A Scots charity is warning students to get “asthma ready” amid fears of an onslaught of emergency admissions.
Rising rates of ‘flu and Covid coupled with cold, damp, and dusty housing are putting students’ lungs on the line as the colder weather sets in
Asthma + Lung UK Scotland has issued a “winter’s coming” warning to university undergraduates as emergency asthma admissions in young people pick up in the first few weeks of term.
Recent four-year-average data from the charity has revealed that asthma hospitalisations in young people in Scotland aged between 15 and 24 nearly doubles between the summer and autumn with an average increase of 314 hospitalisations to 578.
Mould, damp, viruses, vapour and air pollution can all take their toll on the lungs of students who often struggle to get consistent care.
And with colder weather just around the corner, the charity is calling on students to make their asthma a priority by taking their inhalers as prescribed, registering with a GP, and knowing what to do if they have an asthma attack.
The warning comes as the NHS Scotland gets ready for a surge of winter admissions with viruses like RSV, flu, and Covid already rising.
The number of emergency respiratory hospitalisations are expected to soar across all age groups – potentially reaching 2602 a day, based on last year’s figures, as temperatures plummet.
In a recent survey carried out by Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, four out of five people surveyed in Scotland said seasonal infections like colds and flu worsened their asthma symptoms with 69% reporting that cold air aggravated their symptoms. One in five who reported living in cold or damp said their housing has affected their lung condition.
But in the same survey it was revealed that only 24% of people with asthma in Scotland is receiving basic asthma care – including an annual review, an inhaler technique check and a written asthma action plan.
Poor care is thought to be a much higher issue amongst students as many who have left home may be struggling to get face-to-face appointments or to keep on top of their prescriptions.
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, said: “Winter and cold weather is a difficult time for anyone with a lung condition as respiratory viruses really start to circulate and hospital emergency admissions rise, so students with asthma really need to make sure they have everything in place to control their asthma.”