#PODCAST New study reveals that South Africans are dangerously over-using asthma reliever pumps #sabcnews

A recent study has revealed that South Africans are dangerously over-using asthma reliever pumps. The recently published SABINA III study primarily set out to review asthma short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) prescription patterns among South African patients. The findings were conclusive, showing over-prescription and over-the-counter purchase of the reliever pump to be widespread, despite the new guidelines in place for treating the illness. Asthma, which is an inflammatory condition of the airways, affects more than 339-million people globally. In South Africa, more than 20 percent of children and 10-15 percent of adults have asthma. Pulmonologist, Dr Sabs Abdool-Gaffar, says overuse of the blue SABA reliever pump and the underusage of anti-inflammatory maintenance medication is a serious problem for the country's asthma patients...