Olympic champion Dr Ronnie Delany and 11 leading Irish lung health charities and patient advocacy groups have joined forces to urge the public to take a simple, fast, and accurate test to measure their lung health. Mayo General Hospital is one of a number of centres around the country that will offer free lung testing (spirometry ) and lung health advice on Wednesday June 27 from 10am to 2pm.
The Love your Lungs campaign aims to encourage people to get their lungs tested, particularly if they have symptoms such as shortness of breath, persistent cough or wheeze. Testing can provide an early indication of diseases such as asthma, lung fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD ). Early detection of these diseases can greatly improve outcomes and quality of life for patients.
“Spirometry is a simple and painless test that takes just a few minutes,” said Ursula Clarke, respiratory clinical nurse specialist at Mayo General Hospital. “The good news is that once detected, lung diseases such as COPD and asthma can be managed, but the earlier you start treatment the better. It is also important to remember that many lung diseases can be prevented by keeping your lungs healthy through not smoking and by staying active.”
