Every Month is Asthma Awareness Month!
While May is the designated month for asthma awareness, at Family Allergy & Asthma Care of Montana, we care for individuals with asthma every day, all year long!
Check your knowledge of asthma with these factoids. Did you know?
In Montana, asthma:
- affects 9.1% of adults and 6.9% of children.
- in not controlled in 50% adults and 33% of children based on national asthma guidelines (even when the patient feels they are controlled).
- Smoke from wildfires and wood burning stoves can leave small particles in the air that aggravate asthma.
- ER visits are more common for children in the months of April, May and September. For adults, there is no such trend.
- ER visits are especially high for young boys.
- one ER visit averages over $900. If you needed to go to the ER, this indicates asthma severity and poor control. (Make an appointment with an asthma specialist if you have needed to go the the ER)
- one hospitalization averages $9300 in 2011 (and averages 3 days)-days you could have been hiking, skiing or fishing.
- can be controlled-if you have asthma and live in Southwest Montana, see Dr. Michael Zacharisen at Family Allergy & Asthma Care of Montana in Bozeman; just call 406-451-7017 for an appointment.
In the U.S., asthma:
- affects over 22 million people.
- affects 1 in 12 children!
- is more common in boys than girls, but more common in women than men.
- is becoming more prevalent, increasing from 3% of the population (30 years ago) to 7% now
- is more common in blacks and Latinos (especially from Puerto Rico) than whites.
- is more common in individuals living in low socioeconomic and poverty conditions
- leads to decrease in exercise in 60% of those people with asthma
- kills nearly 2000 people each year
- can worsen, improve or stay the same during pregnancy
- in children is frequently associated with allergies (that’s why allergists take great care of asthma!)
- is expensive, costing $56 billion each year
This Montana information can be found at: Montana Asthma Control Program
At Family Allergy & Asthma Care of Montana, we take asthma seriously every day. Let us take care of you!
Appreciable! The demography that is more vulnerable to asthmatic triggers would ever need to be careful about educating communal networks. This ensures healthier, disease-free people!