Better Asthma Management this Lung Month and Beyond: At-home nebulization advised by experts for the treatment of asthma and other lung ailments

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Respiratory diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines, with pneumonia, COPD, all forms of tuberculosis and other lung infections affecting millions of Filipinos.

Asthma, a major noncommunicable disease (NCD), is one of the most prevalent health conditions in the country. About 21 million Filipinos suffer from asthma. The country ranks second in asthma mortality worldwide across all ages, with deaths caused by it accounting for 2.37 percent of total deaths in the country.[1] Asthma can affect people across all ages, but it is most common among children. Besides breathing difficulties, its effects include trouble sleeping, fatigue and poor concentration. On top of the health and wellness concerns, long-time care can negatively impact one’s financial well-being.

So, what can be done to help patients with asthma, especially this Lung Month?

Easing the burden of asthma

There is still no cure for asthma, unfortunately. But effective management can help control the symptoms so that asthma patients can enjoy an active, normal life.

“Long-term control medications are definitely important in managing asthma. But knowing that asthma attacks can be sudden, the most reliable solution is quick-relief medications,” said Dr. Dex Macalintal, a registered nutritionist-dietitian and one of the pioneers of lifestyle medicines in the Philippines. “One of the most recommended ways for quick relief and to address asthma symptoms is the use of nebulizers at home.”

Dr. Mitch Syquia, a pulmonologist-pediatrician and former chief resident of the Department of Pediatrics at Perpetual Help Medical Center, shares the same view. “Having a nebulizer unit and medication at home makes a lot of difference, particularly for children with asthma. Besides giving quick relief, this reduces and even eliminates the need to go to the hospital or seek emergency assistance during asthma exacerbations. This is why I always tell my pediatric asthmatic patients and their families to do at-home nebulization,” she said.

OMRON Healthcare, one of the most trusted brands for clinically proven medical equipment among Filipinos, has long been an advocate of accessible health management and solutions. In its commitment to promote awareness for at-home nebulization and in celebration of this year’s Lung Month, Omron has announced a price promotion of P300 off its nebulizer products in line with its Relax Ka Lungs campaign. The promotional pricing on select OMRON nebulizer products will be in effect until October 31, 2022.

Also as part of OMRON’s Relax Ka Lungs campaign, both Dr. Dex Macalintal and Dr. Mitch Syquia will delve deeper into asthma management in an upcoming episode of OkiDoc. The said episode will be livestreamed on August 26, 2022 via the official Facebook pages for OMRON Healthcare and Hello Doctor, and YouTube page of Dr. Dex Macalintal. During the show, viewers will have the chance to raise questions about and discuss lung-related concerns with experts.

 

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About OMRON Healthcare Business

Committed to advance health and empower people worldwide to live life to the fullest, OMRON Healthcare is a global leader in the field of clinically proven, innovative medical equipment for home health monitoring and therapy. The company develops and provides remote patient monitoring services for cardiovascular condition management.

Throughout its history, OMRON Healthcare has been striving to improve lives and contribute to a better society by developing innovations that help people prevent, treat, and manage their medical conditions, both at home and in clinical practice in over 110 countries.

With over 300 million devices sold globally*, OMRON provides the world’s most recommended blood pressure monitors by healthcare professionals**. The company provides product and service solutions for cardiovascular condition management, respiratory care, and pain therapy equipment. OMRON Healthcare Group is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan

To learn more, please visit:

https://www.omronhealthcare-ap.com/ph    

International: https://www.healthcare.omron.com/

                      

*1 “Global Home Appliance Market Comprehensive Survey 2020”, Fuji Keizai Co., Ltd. (data for 2019)

*2 Cumulative sales of home-use digital blood pressure monitors worldwide (as of May. 2021)

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[1] Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2020

 

GSK with Arnel Pineda presents the winners of 2015 Search for the Winners Against Asthma

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Christine Jacob-Sandejas and Arnel Pineda

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s leading, research-based pharmaceutical companies announced the winners of its of its Search for the Winners Against Asthma (SWAA).

With the mission to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer,  after months of deliberation and almost 2,000 entries nationwide, GSK and the winners presents defying the odds and prove resilience against asthma.

2015 Winners Against Asthma campaign

“A lot of asthma patients have accepted lifestyle restrictions resulting from uncontrolled asthma as the norm, assuming that frequent symptoms, exacerbations and lifestyle limitations are an inevitable consequence of having asthma. With the Search for Winners Against Asthma campaign, we hope to encourage and inspire more young people to live their lives to the fullest and not let asthma prevent them from doing the things they love.”

