No child should be stigmatised because of their asthma

For people with a lung condition like asthma, it may make them feel ‘different’ to others and there may be feelings of shame, writes Sarah Woolnough

Many people still don’t see asthma as a ‘serious’ health condition (Getty)

I was concerned when I read about the study by Nottingham University Business School’s N/LAB which suggests people with asthma were not only being subjected to online bullying because of their condition but might be risking their lives by not taking their medication properly or at all as a result.  

Sadly, in our most recent annual asthma survey, 24 per cent of people with the condition said they had faced stigma or discrimination and 35 per cent said they had felt embarrassed to use their inhalers in public.

Even though asthma is a serious lung condition affecting 5.4 million people in the UK, our previous research shows that only one in six people in the UK do not know or are unsure if the condition can be fatal.