KARACHI, Dec 22: Experts representing the city’s leading hospitals on Saturday discussed various aspects of asthma at a seminar to mark the National Asthma Day with the theme ‘Breath is life’.

The event was organized by the Pakistan Chest Society, Sindh.

Head of the department of Chest Medicine Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, and general secretary of the society, Dr Nadeem Rizvi, discussed the changes and their mechanism occurring in the airways of asthma patients.

Asthma, he said, could cause repeated attacks of coughing, particularly precipitated by weather changes, however this condition was often wrongly diagnosed as chest infection for which antibiotics were prescribed. He pointed out that wrong treatment of asthma was a major cause of death from the disease.

Dr Nasir Hussain of the JPMC, while talking about the management of acute asthma in the general practitioner’s clinic, mentioned that there were various parameters to decide about the line of management.

He stressed early recognition of acute asthma attack and prompt referral of the patient to hospital ICU. He also criticized the irrational use of aminophyllines in treating acute attacks of asthma.

Director Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases, Dr Ashraf Sadique, said that wheezing could not always be linked to asthma, and discussed other possibilities for such a condition. In children, a possible cause of wheezing or mimicking of asthma symptoms could be inhalation of a foreign body, he added.

Speaking about diet and its link to asthma, Dr Jawaid Khan of the AKU dispelled the impression that food had a major role in triggering asthma attacks.

He said that only certain types of food had the potential of causing such a situation. He pointed out that smoking, both active and passive, produced increased frequency and severity of asthma attacks.

About the best method of administering asthma drugs, Dr Mosavir Ansari, head of the department of chest medicine, Liaquat National Postgraduate Medical Centre, described inhalers as the best way of delivering both preventer and reliever asthma drugs.

AKU consultant Dr Naseeruddin said that children whose parents smoked were more prone to asthma attacks. He said that inhalers used with space device were safe for children.