(Source: www.asthma.ie)
A young woman with severe asthma says people need much more education about the condition and other invisible illnesses.
Rachel Murray from Sligo says she feels the condition is often disregarded or played down because people don’t realise how severe it can be.
She says as well as the typical coughing, she has to do clearing exercises to empty out her lungs so they don’t get infected, and she often has to deal with severe pain.
She also wants them to learn more about the condition:
“You can have asthma, but there are varying degrees of it…everyone’s symptoms are very, very different. And it’s just understanding that if you have intermittent asthma and you’re prescribed a blue inhaler, that’s very different to myself, where I’m taking four inhalers a day and a daily nebulizer and medication to try and control the inflammation in my airways.”
One Week, Ten Million Steps - Here s How We re Getting On
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Mairead s producer Pamela Blake is working from home at the moment and they only get to see each other over video chats each day, but Pamela joined Mairead on the show to tell her about her plans to take part in Asthma Awareness Week.
Pamela has asthma, which is part of the reason she has been working from home, and she s really happy to be taking part in the Love Your Lungs challenge with the Asthma Society of Ireland.
They re asking people to sign up for the virtual challenge and stroll, stretch or stride their way to a collective 10 million steps over the course of the week.