By MONICA KAYOMBO,Zambia Lusaka
ASTHMA is one of the most challenging Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs). That reality that Asthma is one of the most challenging CRDs that Cape Town among other towns is dealing with, hit home during a recent media visit to the Pediatric Asthma Centre at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, where parents shared how hard it is to even get a diagnosis.
For Philip Hanson 48, she and her family thought her daughter just had an ordinary sneeze and real answers came much, much later. Her daughter Lauren, now 7, was misdiagnosed with flu and fever for nine months before doctors confirmed Asthma.
“At first, Lauren just had sneezes,.The second time, she had a sneeze on Friday, plus flu and a fever. I went to the pharmacy for Panadol,” Ms Hanson said.
Days later, Ms Hanson was at work when her son called to tell her that Lauren was struggling to breathe.
She said, “I told him to rush her to hospital. That is when they detected Asthma.”
Lauren now takes daily chewable Asthma tablets and uses an inhaler.
Her symptoms started as eczema, which later developed into asthma at age seven.
“This was the first time I heard that Asthma and eczema go together,” Ms Hanson said.
Lauren is also allergic to cats, dogs, carpets, dust, and more.
The Asthma diagnosis changed everything.
Ms Hanson reduced her work hours to three days a week to care for her daughter.
“When Lauren has flu, sneezing and fever, I know an attack is coming.”
Leijties Ellen is raising two sons, Jaylen and Juston, both diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at six months old.
“Cystic fibrosis is a lung disease. It is treatable but not curable,” she said.
Jaylen has been in and out of hospital since infancy. His condition only stabilized after he started tricaftal, a new treatment.
“Since Jaylen went on tricaftal, there’s been a huge difference. His health improves every day,” she added
“Caring for two chronically ill children is “frustrating and emotional,” Ms Ellen admits. She adds that with the support from doctors, social workers, family, and her partner, the weight isn’t as heavy.
She quit her job after the diagnosis and now relies on a dependency grant. Her advice to parents in similar situations to hand on to Prayer and care for mental health.
Sasha Leigh’s daughter, Sadrah Isaacs, is just eight months old and already battling frequent asthma attacks.
Living with her mother in Cape Town, Ms Leigh quit her job to care for Sadrah.
“It has not been easy,” she said.
While she receives a government dependency allowance, it is not enough as she also supports other children and her retired mother.
Here is a bigger picture on CRDs, these types of diseases are under reported and under-diagnosed.
Asthma causes chronic airway inflammation, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Globally, CRDs including asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) affect half a billion people. Asthma alone impacts over 260 million. COPD kills more than 3.5 million annually, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Beyond the health toll, these diseases carry a massive economic burden.
Yet the major newspapers like The New York Times,, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald have published only a handful of articles on Asthma and COPD according to information in the public domain.
Diagnosing Asthma is notoriously difficult, which is why CRD cases remain under-reported worldwide.
To bridge the gap, the WHO and Pace University recently trained African journalists on CRDs. The programme combined classroom sessions with field visits to deepen reporters’ knowledge and connect them with experts.
The goal was to raise and spur action.
One stop for the journalist and WHO delegation including Dr Jose Luis Castro, Director General Special Envoy for CRDs at WHO was the Pediatric Asthma Centre at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, where Professor Michael Levin who is in charge of Pediatric Allergology at the University of Cape Town, broke down Asthma using visual aids.
Prof. Levin explained that Asthma “controllers” like brown steroid inhalers are used daily, while “relievers” are only used during attacks. Short-acting relievers include Salbutamol. Long-acting options are Formoterol and Salmeterol, while Vilanterol is ultra-long-acting.
He said all should be used under medical supervision to open the lungs.
He added that Cape Town’s long pollen seasons. Cape Town is famous for its flowers that drive up Asthma and allergy rates.
The delegation also visited Heideveld Community Day Clinic’s COPD Clinic and the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation’s Masiphumelele research site.
For parents like Ms Philip, Leijties, and Ms Sasha, Asthma is not just a medical term, it is reduced work hours, lost jobs, hospital dashes, and daily vigilance.
For the world, it is a half-billion-person crisis that is still not getting enough headlines.
Sasha Leigh, mother of an eight-month old daughter Sandra
Philip Hanson 48 with her daughter Lauren.