Dr. Barangan also credits actress Kim Chiu, International Rock superstar Arnel Pineda, and Filipino Olympic Figure Skater Michael Christian Martinez for helping them spread awareness of this campaign. 

“Kim, Arnel and Michael are asthmatics who have proven not only to themselves but to the entire world that they can take control of their condition and never let their asthma stop them from following their dreams and achieving success in their very competitive careers,” Barangan added.

Launched in February 2015, the Search for Winners Against Asthma is a nationwide search for young asthmatic achievers aged 30 years and younger who are outstanding in their respective fields despite having asthma and inspire asthma sufferers that they, too, can win against the condition.

“We decided to target this particular age group because asthma is a common chronic disease of childhood leading to reduced activity, school absences, ER visits and hospitalizations, says Dr. Gio Barangan, GSK Medical Director. 

“It is also during this stage that young people are in the process of developing the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable them to achieve their goals in life, and as such we want to let them know that asthma should not deter them from realizing their full potential,” Barangan added. 

In the youth category of 19 years old and below, Christian Lacza, a student from Navotas City was judged as the grand prize winner. 

Christian is one of the 2014 Kabayan Ten Outstanding Public School Students, and 2014 Ten Outstanding Youth Leaders of Navotas City. He was also an awardee of the 2010 Gawad Huwarang Kabataan of the Antolin Oreta Sr. Foundation and Gawad Modelong Kabataan: Galing at Dangal ng Malabon of the Arnold Vicencio Foundation. He is also the youngest recipient of the Orator of the Year Award in Navotas National High School. 

“When I was young, my asthma attacks were so severe that my mother would have to bring me to the hospital almost weekly. This made me realize that if I cannot excel in physical activities, I have to discover and focus on my other strengths,” says Christian.

“Going to my pediatrician was a constant necessity, and she made sure I get the proper medication and treatment, but more than that she never failed to cheer me up and would always give me words of encouragement whenever I visited her.” 

“Instead of letting asthma stop me I stopped asthma from interfering with my life as I pushed myself as a holistic learner-- excelling in academics, student leadership and in various competitions.” 

The runner up winners in the youth category are 15-year old student and dancer Christina Chua; taekwondo twins Andre Rafael and Anton Joachim Montero; consistent student scholar Kenneth Angelo Bagay and Dave Andre Labaton who is also a taekwondo medalist.

In the adult category, incoming third year medical student Teesha Banta was judged as the winner. The 23-year old student from St. Luke’s College of Medicine, was a full scholar in her first two years of med school and graduated Cum Laude from University of the Philippines Los Banos with the degree of BS Biology Major in Wildlife Biology. 

She is a lifetime member in two international honor societies but besides her academic achievements, she is also actively involved in community service. As an active Girl Scout, Teesha received two of the highest awards given by the organization-- the Chief Girl Scout Medal and is one the 75 GSP National Young Awardees. She had represented the country in national and international events, specifically as an advocate and a National Peer Educator on Adolescent Female Health. 

“Asthma runs in our family but symptoms of severe asthma began when I was in college, which, unfortunately, was also the time when I was so involved in my schoolwork and scouting. My mother, who is a doctor and is also an asthmatic, helped me through most of my journey by taking care of me and reminding me to take my medicines. Actually, because of my asthma, I had to temporarily stop med school because bed rest was advised. But it did not stop me from taking a part-time job as a high school Science teacher. Besides being a doctor, teaching was my second dream job”, Teesha narrates.

“Every time I have my asthma attacks, the only thing on my mind is to get well so I could go back to studying and become a doctor to prove that asthma should not stop you from pursuing your dreams.”

Teesha said she plans to become an OB-GYN or specialize in Pediatric Pulmonology so she could treat asthmatic children.

Her message to other asthmatics? “During our many asthma attacks, we may feel powerless and helpless. We do not have the strength that non-asthmatics have and it may feel like it is the end of our dreams, I had that feeling when I had to temporarily stop med school because of my asthma. Well, these are all lies. Our condition is but another challenge that adds more meaning to each of our achievements, an opportunity to push harder, aim higher, and be better persons and citizens of our country. Perhaps we were given this condition because we have the ability to turn these "setbacks" into “set-ups” of better things to come. We can defeat asthma and we can conquer our dreams!”

