Today is World Asthma Day

Almost 4 million Canadians have asthma, making it the third-most common chronic disease nationwide. Regrettably, persons with asthma are so familiar with the dreadful sensation of labored breathing, which many others may associate with the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Today is World Asthma Day, organized every year by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. This year’s theme is “Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions”, with a particular focus on addressing the widely held myths that prevent some persons with asthma from benefiting from the major advances in its management.

For example, asthma is commonly misunderstood to be a childhood disease and contagious, both of which are false. In fact, asthma can occur at any age and is not infectious, though viral respiratory infections can trigger asthma attacks.

Watch the video and visit https://ginasthma.org/wad/ to learn the truths to more misconceptions about asthma, and spread the word!