Most parents of children with asthma in Ireland have experienced anxiety around managing their child’s condition, while one-quarter have struggled with the cost of asthma medications, a new survey has revealed.

Asthma is an inflammatory disease of varying severity that affects the airways. Some 380,000 people in Ireland have the condition, including one in 10 children.

According to the survey, which was released by the Asthma Society of Ireland, 73% of parents said that they have experienced anxiety around managing their child’s condition, with 28% stating that they experience this anxiety “always” or “often”.

However, this anxiety is not just limited to parents. The survey also suggests that 20% of children are “always” or “often” worried about suffering an asthma attack, while 22% are “always” or “often” worried about participating in sport in case it triggers their asthma.

When it comes to access to medication, 26% of parents said they struggle with the cost of their child’s medication, with 5% admitting that they had foregone buying the medication as they could not afford it. A further 16% said they had forgone buying other essential items in order to buy their child’s medication.

The Asthma Society warned that rationing or foregoing asthma medication can lead to an exacerbation of symptoms, such as coughing and wheezing, and can escalate to a dangerous asthma attack.

It has been calling for the inclusion of asthma medications on the Long-term Illness Scheme since the organisation was founded in 1973, but successive governments have refused to update the scheme.

Meanwhile, the survey found that 23% of parents or carers had at least one Emergency Department visit to manage their child’s asthma in the last year, while 25% of people waiting for a referral to a consultant had already been waiting at least three years. This, the society said, suggests that access to healthcare is a real issue.

The survey also found that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a big impact, with 19% of parents reporting that they had avoided or delayed going to hospital for their child’s asthma due to fears around contracting the virus.

Almost 60% said they were unsure whether their child’s symptoms were caused by asthma or Covid-19. The similarity between symptoms of the two conditions meant that children were often being tested for Covid-19 and “many school days were lost unnecessarily as a result”, the society noted.

“In a year when the paediatric model of care for asthma is being developed by the HSE, we believe it is imperative to note that Ireland is not currently an ‘asthma-safe country’ for children. We are very worried that parents report being forced to choose between everyday essentials and their children’s medication. The rising cost of living will force parents to make more difficult decisions unless the cost of asthma medicine is sufficiently tackled,” commented the society’s CEO, Sarah O’Connor.

The survey involved 433 parents/carers of children with asthma and was conducted in April 2022.