She Needs to Breathe: Why women need to seek asthma support
A new National Asthma Week campaign stars great Australian sportswomen, writes Alexander Brown of Healthy Cities Australia
Did you know that 1 in 5 Australian women are living with asthma? Or that women are twice as likely as men to die from asthma?
This National Asthma Week from 1 – 7 September, Asthma Australia’s ‘She Needs to Breathe’ campaign is drawing attention to the disproportionate impact asthma has on women. As part of the campaign Asthma Australia, the national consumer body for people living with asthma, has partnered with leading Australian sportswomen.
It took Olympic Cathy Freeman 12 years to discover that it was her asthma, not lack of fitness or condition, that was making her feel breathless and fatigued after training. It was only after retiring from her athletic career that Freeman was able to confirm the asthma diagnosis that her medical team had long suspected. That diagnosis enabled her to take action. ‘Power is knowledge’, Freeman told Asthma Australia.
Netballer Liz Ellis knew she had asthma from an early age but only realised how severe it was during a medical examination at her first game with the national team. With good asthma management, she was able to compete at the highest level in her sport.
Why is asthma worse for women?
Because hormonal shifts can influence the way women’s airways behave and how they respond to asthma medicines. These changes include menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. After the age of 15, girls and women are hospitalised for asthma at around twice the rate of boys and men. The problem is intensified later in life. Women over the age of 75 account for nearly half of total asthma deaths.
Both Freeman and Ellis described having ignored or minimised their asthma symptoms, treating them as normal or thinking they were just part of their exercise regime. We know they are not alone.
Many women brush off asthma symptoms and most don’t have an Asthma Action Plan, the proven tool to help people with asthma look after their condition and prevent severe flare-ups and exacerbations.
Many people with asthma rely heavily on over-the-counter reliever medicines rather than treating the inflammation that causes the disease with preventive therapies.
Using just three or more blue or grey reliever puffers per year is associated with an increased risk of flare-ups. Using 12 or more increases the risk of asthma-related death.
Many of the symptoms people with asthma come to regard as normal are actually warning signs that indicate the potential for dangerous flare-ups. These include:
- Breathlessness that you’ve put down to being unfit
- Tightness in your chest when the weather changes
- A cough that won’t shift, especially at night
- Getting winded doing things that never used to bother you
- Waking up short of breath
- Wheezing you’ve dismissed as a cold or allergies
If you have one or more of the above symptoms, it’s time to have a conversation with your doctor about your asthma. Why not start by making a call to Asthma Australia on 1800 ASTHMA (1800 278 462) or by visiting their website?
Illawarra locals who need support managing their asthma can make an appointment with their GP or with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District’s Community Asthma Service. You can make a free appointment with them by calling the Access and Referral Centre on 1300 792 755.
Healthy Cities Australia also supports families of primary school age children living with asthma through our free Give Me Space! workshops.
Our next workshop will be held in Bellambi during the school holidays on 8 October. Visit our website to learn more and register.
