Useful Articles
What is Asthma – By Dr Dingle
Asthma is one of the most common respiratory diseases. In Australia, New Zealand, the UK, US, Canada, many European countries, and now in many Asian countries, asthma is on the increase and has reached proportions of one in four children and one in 10 adults. The asthma rates in these countries has doubled in the last two decades and fortunately they seem to be leveling off but as other countries become westernised the rates are quickly catching up to our levels.
1 in 4 Australians have Asthma
There exists substantial evidence that asthma is a serious disease plaguing tile lives of many Australians. Around 10% of Australians in general have health problems as a result of the disease and more specifically, 20% of children suffer from asthma attacks. According to the Australian Academy of Science, this respiratory disease exists as one of the top ten reasons for seeing a doctor (Beckmann, 2000). Proof of the high incidence rate is seen in the studies performed by The International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC), which demonstrates the prevalence and severity of asthma throughout the world. During a study performed in 1993 1994 in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, it was found that children born in Australia were more likely to have asthma than those born in other industrialized countries, and unfortunately would continue to increase (Robertson et al., 1998). The increase did indeed continue as seen in the more recent claims of the ISAAC that “wheeze in the last 12 months” is increasing among children aged 6 7 and 13 14 at a rate of 1.4% in Australia however, the good news is that the rates among adults is 11% 15%, which shows stability (Jenkins & Farly, 1999).
Link Between Asthma and Allergens
Investigations throughout the world confirm a link between asthma and a person’s sensitisation to indoor allergens, such as dust mites, pet fur and feathers, insects and mould. Nevertheless, these allergens have probably always been present in houses although the quantities of allergens and degree of exposure may have increased in many homes.
Indoor Air maybe killing you
I like to get up with the birds every morning. I have my ritual cuppa in the garden, read a bit and watch the world go by. Then it’s time to jump on my bicycle and pedal to work. I pass a lot of cheery houses on the way, big ones, little ones, fat ones, thin ones, all with a huge diversity of people in them going about their morning thingies – and unsuspectingly, breathing bad air – air that affects both short and long term health, sometimes seriously.
Mould the deadly dust
Moulds are perhaps the most opportunistic of the micro-organisms, and are found virtually everywhere, indoors and outdoors. They thrive wherever there is the least bit of moisture and nutrition – in fact they are tiny, enzyme-producing and cellulose-eating factories. There is a mould for every occasion and almost every material. They work continually on organic materials, breaking them down. Moulds are vital in the process of decomposition and recycling of organic material, and are essential and beneficial for life. Indoors, however, where their populations can concentrate, moulds become a problem.
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