The Ministry of Health and Population announced the provision of awareness of ways to prevent asthma and chest diseases to 76,000 citizens who frequent the chest units in the governorates of the Republic. In cooperation with the Association for Combating Smoking, Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases, and the Egyptian Society for Chest and Tuberculosis Diseases.
Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, pointed out that awareness is provided to asthma patients and their families who frequent the chest units and hospitals in the governorates, and the distribution of guidebooks on how to deal with asthma patients, knowing the causes of the disease and how to prevent it, through the spread of community communication teams in chest hospitals and units. In addition to increasing sound health awareness and correcting misconceptions, by publishing awareness leaflets on the official pages of the Ministry through social networking sites.
Abdul Ghaffar explained that asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects the airways in the lungs, accompanied by inflammation and narrowing of the airways, which leads to difficulty in the flow of air inside and outside the lungs, and causes coughing and wheezing when breathing, indicating that there is a large percentage of asthma patients who do not use Correct inhalation devices, which leads to a delayed response to treatment.
For his part, Dr. Ahmed Saafan, Head of the Curative Care Sector at the Ministry of Health and Population, indicated that bronchial asthma is one of the most widespread chronic respiratory diseases in the world, and it also imposes great health and economic burdens on patients who suffer from it, explaining that statistics indicate that half of asthma patients They are not committed to the treatment advice of the doctor, which may lead to a deterioration in their health condition and admission to the hospital, as one study showed the effect of patients’ non-compliance with inhalation therapy (nebulizers) that among 110 patients, 42.2% had a high level of adherence to their medications and 22.9% had a medium adherence and 34.9% are less committed.
Dr. Muhammad Nadi, Head of the Central Administration for Curative Care, stressed the need for asthma patients to adhere to treatment in order to enable them to achieve better treatment results, as smoking is one of the most important risk factors for many chest diseases, the most important of which are obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and many others. One of the diseases that affect most of the body’s systems, stressing the importance of raising awareness of the importance of quitting smoking, to secure a healthy life free of diseases for all members of society, stressing that the term smoking is not limited to smoking cigarettes only; Rather, it includes cigarettes, electronic hookahs, and others.
Dr. Wajdi Amin, Director General of the General Department of Chest Diseases and President of the Association for Combating Smoking, Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases, said that educational seminars were held for doctors and medical teams in chest hospitals to learn about the latest treatment protocols for bronchial asthma, as health education seminars were held in chest hospitals for patients and their families to identify symptoms. Bronchial asthma, how to properly use nebulizers used in treatment, and the most important causes and how to prevent them, in 20 chest hospitals (Abbasia – May 15th – Khalifah – Marj – Shebeen El-Koum – Mahalla – Tanta – Menouf – Kafr El-Sheikh – Damanhour – Mansoura – Dikernes – Bahout – Al-Mamoura – Kom Al-Shoqafa – Damietta – Port Said – Suez – Fayoum – Assiut), and respiratory function tests were conducted through lung health clinics located in chest hospitals for those who frequented these clinics.
Dr. Fatima Al-Awa, Advisor to the “Tobacco Free Initiative” of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, said that the campaign that the organization is launching for this year 2023 seeks to replace tobacco cultivation with the cultivation of food products, in order to confront the global food crisis, and given the damage that tobacco cultivation causes to our health. And the health of farmers, stressing that the campaign is working to encourage governments to end subsidies granted to tobacco cultivation and direct them to support farmers to grow more sustainable crops to improve food security and raise awareness in societies.
On the sidelines of the press conference, scientific discussion sessions and competitions were held between chest departments in the governorates to raise awareness of chest diseases. A number of workers in the medical sector and the awareness and community communication team at the media office were also honored for their role in spreading awareness and correcting concepts regarding asthma and smoking control.
