Rochester named 2nd most challenging place to live with asthma

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Most people believe that asthma is just trouble with breathing, but that is not necessarily true. Asthma is an upper-respiratory condition where your airways become inflamed because of triggers.

“What a lot of people do not realize is that over 10 people die each day from asthma. So, it’s really important to have your asthma well-controlled. Some people just think it’s trouble with breathing, but it can be fatal if you don’t have it under control,” says Kenneth Mendez, who is the president and CEO of Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

The report uses three factors to determine the ranking of the most challenging cities.

“We use three things: prevalence, emergency room visits, and mortality. Those are the three measures that we use,” says Mendez. “Rochester ranks quite high on prevalence and it has previously, so that is one of the reasons why it ranks so high, as number 2.”

During this time of the year, seasonal allergies play a big role in contributing to more asthma attacks. This specific type of asthma is called allergic asthma.

“Which is the most common form of asthma, and that is triggered by seasonal allergies or by allergens within your home, so your airways get irritated and that triggers an asthma attack,” says Mendez.

However, if you do live in the Rochester region and have asthma, it is not impossible to keep on living your life to the fullest, but rather, just having to be more mindful of what your triggers are.

“Understand what your triggers are and work with a doctor, work with a specialist so you’re on the right kind of medication and that you understand what your triggers are,” Mendez says.

Mendez continues to put emphasis on understanding what your triggers are because left untreated, the outcome could result in fatality.

Click here to read the full AAFA report.

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