South Africa has an alarming death rate when it comes to Asthma. It is recorded that the country has the world’s highest death rate when it comes to asthma.
With about 15, 000 deaths each year. It is conservatively estimated that 80% of asthma deaths could be prevented with better treatment.
Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing) when you breathe out and shortness of breath.
For some people, asthma is a minor nuisance. For others, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack.
And, although Asthma can not be cured, its symptoms can be controlled with “better treatment” says Professor Michael Levin who is also a Professor of Paediatric Allergology at the University of Cape Town.
A revolutionary new device called the AfriSpacer™ has been launched in South Africa, which makes inhalation of medication from an asthma pump easier and far more effective. It was launched in South Africa by the Allergy Foundation of South Africa.
Professor Levin explains that when using an asthma pump (metered dose inhaler) without a spacer, most of the spray hits the back of the throat, with only 9% of the medication actually reaching the lungs.
“The AfriSpacer™ is a device that slows the speed of the spray from an asthma pump and successfully directs more medication into the lungs. Using the AfriSpacer™ allows 1.7 times more medicine to reach the lungs – making it more effective than a home nebuliser, or dry powder inhaler. A spacer is basically a chamber filled with air, with the asthma pump fitting into the back. When you spray the pump inside the chamber and then breathe this air into your lungs, the spray has time to go into the deepest part of the lungs where it is needed the most,” says Professor Levin.
According to Professor Heather Zar, a paediatric pulmonologist and head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, says the AfriSpacer™ is recommended for all children, and for adults with difficult-to-control asthma.
“For adults and children able to use a single breath inhalation technique, the AfriSpacer™ alone is recommended. For young children who cannot take a single breath in and then hold their breath, the AfriSpacer™ should be paired with the one-way AfriValve™ which allows them to inhale the asthma medication at their own pace, with normal breathing. For very small babies who cannot put the spacer in their mouths properly, the AfriSpacer™ with AfriValve™ can be used with a face mask. The AfriSpacer™ and AfriValve™ can be easily washed and reused, making them safe, effective and durable.”
“As a passionate advocate for improving child health in South Africa, and ensuring all children have access to effective interventions, I am so pleased that my humble cooldrink bottle prototype provided the groundwork for the AfriSpacer™ now being launched in South African,” says Professor Zar.
Many of the AfriSpacer’s™ and AfriValve’s™ were distributed free of charge to public hospitals and clinics across South Africa and Zimbabwe.
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