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18 economist suntribune health saturday may 4 2002 patients need help with growing asthma problem out of every 10 asthma sufferers six do not properly control their illness due to lack of knowledge experts say the first thing sufferers should do is learn about asthma what it is under stand the disease process and under stand their medications said donna dupont asthma educator and a regis tered respiratory therapist people with asthma have sensitive airways when they breath in an irritant the airways swell causing shortness of breath as the air flow can not get out genetics environment and multiple allergies can trigger asthma to develop said dr david dancey a respirologist at markham stouffville hospital the most common symptom of asthma is a persistent dry cough some people then feel their chest tighten as if they cant get a full breath this may result in wheezing or short ness of breath each patient must learn what triggers their asthma common causes include dust perfume cats pollens weeds and grass asthma sufferers can make life easier for them selves by using proper puffers regularly she said there are many theories why asthma is becoming more prevalent dr dancey believes physicians are detecting asthma more because they are better educated to find the signs and symptoms of asthma it is hard to say whether its a combination of indoor air quality pollution or chemicals said ms dupont another area of dispute is whether exposing children to allergens will lessen their chance of developing aller gies or asthma asthma affects more than three million canadians of all ages and every year approximately 20 children and 500 adults die from the illness it is estimated that more than 80 per cent of these asthmarelated deaths could have been prevented jessica rowlands medication training spell relief for mom from page 5 her to the hospitals community asthma care centre i can breathe now she exclaimed i can do my job i can play with my kids and have a normal life not restricted by my asthma the clinic helped ms berger choose appropriate medications and become asthma aware now she takes the highest dosage of advair a common new drug because of the severity of her asthma each patient is educated on asth ma said donna dupont asthma edu cator and a registered respiratory thera pist who has ms berger as a client they also learn about their specific signs and symptoms of good asthma control and asthma triggers multiple allergies provoke ms bergers asthma such as grass mold mildew ragweed cats dogs dust and dust mites as a result hardwood floors had to replace the carpet in her house because carpeting collects irritants her home must also be cleaned daily to be dust free ms berger has not had a cold since treatment at the clinic and has not need ed to use her rescue medication i used to get winded after walking up a flight of stairs she said now i can run after all five of my kids as a child ms berger suffered from colds every two weeks asthma was not officially diagnosed until the age of 16 when she was admit ted to a hospital doctors gave ms berger puffers but she says she didnt receive any instruc tion in how to use them this improper use of medicine may have led to her hospital visit 21 years later i was using the puffer six times a day she said i was not getting any relief she would get nervous when her chest tightened and wonder why the medication was not working worsen ing the situation with world asthma day on tuesday sufferers should take advantage of their local asthma centre on tuesday markham stouffville hospital will be offering a seminar on understanding asthma with speaker dr monique forse a respirologist it will be held in the hospital auditorium from 6 to 9 pm arriving in 7 days worth the wait vrt new routes new times new ride guide 43wk 9057622100 1866move yrt 6683978 wwwyorkregiontronsitcom