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BREATH FRESH AIR

20 years back if you had asked me about Preventive Medicine I would have just Laughed it off. Because at that time preventive medicine and community medicine were never considered interesting. 25 years after completing MBBS I realized that I have missed a golden opportunity to go deep into this field.

This field of respiratory medicine has diseases which are either chronic or diseases that have a stigma. For example one would not confidently say that he was treated for TB or has TB and is on treatment. In the same vein the parents do not want their child labeled as asthmatic. Any other label is welcome but not asthma. This is because ignorance about respiratory diseases deep rooted even among the educated elite.

We in the Respiratory Research Foundation are bent upon creating awareness on respiratory diseases. Our motto is "TB is curable, asthma is controllable, smoking is avoidable and cancer is treatable." This we have been trying to spread through news paper, Rotary clubs, schools and Face to Face programmes.

The last page of this bulletin will tell you the milestones that we have covered in the last 4 years. I am not alone in my crusade. I have a formidable team of board members helping me in spreading this message. Lots of philanthropists, members, doctors, donors and pharmaceutical companies have also helped me in lighting this lamp of awareness and making it brighter.

We are into our Fifth year now we are confident that we will cross many more milestones.

With regards

yours in RRFI

Dr.R. Narasimhan

Inhalers?? Addiction ??

Whenever I start writing a prescription for an inhalers the patient and the parents get worried about it. First question they ask is if it is good for the lunge? Is it habit forming or addiction? Is it good for heart or would it weaken the lungs? Should I use it only when the attack is severe?

The Answers to these questions is very simple. Inhalation is good for the lungs for it teaches you a controlled tidal respiration, breath holding and blowing out.

It can not be called addiction or habit forming. We eat our food daily to keep fit, We don't call ourselves addicted to food. It is necessity. So are the inhalers. If  your conditions such that you have a mild persistent asthma you need to use it on regular basis. When the attack is severe inhalers are useless.

In brief inhalers are the best non addiction forming, harmless (for lungs and heart) device which can be used when the attack is mild and persistent.