Owing to the high cost of medicines, complicated treatments or plain neglect, many asthma patients don’t follow their prescribed treatment and suffer greatly because of this.

This was revealed by Dr. Jan Lotvall associate professor of the Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Institute of Heart and Lung Diseases at Goteborg University in Sweden.

Lotvall said asthma is a highly variable disease with symptoms that vary from one period to another. He emphasized that strict adherence to the prescribed treatment is a must to control symptoms.

Ironically, while most asthma patients are aware of this, a significant number don’t follow the prescribed medicines and don’t receive optimum treatment.

Lotvall’s lecture comes at the heels of two patient surveys conducted throughout Europe, including the United Kingdom, that showed that most asthma patients mistakenly think their asthma is under control when, in fact, it is significantly limiting their lives.

One reason given for non-adherence to treatment is complicated medications. In the surveys, patients said they found it difficult to follow regiments involving different medications taken from several inhalers. Many said they were open and ready for a single inhaler treatment.

The consequences of poor asthma control can lead to distressing symptoms like bothersome coughing, worrisome wheezing, annoying nighttime awakenings and difficulty in performing daily activities.

In severe cases, this may result in a visit to the emergency room and even admission to a hospital. In the United States alone, asthma causes more than 460,000 hospitalizations and 1.8 million emergency department visits according to the National Institutes of Health.

Lotvall said communicating with the doctor and following treatment guidelines can result in better patient adherence to asthma treatment, leading to greater control of the disease.

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