Tere Piua (second from right) says having asthma means having to worry about things many people take for granted. Photo / Supplied
A_CR110909NADASTHMA2.JPG Close to 600,000 New Zealanders take medication for asthma. The condition costs the country an estimated $1 billion each year. Photo / NZME 090522mgsup1 Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ medical adviser Dr James Fingleton. Photo / Supplied 100522mgsup1 Asthma New Zealand chief executive Katheren Leitner. Photo / Supplied 170522mgsup2 Tere Piua (second from right) says having asthma means having to worry about things many people take for granted. Photo / Supplied 170522mgsup3 Tere Piua (left), with Ina Puia, says asthma treatment could benefit from natural and culturally sensitive approaches which focus on the whole person. Photo / Supplied By Maryana Garcia
For Tere Piua, breathing is anything but easy.
The busy mother of four, whaea whāngai (foster mother) of two and grandmother of three already juggles looking after her large family, managing a child care service in Murupara and leadership responsibilities in the Cook Island community.
Due to her chronic asthma, she also has to worry about each breath she takes.
Piua hoped sharing her experiences with asthma would help change common public perceptions of people with the condition.
According to information from Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ, people with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs.
The airways may tighten, partially close up, swell inside, and make more mucus when faced with certain triggers.
This makes it hard to breathe in, and even harder to breathe out. There is no cure.
For Piua and her children, asthma attacks have been "uncomfortable, unbearable and frightening".
"It feels like someone is stomping on your chest and squeezing your lungs.
"When I know that I'm going into an attack, I crouch in like I'm going into a fetal position."
Piua said having asthma meant worrying about "everyday things people take for granted".
"I'm very worried about the cold, changes in weather, changes in pollen.
"All of it affects my breathing. I live with this 24 hours a day."
According to the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ's most recent impact report, Pacific peoples are 3.2 times and Māori are almost three times more likely to be hospitalised because of asthma than Pākehā or other New Zealanders.
Piua's focus in her family is on healthy and clean eating, exercise and spiritual nourishment.
"I also try to make sure everyone remembers their medications."
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ medical adviser Dr James Fingleton said Asthma Awareness Month was an opportunity to call for investment and change.
"Historic and institutional racism has affected the way services are delivered and also [patients'] willingness and ability to access support."
Fingleton also said financial difficulties could lead to people living in damp and mouldy homes and not being able to afford medical appointments and prescriptions.
"Another important approach has been the ministry's commitment to Smokefree Aotearoa Action Plan."
The spokesperson said the ministry worked closely with community health providers to improve equity outcomes.
“Creating clinical health networks to manage long-term conditions like asthma will be fundamental to this work and to the operational structure of Health New Zealand.”