Moderate to Severe Asthmatics at risk of Severe Covid-19

Moderate to Severe Asthmatics at risk of Severe Covid-19

@healthbiztips by Arlene Gentallan | Healthbiztips

Covid-19 is already a formidable disease on it's own that has quickly escalated into a pandemic with thousands of death toll across the globe, but it seems to be a much greater threat to people afflicted with comorbidities such as asthma, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

On this blog post, we'll be looking into how covid-19 impacts individuals with asthma, a chronic disease marked by remissions and exacerbations, characterized by constriction of the airway passage that leads to difficulty of breathing and excess mucus secretions.

Moderate to Severe Asthmatics at risk of Severe Covid-19 | Healthbiztips

The CDC does claim that there is an increased likelihood that individuals with moderate to severe forms of asthma will manifest more severe symptoms from covid-19. This raises real concern, since 1 in every 13 people are asthmatics. Airways of asthmatics are hyperactive and overreact to particles such pollen, dust, viruses, and even to stress and negative emotions.

Covid-19 is a disease that destroys air sacs (alveoli), pair that up with asthma, a life-long disease that causes airway constriction, and you get a grim picture. Although, it is worth noting that having asthma does not raises one's chance of contracting the disease in the first place. As it is, infection with covid-19 happens when the virus that causes it (called SARS-CoV-2) enters the nose, mouth, or eye. Asthma does, however, worsens one's recovery outcome.

Reports claimed that chronic respiratory disease increases one's likelihood of dying from covid-19 by up to 8%. Asthma, as a pre-existing medical condition, surpasses cancer in terms of death rate from covid-19. Meanwhile, among confirmed cases with cardiovascular disease, death rate from covid-19 is at 13.2%, 9.2% among diabetics, 8.4% among hypertensives, and 7.6% among cancer patients.

Furthermore, a study on a small number of patients shows that there is an increased likelihood of being hospitalized from covid-19 among asthmatics ages 18 to 49 years old.

Another concern among asthmatics is the fact that the steroid or corticosteroid they regularly take to prevent a flare-up of the disease suppresses one's immune system which is particularly true among those taking high doses of systemic corticosteroids. However, experts urge people with asthma to continue taking their maintenance medications as it ultimately prevents life-threatening asthma attacks. Moreover, having a controlled asthma decreases one's chance of visiting the Emergency Department, and thereby, reduces contact with suspected covid-19 carriers.

At this point, the best way to deal with covid-19, not just among asthmatics, but also among the general public, is to prevent being infected in the first place. This can be accomplished by enforcing measures such as hand washing, social distancing, wearing of masks, and avoiding touching one's face. For asthma patients, make it a point to continue taking your maintenance medication and inhaler in order to prevent an exacerbation which can greatly compound the situation. Typical symptoms of asthma like shortness of breath, difficulty of breathing, and cough can closely mimic those of covid-19.