Abstract:
As the COVID-19 cases and deaths continue their inexorable
rise in South Africa, winter sets in and lockdown measures are
eased, we wait – with bated breath – for the crisis to peak. The
uncertainty is difficult to navigate. We feel compelled to observe
and appreciate every in- and exhalation, and in this way, find
ourselves reflecting on other respiratory ills. Asthma and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), like severe COVID-19, are
characterised by a struggle to breathe. Exacerbations may prove
fatal. Unlike COVID-19, asthma and COPD cause obstructed
airflow from the lungs, and may be managed pharmacologically.
It follows that in order to breathe in, one has to breathe out,
and treatments are therefore aimed at easing obstructions by
targeting inflammation and bronchoconstriction.
