The social stigma that could kill: Teenagers with asthma are putting themselves at risk of life-threatening attacks because they are too embarrassed to use their inhalers

Teenagers with asthma are putting themselves at risk of life-threatening attacks by not using their inhalers enough because of the 'social stigma'.
Because of this, youngsters with the common respiratory condition are using inhalers just a quarter of the recommended time.
A new report found that teens feel having asthma is portrayed as 'weakness' in film and on television.
That the shape of some inhalers 'resemble sex toys' was also found to be a common concern, as well as a dislike of being labelled with a chronic illness.
Adolescents also had fears about side effects such as weight gain and spots and other factors for low usage included forgetfulness, lack of routine and not having a good inhaler technique.....

Read more here: dailymail.co.uk

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Teenagers with asthma 'fear being mocked'

14th June 2017 – Many teenagers with asthma are embarrassed to use their inhalers in front of classmates and worry they'll be mocked about their condition, an analysis has shown.
The research, based on 10 years of posts by teenagers and their parents to an online forum, reveals how youngsters fear they'll be picked on and shunned by their peers because they have asthma.
Some didn't want their friends to label them as having a chronic illness, while others were mortified that their particular inhaler looked like a sex toy.....

Read more here: webmd.boots.com

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Asthma biologic may reduce oral steroid use

Oral corticosteroid-dependent patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma who were treated with benralizumab were more than 4 times as likely to reduce their oral corticosteroid (OCS) dose than those in a placebo group, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The findings were also simultaneously presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2017 International Congress in May.
Benralizumab is a biologic—a human monoclonal antibody—directed against the interleukin-5 receptor (IL-5Ra) that induces direct, rapid, and near complete depletion of eosinophils via antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC).....

Read more here: formularyjournal.modernmedicine.com