Maidstone, Kent, tackled the heatwave on Sunday to run the London Marathon for Asthma UK
Local man, Andy Smith, finally runs his first marathon on Sunday 22nd April after an injury set him back last year.
Asthma, a chronic respiratory disease which can also be fatal, has been raising more concerns than ever after Asthma UK found that over 120,000 asthma sufferers in the UK are at risk from wrongly prescribed medication and a study by NICE revealed that 30% of people with asthma are suspected to have been misdiagnosed.
“I chose Asthma UK for many reasons, but mainly I want to raise awareness of the dangers of asthma and just how many people it affects; approximately 250,000 people die prematurely each year from asthma and almost all of these deaths are avoidable1. As someone who was misdiagnosed with asthma myself, I understand its importance and want others to be aware.”
“I was all set to partake in the Marathon last year but 2 weeks before I unfortunately injured my Achilles and was unable to take part. After PEMF therapy and rest I was able to start training again. All my training was in the winter, so none of it had prepared me for the hottest London Marathon ever recorded, but I did it and I’m pretty happy with my time, 4 hours and 37 minutes.”
Andy’s company, Bedfont® also manufactures the NObreath® FeNO monitor, which has been helping to improve asthma diagnosis and management for over 10 years. Known as the unpredictable killer because, according to Asthma UK, it is still very much a misunderstood condition, Andy also wants to raise awareness of how the NObreath® can address these concerns. Interpreting FeNO levels with the NObreath® can aid in identifying patients who do/do not require on-going treatment2, whilst differentiating between allergic (eosinophilic) and non-allergic asthma3. If used daily, FeNO measurements can also help to predict exacerbations and attacks4.
Andy was one of many who ran 26.2 miles in the record-breaking heat. After fundraising through coffee mornings, raffles and getting his legs waxed live on Facebook, Andy managed to raise £1810 for the charity, which aims to raise awareness of the chronic respiratory disease.
REFERENCES
1. Asthma Statistics | AAAAI [Internet]. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 2018 [cited 23 April 2018]. Available from: http://www.aaaai.org/about-aaaai/newsroom/asthma-statistics
2. Andrew D. Smith, Jan O. Cowan, Sue Filsell, Chris MacLachlan, Gabrielle Monti-Sheehan, Pamela Jackson and D. Robin Taylor. Diagnosing Asthma: Comparisons between Exhaled Nitric Oxide Measurements and Conventional Tests. Am J Respir Crit Care Med Vol 169. pp 473-478, 2004.
3. Coumou HBel E. Improving the diagnosis of eosinophilic asthma [Internet]. Taylor and Francis online. 2017 [cited 20 April 2018]. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17476348.2017.1236688
4. Harkins M. Exhaled Nitric Oxide Predicts Asthma Exacerbation [Internet]. Taylor & Francis. 2017 [cited 20 April 2018]. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1081/JAS-120033990