The Zoe Kennedy Foundation and Moama Village pharmacy have organised four guest speakers to provide information on handling the health conditions.
Pharmacist and asthma educator Sherri Barden, GP and Zoe Kennedy Foundation board member Sam Kennedy, Bendigo Respiratory sleep physician Kate Carroll and asthma and hay fever sufferer Kaliste Fordham will provide insights on the night.
Ms Barden said the event follows previous initiatives that have proven to be popular, with around 100 attendees at last year’s asthma and hay fever seminar.
“There’s lots of things we talk about to educate the patients so they feel more empowered in their self-management and, ultimately, to reduce flare-ups and asthma mortality,” she said.
“It’s (held during) springtime, so there’s a lot of allergens in the air. It’s a really opportune time to start having those conversations.”
The event will focus on improving the health literacy of patients with the conditions, covering available medications and how to use them, triggers, self-management and first aid practices.
With new asthma management guidelines coming into effect in Australia in September, Ms Barden said it would be an opportunity to hear about the changes.
“There’s going to be a big shift with how we manage asthma,” she said.
“We now have a quick-acting reliever that has an anti-inflammatory in it as well, so patients will have much better control.”
The reliever is expected to reduce asthma flare-ups, leading to a reduction in emergency department presentations.
Ms Barden said the new guidelines were consistent with international ones, and promoted a move away from the use of Ventolin alone for asthma management in adults and adolescents.
“There has to be a lot of conversation between pharmacists, doctors and patients around that change during the rollout,” she said.
“I’ve already started to have those conversations with patients, and the uptake has been really great.”
Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, affects up to one in five Australians and, if not managed properly, can affect a person’s quality of life enormously.
Ms Barden said the event would cater to those who lived with both conditions, as hay fever could flare up asthma, with Ms Fordham to speak about her lived experience.
Clint Flanigan will emcee the event, held on Wednesday, September 3 at The Venue, Moama Bowling Club.
To book your spot, visit trybooking.com/DDMVT
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