Asthma In Thai Schools

[GuestHouse]

I know this is a health issue, but the information I am looking for is school specific - So I hope the mod will indulge me with this survey

Schools in the UK are reporting asthma levels of around 20% and when the subject of asthma comes up polution is often blamed - but I suspect polution is not the significant cause - or at least the significant polution may not be vehicle polution.

So I was wondering if the teachers here might help out with a straw pole survey.

Would you mind taking time to answer these questions:

What is the asthma rate amoung students in your classes?

1. % of sufferes per class

2. Age range of classes

3. Location of school (District of Bangkok or other town in Thailand)

In order to avoid contamination of survey figures, can I ask you to PM me your input and I'll provide a summary when I have some results.

Thanking you in anticipation of your time.

[bina]

just out of curiousity...

i have two out of three kids with asthma: one is chronic, one has what is called 'sport asthma'....at home.

just how are teachers supposed to know what kids have what when many doctors cant even i.d. asthma (my son doesnt wheeze but his lung functions are low in allergy season for instance; my daughter wheezes acutely, but only three minutes after stress (running etc)... and in thailand do u really think that (the poorer families) their kids have been i.d.'d as asthmatic?). i saw kids who were deaf, in 5th grade, w/no hearing aids; dyslexic kids who couldnt read in 6 th grade, ADHD kids bouncing around classes and getting boxed in the ear and i tried to explain aobut learning difficulties and health issues and got blank looks ...

i've tried to explain to my thai workers here in israel that my kids use ventolin and buticort etc; allergy pills etc.... i get blank looks...

so what is the point??

also, from what my mother says (ex respiratory therapist), asthma was always around, just at young ages doctors misdiagnosed as pneumonia; also infant mortality was higher from respiratory problems than now adays. now,its called 'chronic bronchospasm' in many many children under age 7; after age seven, its called asthma.... children w/persistant cough but never acute may never get i.d.'d if they dont reach hospital for instance...

so its been around a long time just identified more acurately: my son was 10 before he was checked officialy for asthma by a lung doctor; my daughter , just recently at age 11, even with history in family, allergies, etc.

forgot to add: causes of asthma: my daughter had unidentified chlamydia for months before she was checked and her natural propensity for asthma has just been exarcerbated;

genetics, allergies, passive smoking, industrial asthma (workers exposed to formalin, etc),chlamydia pneumone infection, etc are base causes: stress, pollution (we live near a quarry)can be instigators,as can climatic changes, such as intense cold (my niece has acute attacks in winter only when exposed to freezing boston air), high humidity, etc....

good luck!

Edited May 23, 2005 by bina