Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Executive Manager Asthma Foundation NT Leanne Elliott-Holmes

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Executive Manager Asthma Foundation NT Leanne Elliott-Holmes · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio right now. I don't know
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: about you. If you're out there listening and you maybe
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: suffer from asthma like me, or you've maybe been struggling
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: a little bit more with your breathing. With some of
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the smoke around, some of the trees that or some
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: of the different I guess plants that I don't know
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: how it even happens pollinate, and some of the different
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: things that are in the air, you may be finding
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: that you've got to pull your puffer out a little
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: bit more often than what you usually would. Now joining
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: me in the studio is the executive manager of the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Asthma Foundation here in the Northern Territory, Leanne Elliott Holmes.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Leanne, morning Katie.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: I was literally leaving the gym this morning and I
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: could feel myself struggling a bit more to breathe than
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: what I usually usually do. I thought, I reckon, I
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: need to get the Asthma Foundation on and find out
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: if this is something that other people are feeling at
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: the moment, or if it's just like this all year round.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Na, thanks for having us.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Yes, it is a busy time with all the smoke
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: in the air, but also the dry season brings another
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: and a lot of other triggers like the colder evenings
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: and the older mornings is enough to trigger asthma as
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: well as our trees would our famous trees would tree
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: is in flour, so that's a big trigger. So that's
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: when we do get busy. But also it's our bushfire
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: season and so this is when we burn the bush
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: and so this is when we do see a lot
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: of people experiencing flare ups of their asthma.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, do you find that you have more people contacting
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: you guys to come in and have a chat about
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: their asthma or get in contact with you to find
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: out more about those services.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, definitely we do have a huge referral basis
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: from our GPS, but you can also self refer to us.
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: So if you are experiencing any problems with your asthma,
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: please give us a call. The thing with asthma too
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: is that it is triggered by certain things. And we
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: know that we might have a cold, cold winter here
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: in Darwen, but we do have a dry season and
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: also air cons can be a major trigger as well.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: But also a lot of people.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: Don't realize the link between hay fever and asthma, and
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: so if you're hay fever is not controlled, then your
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: asthma won't be controlled. So we need to be making
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: sure we are managing a hay fever so we can
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: manage our asthma. And we know that ninety percent of
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: people with asthma do not manage their asthma correctly, and
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: that simply could be not taking their medication correctly, like
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: not using a spacer like Katie, I've just found the
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: spacer out there, but no spacer, and we know that.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: We know that by spraying spraying a puffa into your mouth,
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: it doesn't matter how long you've had asthma, how good
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: a technique you think you have, and trust me, over
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: thirteen years with the Foundation, I've heard at all that
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: you will get less than twelve percent of your medication
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: if you spray directly into your mouth, So you should
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: be using it with a spacer because.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: Bust so the first thing I noticed.
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: So you know, by using a spacer you will actually
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: get over ninety percent of medication down into those airways.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: But that's what we're here for.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: You can even come in and we can do a
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: device technique so check that you are using your medication correctly,
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: check that you are using a spacer. We do have
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: the cheaper spaces available in in Darwin, so come and
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: see us. But we also do lung function testing and
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: it's recommended that everyone adults should have a review of
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: their asthma every twelve months or a week or when
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: they're having a flare up of their asthma, and that
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: would include a lung function test, which we do so
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: you can self refer for that, and then what we
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: do is we send those results with a letter to
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: your GP of choice and then we follow you up
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: whether it be three months, six monthly or twelve monthly.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Wow, well, I don't think that I have had a
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: long function test since I was about twelve lean, so I.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Think you need to come definitely.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: But you know, I reckon there'd be plenty of asthmatics
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: listening this morning who are probably in a similar situation
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: where you know, they've just been going along having the
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: medication that they've been having for years, and it might
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: be that there could be a bit of a change
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: that they could undertake.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, that's the thing about asthma. It is
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: very common.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: We know One in nine Australians have asthma and it
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: runs in families and it's a very strong gene, so
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: you do tend to get a little bit blase about
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: it and because.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: It is so common.
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: But sadly we do still have one a day die
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: from asthma in Australia and there's no cure for asthma.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: But it is a manageable condition and it is very
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: simple to manage that. But come and see us and
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: speak to us about how you can manage your asthma better.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: I do want to ask you as well with little ones.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: You know, with kids when they're diagnosed with asthma, I
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: would imagine that you know there's certain services that you
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: can help with at the Asthma Foundation into in terms
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: of their asthma plans for school and things like that
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: as well.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, ultimately the plan must be signed off by
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: a GP, but we do offer a lot of support
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: to parents, particularly when children are newly diagnosed. And these
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: days it's very hard to get a diagnosis of an
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: asthma on a child under the age of seven, so
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: it can get very frustrating. It looks and sounds like
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: asthma and you're treating it like asthma, but you haven't
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: got that title asthma. So that's when you can come
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: and see us, because it is a requirement under the
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: Department of Education that schools are provided with asthma action plans,
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: whether they're diagnosed or not. If they're using a puffer,
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: then they do need an asthma action plan. So once again,
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: come and see us, and we know we can sort
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: that out with your GP.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: But the thing with.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Asthma too is you can develop asthma at any age.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: More common in boys at primary school age. Boys get
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: to teenageers asthma settles and often you hear blokes say, oh,
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: I had asthma when I was a kid, but I
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: grew out of it.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: But they do need to know that there's no.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: Cure, so it can come back at any stage in
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: their life. But they also need to know that they
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: can pass that gene onto their children. Why females, Katie
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: totally different. We're looking at the old female gene kicks
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: in around teenageyears and then with hormonal changes and pregnancy
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: and even menopause, we see higher rates of women with asthma,
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: and so with women developing asthma over the age of
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: sixty five, and as rate is high for women.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Really, yeah, the female genes very strong.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: It's really interesting and I'm finding what you're saying really
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: interesting because I come from a family of asthmatics. My
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: father was quite a severe asthmatic. My brother used to
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: get hospitalized sort of every year, many many years ago,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: but as you've said, then grew out of it. So
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I'm finding it all pretty fascinating, not so fascinated to
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: hear that it could get worse for me as I
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: get a bit older, so I've got to manage it.
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: Well, Well, that's where you need to come and see
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: us and get a space might be a start.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: It's been really good to talk to you this morning.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Is there anything else that our listeners might be sort
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: of interested to know about though with the Asthma Foundation
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: here in the territory in terms of the services that
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: you provide.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, the Asthma Foundation of the Northern Territory is
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: unique to the territory. We are independent. We're a non government,
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: not for profit organization. We rely on memberships, so currently
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: we are independent from Asthma Australia. So we are the
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: territory and we cover all of the Territory. We're a
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: very small unit and at the moment we are doing
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: a drive for membership but also donations because next year
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: we are celebrating our fortieth birthday and we really do
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: need the support of the of Territorians to help us
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: out there because we have seen with a lot of
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: things a drop in funding.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Well, Leanne, I really appreciate you coming in today. It's
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: really good to talk to you. Is there a website
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: that people can head to if they are after some.
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: More if they can go to just ww dot asthmaant
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: dot org dot au, or they can give us a
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: ring on one eight hundred Asthma or eight nine eight
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: one six zero double six.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Good on you, Leanne, thank you so much for coming on.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Thanks Gae, appreciate it and I'll catch up with you
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: soon for a spacer.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: Yes, good on you.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: That was the executive manager there of the Asthma Foundation
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory, Leanne Elliott Homes