As temperatures in the UK plummet – putting four million people with asthma at risk of life-threatening asthma attacks – Asthma UK is urging pharmacists to get behind its #Scarfie campaign, where ‘a scarf could save a life’.

Cold air is a major trigger for asthma attacks, with 75 per cent of the 5.4 million people with asthma in the UK saying that breathing it in air makes their asthma symptoms worse. Increasing their risk of an asthma attack.

Asthma UK, which offers advice to healthcare professionals on its website, is urging pharmacists to tell people with asthma that wearing a scarf over their nose and mouth can reduce the chance of them having an asthma attack, as it can warm up the air before they breathe it in.

Pharmacists should also check people’s inhaler technique to make sure they are using it inhaler correctly. They should also remind people with asthma that regular use of their preventer inhaler builds up protection in their airways over time so that, when they encounter an asthma trigger, they are less likely to have an attack.

Pharmacists can advise people with asthma on their breathing technique. People may not know that the nose is designed to warm the air as a person breathes it in, so it’s better if they breathe through their nose rather than their mouth.

Dr Andy Whittamore, Asthma UK’s Clinician Lead and Portsmouth-based GP, said,

‘Plummeting temperatures and an abundance of cold and flu viruses put people with asthma at an increased risk of a life-threatening asthma attack during the winter months.

‘Many people with asthma will have the flu vaccine in the lead up to winter, but there are other basic precautions pharmacist can suggest people with asthma take to reduce the likelihood of having an asthma attack. These include, simply wrapping a scarf around your nose and mouth to warm up the air before they breathe it in, reducing their risk of an asthma attack.

‘We are urging all healthcare professionals to help us share the message that something as simple as a scarf could help save a life.’

For more information, visit www.asthma.org.uk/for-professionals.