World Asthma Day message homes in to better control of the condition

Today is World Asthma Day.World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. World Asthma Day 2013 will take place on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 and the theme will continue to be "You Can Control Your Asthma." As part of this global initiative, Dr Stephen Montfort was the guest speaker for the Malta Association For Sufferers of Asthma. [23video id="8112968" token="9dc78949e3b01d20a5f5c45f746394ac" width="665" height="374"] Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by recurrent breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing.  During normal breathing, air flows freely into and out of the lungs.  But when asthma is not under control, the airways of the lungs are thick, swollen, and inflamed.  The airways become overly sensitive to environmental changes, and an asthma attack can happen easily.  During an asthma attack, the lining of the airways swells, muscles around the airways tighten, and mucus clogs the tiny airways in the lungs, making breathing difficult. Asthma symptoms vary from hour to hour, from day to day, from week to week, and over months.  They are often worse at night and in the early hours of the morning.  The severity of asthma also varies from individual to individual. Although asthma cannot be cured, it can be effectively treated. Research shows that with proper treatment, nearly all asthma patients can achieve and maintain good asthma control, enabling them to participate in school, work, and other normal activities and prevent visits to the emergency department and hospital.