Doctors warn on asthma ignorance

Ignorance of basic information about asthma has perpetuated suffering in more than four million Kenyans, chest specialists said early this week.

Dr Joseph Aluoch, one of Kenya’s oldest and celebrated chest specialists, said he had observed doctors demonstrate how to use inhalers to patients the wrong way.

Dr Aluoch was speaking at the launch of the guidelines of asthma Care Improvement Programme at Mama Lucy Kibaki hospital on Wednesday. The Health ministry announced the partnership with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in implementing the guidelines.

Asthma is a non-communicable disease characterised by a wheezing sound, shortness of breath and cough after the inflammation of airways.

While asthma is predominantly manageable, and records occasional fatal outcomes, many suffering from it in Kenya are unable to live fulfilling lives and children unable to play because of the aforementioned ignorance and myths that surround it.

Nairobi County health executive Bernard Muia said the attitude was not only shown by healthcare workers to their patients, and the public, but also among medics suffering from asthma.

“The public, and even doctors, prescribe medicine for themselves without consulting the doctor,” said Dr Muia.

Another senior medic, Dr Joseph Sitienei, said the challenge was even more pronounced in diagnosis for children.

“I know that the research community is doing a lot on diagnosis for children on whom we cannot use the available diagnostic techniques such as spirometres,” he said.

Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu, in a speech read by Dr Sitienei, said many healthcare workers were not trained physicians even though they were expected to carry out roles meant for physicians.

GSK, the manufacturers of popular inhaler Ventolin, has funded the training of healthcare workers as well as community health volunteers through the use of mobile phones.