The other winners in the adult category are UP student Ianna Engaño an athlete, musician, artist and social activist; Yasmin Versoza a firefighter and member of the Marikina City Fire Truck crew; Christianne de Vera a triathlete; and Yliah Nina Bosch a registered nurse who is working as an Emergency Nurse Responder at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The winners receive the prizes: Huawei P7 Smart Phone; Five Thousand (PhP5,000) worth of GCs from Folded & Hung and Twenty Five Thousand (PhP25,000) worth of Sodexo gift certificates.

For more information about the Search for Winners Against Asthma campaign, visit www.facebook.com/WinAgainstAsthma

GSK launches the Search for Winners Against Asthma 2015

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Asthma is characterized by inflammation of the bronchial tubes with increased production of sticky secretions inside the tubes. People with asthma experience symptoms when the airways tighten, inflame, or fill with mucus. Common asthma symptoms include coughing, especially at night; Wheezing; Shortness of breath; Chest tightness, pain, or pressure.

People should know the early symptoms of Asthma. Early warning signs are changes that happen just before or at the very beginning of an asthma attack. These signs may start before the well-known symptoms of asthma and are the earliest signs that your asthma is worsening.

These signs are not severe enough to stop you from going about your daily activities. But by recognizing these signs, you can stop an asthma attack or prevent one from getting worse 

 Do you know what Kim Chiu, Arnel Pineda and Michael Christian Martinez have in common? They all have Asthma yet have accomplished so much in their respective fields.

Do you know of a friend, loved one or relative who are winning against asthma as well? Do you want them recognized as winners against asthma just like Kim, Arnel and Christian?

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies  launches the Search for Winners Against Asthma 2015 last February 5. 

GSK launches the Search for Winners Against Asthma 2015 last February 5 held at the Makati Shangrila Hotel, Makati City.

The campaign aims to choose and recognize 10 young asthmatic achievers from different walks of life. 

The advocacy likewise introduces Olympic figure skater Michael Christian Martinez as the new face of the campaign. Martinez, an asthmatic, began experiencing asthmatic bronchitis when he was just two months old. 

He recalls being in the hospital frequently and says the cold rink actually helped improve his health. “Year after year my health keeps improving, so my mother fully supported me to continue skating saying it's better to spend the money on skating than in the hospital.” 

The program is a nationwide search for young asthmatic achievers aged 30 years and younger who are outstanding in their respective fields despite having asthma and inspire asthma sufferers that they, too, can win against asthma. 

The Search for Winners Against Asthma will run from February until May 2015 and will be touring different schools and drugstore outlets to spread the advocacy and invite more people to join the campaign.

The deadline for submission of entries is on March 31, 2015. All entries will be screened during the first week of April. As we celebrate World Asthma Day on May 5, the top 20 finalists will be announced and will be immediately followed by online voting. The top 10 Winners Against Asthma will be announced and awarded by the 3rd week of May 2015. 

This advocacy campaign is supported by the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), Philippine Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP), Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (PSAAI), Huawei and Folded & Hung.

For more information please visit http://www.facebook.com/winagainstasthma

Last February 2014, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) launched Win Against Asthma Today -- an integrated advocacy campaign aimed at increasing awareness and amplify existing efforts to spread information about asthma and how it can be managed. 

The campaign also encourages patients to consult their doctors and discuss the best way to manage their asthma. 

A lot of asthma patients do not realise that they are settling by accepting as normal the lifestyle restrictions resulting from uncontrolled asthma. Patients unnecessarily accept symptoms, assuming that frequent symptoms, exacerbations and lifestyle limitations are an inevitable consequence of having asthma. They may feel that although current treatments can alleviate their asthma symptoms, they just need to accept and bear that it normally happens. This is where the partnership and constant consult with their doctors become very important. 

To prove that the disease should not be a deterrent from living one’s life to the fullest, real asthma patients were invited to provide testimonies of their experiences and how won against the illness. Celebrity asthmatics, Kim Chiu and Arnel Pineda became the featured ambassadors for the first wave of the campaign. 

As more asthma patients become aware that they can win against asthma just like Kim and Arnel, the campaign aims to strengthen its pool of ambassadors to continuously inspire more patients to take control of their asthma. 

About GSK 

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com.

For further information on asthma, please consult your doctor. A health service message brought to you by GSK.