Asthma and COVID- what’s the scoop?
Is asthma a serious risk factor for COVID? The news coverage on this topic has been somewhat confusing as researchers try to determine the exact association. I had a personal interest in this association, because I have asthma. I was diagnosed with asthma after some mysterious lung virus in my early twenties. I recovered from the mysterious virus (I was never officially diagnosed with anything) but developed asthma in the aftermath. When people talk about Long COVID today, I always think of my experience with asthma and say to myself, “Well…we’ve had long stuff after viruses forever, no?” ;)
I’ve done several COVID-related podcasts, including this one on the efficacy of face masks early-on in the pandemic; this one on who is at risk of strokes from COVID-19 ; this one on why proning helps save the lives of COVID-19 patients and this one on why obesity is a severe risk factor. Please feel free to check one or all of them out.
In episode 90 of Causes or Cures, Dr. I chatted with Tonya Winders, CEO of the Allergy and Asthma Network, an organization that represents millions of Americans, about the relationship between asthma and COVID. She is on top of the latest research and in the podcast sheds some light on the true association between asthma and COVID. She will also discuss what her organization prioritized during the pandemic in order to address COVID. In addition, she will provide information on the types of tools her organization offers for folks struggling with asthma and allergies and talk about advances being made in research, the social determinants of health that lead to worsening asthma and her thoughts on lifestyle changes and steroid treatments. You can listen to the episode here.
If you have asthma and allergies, I also highly recommend checking out the Allergy and Asthma Network website. It’s a great display of scientific information- very easy to navigate, read and digest.
Thanks for reading and thanks for listening to the podcast if you do!
Talk soon- Eeks