May is Asthma Awareness Month

It's important to be educated about asthma.

     Every May, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) marks National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month by providing crucial information about this chronic disease. This is especially since, according to CBS News, many people with the disease don't want to spend time educating others about it because it isn't taken seriously enough by the general public. 

     Here are some facts and statistics that everyone should know about asthma in honor of the mission of this month:

  • Asthma is a chronic disease. This means it can't be cured, and symptoms are likely to appear and reappear throughout a person's life. These symptoms can include wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and a tight feeling in the chest, and sometimes come in the form of potentially deadly attacks.
  • Asthma costs lives. Many people consider asthma to be a less serious disease than others that have higher death tolls, but people do lose their lives to the condition, and more often than you might think. For example, in 2013, more than 100 people died from asthma in North Carolina alone, and 9 people die every day around the country as a result of asthma attacks.
  • Air pollution has a strong effect on asthma. Children who are exposed to high levels of air pollution in the womb and in childhood have been shown to be more likely to develop asthma, and high-pollution days can trigger the symptoms.
  • Asthma is one of the country's most costly diseases. More than two million emergency room visits and 14 million doctor visits per year are attributed to asthma. 

     One thing you can do to reduce your asthma symptoms is to invest in a home air purifier. Contact US Air Purifiers today for more information.