ACT Health’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Paul Kelly has reminded residents in the Territory who suffer from asthma and hay fever in the warmer months to begin managing their conditions early.
Dr Kelly said people with asthma and hay fever and those who wheeze or sneeze in Spring, should see their GP to make sure their asthma and hay fever management plan is in place.
“Asthma and hay fever are significant health problems in the ACT with one-in-nine Canberrans suffering from asthma and one-in-four residents experiencing hay fever — the highest rate in Australia” Dr Kelly said.
“With Spring now here, many people with these conditions will experience worsening of their symptoms due to an increase in grass and other pollens being present in the air.”
He encouraged people to seek a GP’s advice on putting a management plan in place saying pharmacies also offered hay fever treatments and could provide advice on how to use them most effectively.
Dr Kelly said that in extraordinary circumstances the combination of high pollen levels and a particular type of thunderstorm could severely affect people with hay fever who might have undiagnosed asthma.
Known as thunderstorm asthma, he said it was a rare, but potentially life threatening scenario when certain environmental factors were triggered.
“A useful resource to help Canberrans monitor pollen levels is the free AirRater Smartphone app which provides users with real-time information on air quality,” Dr Kelly said.
The AirRater app can be downloaded from this PS News link.
