Leading Stellenbosch pulmonologist, Dr James Rattray Joubert, breaks down asthma in celebration of World Asthma Day on 7 May 2019, debunking myths and inaccuracies surrounding the disease.
Dr Joubert, who has been in pulmonology for close to 48 years, defines asthma as an airway flow obstruction due to temporary inflammation of the airways that results in a wheezing sound and increased feeling of difficulty in breathing.
Dr James Rattray Joubert, one of the most senior pulmonologists in the country, sitting in his office PHOTO: Lucian van Wyk
He stresses the importance of understanding the disease and taking prescribed treatment regularly and preventatively.
“If you forget to take your medication or if you’re ignorant as to how the process works, it can kill you.
“I’ve lost patients due to the fact that they haven’t taken their medication on time. One was a professional nurse and she died because she didn’t take note of the fact that her chest was getting tighter and tighter,” says Dr Joubert.
He adds that there are factors that make asthma a lot worse, smoking being one of them.
“If you have asthma and you smoke your disease becomes very active and can actually progress to a condition that is chronic bronchitis. The symptoms are irreversible and result in permanent wheezing. I’ve found that many asthmatics smoke and that is the biggest no-no,” says Dr Joubert.
Dr Joubert adds that there are different types of asthma. It can be categorised according to its causative factors, such as occupational asthma which according to Dr Joubert is directly related to the work you are doing; early on-set asthma which develops in childhood and late on-set asthma which develops later in life.
He adds that there are certain kinds of asthma that have a low allergic component but a very strong inflammatory component driven by the body. Stating that this is a very difficult kind of asthma to treat.
“We also have complicated asthma, which is asthma where the reaction becomes so violent that it actually damages the inside of the airways and that leads to recurrent infections listed as bronchitis and not as asthma,” says Dr Joubert.
Dr Joubert is quick to debunk false beliefs the public has about asthma, stating that the public generally does not understand what the causative factors of asthma are and come up with all sorts of weird ideas of how it’s being caused.
“One that is common is that asthma is a disease induced by tension or anxiety. There’s no evidence that this is an anxiety-induced disease.
“All we see is patients with badly controlled asthma not on treatment and not understanding the disease then becoming anxious because of the disease. Anxiety is not the prime cause, it’s the result of the disease.”
He adds that there’s a belief that certain foods that aggravate asthma, but that is highly infrequent in adults. The food people traditionally think has an effect is dairy products.
“In children, there might be a milk allergy that causes asthma symptoms but that reverts pretty quickly. In adults it’s the preservatives and colouring agents they put in foods,” says Dr Joubert.
He adds that patients must know that the closer they stay to the earth in what they eat, they’ll be fine.
Asthma sufferers also added their voice to breaking down asthma for World Asthma Day.
Ané van Zyl (22), a sufferer of exercise-induced asthma, shows great support for World Asthma Day.
“I love it! I didn’t even know it existed but I support it 100%. There are people out there who have it much worse than I do, and we all need to be aware of how it affects other people’s lives,” says Van Zyl.
Meghan Mosalisa (22) who has congenital asthma encourages asthma sufferers to not be discouraged from doing strenuous activities.
“If you look after yourself properly, if you keep your triggers under control, you’ll still be able to gym, run, hike up mountains, and do everything that people without asthma can do,” says Mosalisa.
Mosalisa adds that asthma is a very underrated illness and that people don’t understand the seriousness of it.
“People die of asthma attacks, and the severity of the illness is not understood by the public and not taken seriously enough. So I love the fact that there is a World Asthma Day because it provides a platform for the disease to be spoken about and for people to become more educated about it,” says Mosalisa.
World Asthma Day falls on the first Tuesday in May each year and aims to bring about awareness regarding the chronic illness and how it affects sufferers.