. At the end of the 20th century, the medical community was already largely aware of the disease. Treatment of asthma became a necessity, even if the disease very rarely or not at all manifested itself.

Interesting facts

• Approximately 25 million people in the United States have asthma.
• The active substances in inhalers help to dilate the bronchi, ease breathing and stop an attack of suffocation.
• Asthma is incurable, but modern therapies allow the disease to go into sustained remission.

How to celebrate

If there are people among your friends or family who suffer from asthma, talk to them. Find out about the peculiarities of their disease, how they cope with it? Financially support organizations that raise funds for the treatment of children with severe respiratory diseases.

Spread the word about the holiday on social networks. Ask users what they know about the disease.

When is World Asthma Day celebrated in 2024?

World Asthma Day is observed on the first Tuesday in May.

Observations