Patients abandon asthma treatment unaware that it is a 'chronic disease,' according to an expert.

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects people of all ages. It causes inflammation and contraction of the muscles surrounding the airways, resulting in difficulty breathing.

This disease affects more than 260 million people worldwide and causes more than 450,000 deaths each year. Most of these deaths are preventable.

Being a chronic disease that occurs due to the inhalation of allergens (substances that can cause an allergic reaction), or triggers such as respiratory infections, strong emotions, and smoking tobacco or other substances.

Alejandro Pastor, a nurse and coordinator of the Communications Committee of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), points out that one of the "main problems" healthcare professionals face in addressing asthma is that "many patients abandon their treatment when they feel better, unaware that asthma is a chronic disease."

Furthermore, expert Roberto Cabestre García, coordinator of the SEPAR nursing area, explains that nurses are key to detecting these patterns and reinforcing the importance of ongoing treatment.

They are also responsible for teaching techniques such as the correct use of inhalers, which makes the difference between controlling the disease and losing control.

"Lack of adherence to treatment not only increases symptoms and asthma attacks, but can also have fatal consequences," says Pastor.

Understanding the specific characteristics of each type of asthma is essential to tailoring the best therapy for each case. "Not all asthma patients are the same, and that's where specialized nursing makes the difference," Pastor emphasizes.

To commemorate this day, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) has chosen the theme: "Making inhaled therapies accessible to all."

The organization emphasizes the need to ensure that people with asthma can access essential inhaled medications, both to control the underlying disease and to treat attacks.

Asthma attacks are often episodes that cause great distress to sufferers and their caregivers. They can also result in hospitalization and, in some cases, death.

Inhaled corticosteroids are essential for the treatment of the disease, which prevent asthma attacks by treating the underlying inflammation that causes them.

GINA states that, "in low- and middle-income countries, the lack of availability or high cost of inhaled medications are major factors contributing to the fact that 96 percent of asthma deaths worldwide occur in these countries."

In high-income countries, high costs can mean that many people with asthma have limited access to essential inhaled medications, resulting in poorly controlled asthma and preventable deaths.

World Asthma Day is celebrated on the first Tuesday of May each year. It was first commemorated in 1998 with the participation of more than 35 countries at the first World Asthma Meeting, held in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

With information from Europa Press and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA).

ANGELA MARÍA PÁEZ RODRÍGUEZ - SCHOOL OF MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM EL TIEMPO.