Bermuda Hospitals Board will celebrate World Asthma Day with an open house in the lobby at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) today.

The disease affects more than 8,000 people in Bermuda including one in ten adults and one in five children.

Asthma educators will provide advice and medical aids at no charge between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Other events highlighting a disease that affects 12 percent of Bermuda?s population include a lunchtime display table at the Washington Mall next Tuesday and a Learning Lunch at the hospital on May 11.

In addition, a seniors? coffee morning is scheduled at Peace Lutheran Church Hall on May 16 at 10 a.m.

Respiratory disease has been the number one reason for admission to KEMH ? after childbirth ? for many years and is a significant health issue for our community.

In 2005, 313 respiratory disease patients were seen at BHB?s Asthma Education Centre.

Asthma is a chronic disease characterised by recurrent breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness and coughing. When it is not under control, the airways become overly sensitive to environmental changes and an attack can happen easily.

The Asthma Education Centre educates patients in the effective management of respiratory disease.

The centre aims to visit patients who have been seen at the emergency department with asthma-related complaints.

When possible, patients are phoned by the centre and followed to see whether their asthma is improving.

In-patients are also visited by Debbie Barboza, Asthma Educator at BHB, who then schedules appointments for sessions at the centre.

?One of the main goals of the Asthma Centre is to enable our patients to better understand and manage their disease,? said Ms Barboza.

?We also educate staff at KEMH so they can be as knowledgeable as possible. The goal is creating a team approach to deal with the challenge of educating asthma patients.?

For further information about asthma or to make an appointment to be seen at the Asthma Education Centre call 239-2055, extension 1652.