Beware of Asthma – Bring Back Better Breathe… and Mood
“Asthma is not incurable. As long as you follow the medical instructions and use your medications correctly, it can be managed,” said Chan Wing Kai, the sixth chairman of the Hong Kong Asthma Society. Known to his friends as “Kai Gor” (Brother Kai), he has been living with asthma for more than four decades. Back in the 1980s, people rarely heard of the term “asthma”, his parents included. “Dad once said I had an incurable disease, and no treatment was available.” Severe bouts of asthma attacks often made him breathless until injections were given. He also suffered when switching to new drugs. Some of the new medicine claimed not to cause drowsiness, but they drained him of energy when he attended classes at university.
Ever an optimist, Kai Gor did not allow asthma to impede his life. When studying in the United States, the temperature there could suddenly plunge to -30C. To avoid having an asthma attack, he invented the method of “constant-temperature breathing through the nose”. “Don’t inhale cold air quickly. Allow it to stay in the nostrils for some time to warm it up, then inhale,” he said. As time went by, Kai Gor managed to get along well with this “old friend”. “Gasp a little. If you feel that the trachea has contracted, or if you sense allergens around, an asthma attack could be around the corner.” When bronchodilator is inhaled, “The lung tissues can directly absorb the medicinal powder to soothe the airway and stop contraction. Also, you must follow doctor’s instructions and use inhaled corticosteroid. Otherwise, with repeated asthma attacks and inflammation of the airways, there will be more mucus on the inner lining of your trachea. Contractions will become more frequent and breathing becomes even more difficult.”
Kai Gor demonstrates how to position one’s hands when inhaling medicine. Incorrect usage will undermine its effectiveness.
Kai Gor demonstrates how to position one’s hands when inhaling medicine. Incorrect usage will undermine its effectiveness.
“Asthma treatment relies on sprays but not orally administered drugs. It is essential to inhale the medication in a correct manner.” Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Asthma Society often organised classes for patients and carers on the pathology of the illness and the effects and usage of medicines. In every class, Kai Gor would bring along his “Treasure Box”, which contained a model of the trachea, various types of medicinal sprays, tools for measuring lung capacity, etc. “Before letting them go, I asked everyone to demonstrate onsite that they could correctly coordinate their hands and mouths to inhale the medicine,” he said with a smile.
But the pandemic put a stop to the classes. That was why Kai Gor thought of reaching out to the public through radio. He wanted to introduce to them the prescriptions and physical exercises that could help asthma patients, and tips on details such as clothing, food, and more, that could help patients breathe smoothly. The idea led to the creation of the CIBS programme Beware of Asthma. It invited specialists and a former head nurse of respiratory medicine to address patients’ concerns such as whether using inhaled corticosteroid would lead to drug dependence, or if one should stop follow-up consultations when the symptoms disappeared. “Because I have adhered to doctors’ instructions, and never missed a follow-up consultation, I managed to reduce my medication and suffered very few asthma attacks in the past few decades. But I can’t say that I’ve been completely cured,” Kai Gor said cautiously.
The Hong Kong Asthma Society has published pamphlets and magazines for patients, carers and the general public to improve their knowledge on the illness.
Nowadays, asthma as a chronic illness has become widely known. According to a report released by the Census and Statistics Department at the end of 2017, around 11% of residents aged 25 or below suffered from asthma; the figure for those aged 65 or above was 15%. Kai Gor, a social worker who also served as a lay member of the Medical Council of Hong Kong and a member of the Public Complaints Committee at the Hospital Authority, still teamed up with fellow patients to work on education and advocacy. His tasks included: drafting an opinion on public hospital specifications on treating asthma; providing certified courses for kindergarten and sports teachers on caring for children with asthma; attending university classes to explain to medical students what patients need; organising seminars for ethnic minority parents; translating online information into Urdu, Indonesian and Nepalese….
Kai Gor has drawn up a specification on how public hospitals should treat asthma patients, and pushed for kindergarten and sports teachers to sign up for a certified course on caring for children with asthma.
When the pandemic is over, Kai Gor wants to encourage general practitioners and nurses from clinics to take up courses on asthma treatment. The idea is, not only should patients and carers learn about the illness, but doctors and nurses should do the same so that they can provide appropriate treatment. Though the medicine to curing asthma has yet to appear, the illness is not incurable. With careful monitoring, asthma patients can lead active lives.
