Page 15 - RPA May 2020

With air quality increasingly becoming compromised, as seen
during the recent bushfires, this month, Retail Pharmacy Assistants’ Margaret Mielczarek spoke with Pharmacy Guild Victorian Branch President Anthony Tassone about the role of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants in smoke-affected communities.
What effects do smoke and poor air quality have on lung health? Are healthy people at risk?
Smoke and poor air quality can
have a variety of effects on health.
For most people, smoke causes
mild symptoms that can include sore eyes, nose and throat. However,
it can be more dangerous for people who have an existing lung or heart condition. This includes people with asthma, emphysema and angina.
It’s recommended that people who
suffer from these conditions avoid outdoor physical activity when there
is smoke around.
What impact has the resultant poor air quality from smoke had on the number of people seeking help from pharmacies around breathing issues?
The anecdotal feedback that the Pharmacy Guild has received from our members and their teams is that the number of patients presenting at their pharmacies with symptoms arising from smoke and poor air quality has increased significantly. This has included areas
that have had smoke haze and poor
air quality but have not been near the bushfires themselves.
What is the message typically given to people with breathing issues presenting to pharmacies? What information have pharmacists been advised to give to sufferers during the recent crisis?
As medicine and health experts, pharmacists are well trained and placed to help identify where a patient could try an over-the-counter product to provide symptomatic relief or be referred to a GP or emergency department in more severe
cases. These are clinical decisions that community pharmacists are faced with every day in practice – and potentially more so during times of natural disaster with poorer air quality.
For people with asthma, it’s recommended that they always follow their asthma action plan and keep their asthma medication with them.
What, if any, is the role of vitamins, minerals and supplements sold
at pharmacies in supporting lung function and the immune system in terms of preventing lung conditions getting worse?
A well-balanced diet including fresh fruit and vegetables, and fish (not fish oil supplements) that are known to contain antioxidants may improve lung health and help avoid attacks of asthma.
While there is some evidence to suggest that supplements available from pharmacies, such as vitamin C, zinc and antioxidants, may help some people
in reducing the duration of symptoms from viral infections, there isn’t a great deal of evidence on how they may help lung function for asthma sufferers or symptoms in response to smoke or poor air quality.
What is particularly important is that patients follow their asthma action plan, adhere to preventer medicines that have been prescribed for their asthma, and correctly use the inhaler device to deliver the medicine. It’s recommended that metered dose inhalers (also known as ‘puffers’) be used with a spacer to help deliver more medicine to the airways. These are available from community pharmacies, and pharmacists can assist in demonstrating their correct use.
LUNG HEALTH IN FOCUS 13
RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • MAR 2020