Dr Olufunke Adeyeye, a consultant on respiratory disorder, says people living with asthma can live improved quality lives and be free of the symptoms if they adhere regularly to their medication.
Adeyeye, who works at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja said this on Monday at a forum organised for asthma patients by the Lagos hospital.
The forum was to commemorate the 2018 World Asthma Day to be celebrated across the world on May 1.
She said that asthma was not a death sentence; “it is a chronic condition that can be controlled.’’
Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the lung airways that causes cough, chest tightness, wheezing or shortness of breath.
The consultant however regretted that not much attention was being given to asthma in the country.
According to her, an estimated 15 to 20 million Nigerians may actually be suffering from asthma; about 10.7 to 13 per cent of children between the ages of 13 and 14 years have the condition.
She however said that many of them were largely undiagnosed and untreated.
Adeyeye said that the way forward to managing asthma was to educate people about the risk factors and medications to take in order for people to make informed decisions.
Mrs Oluwatoyin Ojo, a pharmacist of the Department of Pharmacy, LASUTH, advised governments to improve access to asthma medication for people to be able to manage the condition.
Ojo also called on the private sector to invest in locally manufacturing asthma inhalers and drugs for it to be affordable to sufferers.
The World Asthma Day is celebrated in the month of May every year; that is why May is known as the Asthma Month, when National Asthma Education and Prevention Programme is organised to encourage people to take care of their asthma.
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