Asthma UK launches it's 'wish
you were here?' campaign on 6th May which was world
asthma day -
8th May 2008
World Asthma Day on the
6th of May saw
Asthma UK launch the
'Wish you were here?' campaign which is hoping
to get high quality healthcare services for all the
UK's 5.2 million asthma sufferers, regardless of
which area they live in. It is demanding that the
current postcode lottery which dictates what service
asthma suffers will receive be abolished.
Each year in Great Britain it is estimated that
between 1,500 and 3,000 workers will develop
occupational asthma. This is when an allergic
reaction occurs in some people due to exposure to
certain substances in the workplace. These types of
substances are known as asthmagens or 'respiratory
sensitisers' and can lead to a change a person’s
airway's which is known as being in a
'hypersensitive state'. Not all people who are
sensitised will get asthma but if the lungs have
become hypersensitive even contact to a small amount
of the substance may lead to an asthma attack.
There are around 7,000 cases of
work-related asthma
each year; this figure includes the
occupational
asthma sufferers. This is when people who
may already suffer from asthma come across
substances in the workplace that irritate their
airways and lead to asthma attacks. Respiratory
irritants can lead to asthma attacks in people who
had asthma prior to exposure at work and those that
have developed occupational asthma.
