00:00Joining us is Ken Mendez, CEO of AAFA. Thank you so much for being with us and discussing this
00:05important topic. Let's start with why does asthma get worse this time of year and who is most at
00:10risk? Yeah, so what happens is you've got the fall allergy season. There's ragweed pollen,
00:16which is the primary culprit. Kids start coming back to school in September, and so they've got
00:22allergies and they're spreading infections and respiratory illnesses in the classroom,
00:27and then they spread that to adults, and that's why we have something called peak week. So it
00:32generally happens when the fall allergy season is happening along with respiratory infections that
00:38spread in the classroom. I'd say 25 percent of hospital stays in children from asthma happens
00:45in September. All right. Detroit topped this year's list. What makes some places more difficult for
00:53people with asthma? Yeah, well, it's really about where you live, and that's one of the things
00:59that we try and highlight with this report. We use three things to rank the city's emergency room
01:05visits, prevalence, and hospitals and mortality. Excuse me. And so, you know, Detroit ranks high
01:15in those areas. It's got a high poverty rate and certainly a lot of pollution in that area,
01:20and then that could be a trigger for asthma. What are some of the factors that make asthma
01:26so difficult to live with? Yeah, well, certainly air quality and making sure you have access to your
01:34right medication. So making sure your asthma is well controlled. There's something called allergic
01:39asthma. Again, there's the allergy season that can trigger your asthma. So understanding what the
01:46allergy season is being like staying indoors, having an air filter indoors, understanding what your
01:51triggers are, and making sure you see your specialist, see a doctor so you understand what your triggers
01:57are and so you can get on the right kind of medication. All right. What can people do right now to better
02:03manage their asthma this fall? Yeah, well, there are a couple things that they could do first is, one,
02:09understand your triggers and make sure you minimize your exposure to those triggers. So if it's pollen
02:16and allergic asthma, you want to stay indoors during high pollen release times. And also you want to make
02:22sure that you have access to your medication. So you have a stock of medication on hand and that your
02:28asthma is well controlled. And then there's something called an asthma action plan for people. You can
02:33download it for free from our website. And it's the standard of care, which is like a scorecard,
02:39red, yellow, and green. So green, you know, you're in good shape with your asthma, but yellow,
02:44you're starting to have symptoms. You need to take certain medications and red means maybe you need
02:48to go see a hospital or a doctor. For much of the eastern part of the United States, Mr. Mendez,
02:55it's been warm and dry. I assume those conditions are more suitable for higher problems with asthma?
03:04I think it really depends on what your triggers are. So certainly dust could be a trigger for that
03:13if you've got indoor allergies. And certainly the warmth can be a challenge for some as well. It
03:21really depends on what your triggers are. And that's why we say all the time, see a doctor,
03:26because asthma really varies for depending upon who you are and what your triggers are.
03:33Excellent advice. Thank you so much. Ken Mendez, CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation.
03:38Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.
