South Tynesiders urged to take simple online lung test

Residents in South Tyneside are being urged not to ignore breathless - and to take a simple online health test,

The British Lung Foundation’s Listen to Your Lungs campaign is being supported by a £5,000 grant from South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group.

The aim is to urge people to take a simple online breath test - which requires answering a few short questions about their lifestyles and weight - to hep people decide if they might need to see a GP.

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Across the North East region, 67,000 people are already registered with the lung condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 330,000 with asthma, and 51,000 with lung cancer.

Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “We’re grateful to South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group for their support. We want people in South Tyneside, who may have a lung disease but don’t have a diagnosis to not ignore breathlessness.

“Lung disease kills one person every five minutes in the UK. We all feel short of breath sometimes. That’s normal. But sometimes it can be a sign of something more serious. Early diagnosis and treatment is the key to preventing irreversible lung damage.”

The charity highlights that once diagnosed, people will be able to get the treatment and support they need. This is particularly important in the winter months.

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The cold weather can have a big impact on people living with a lung condition as it can trigger flare-ups of symptoms, and lead to a long recovery period.

The online breath test is at www.blf.org.uk/breathtest.