DOHA: Around 20 percent of school students between six and 12 years in Qatar are affected by asthma, says an expert.
Asthma is one of the highly prevailing diseases among children in the country, according to a finding by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), said Dr Ibrahim Janahi, Consultant, Paediatric Chest Clinic at Hamad General Hospital (HGH).
Asthma affects the lungs and is one of the most common long-term diseases in children.
Adults can also have asthma, which causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or early in the morning.
The clinic has 13 units for children and up to 5,000 patients with asthma visit it for treatment and follow-up appointments, in addition to patients treated at primary healthcare centres and private hospitals, said Dr Janahi. If someone has asthma, they have it all the time, but will have attacks only when something irritates their lungs.
Asthma is one of the main diseases leading children to get admitted in hospitals across the world. Symptoms includes allergy, difficulty in breathing and lips turning into blue colour due to lack of oxygen.
HGH has introduced LCI device in the clinic for children, the first of its kind in the Middle East to help doctors identify the flow of air into the lungs.
Asthma attacks happen in the body’s airways or paths that carry air to the lungs. As the air moves through the lungs, paths become smaller, like branches of a tree getting smaller than the trunk.
During an attack, the sides of the airways in the lungs swell and the airways shrink. Less air gets in and out of the lungs, and mucous the body makes clogs the airways.
To prevent the disease, awareness programmes are being held for school students and parents.
The Primary Health Care Corporation, with the Supreme Education Council, conducted programmes in 30 schools during the 2014-2015 academic year.
The awareness campaign includes lectures and posters telling people how to prevent and control asthma. The Peninsula
