World Asthma Day, which is observed on May 3, was marked on Tuesday at Zagreb's Srebrnjak children's hospital, which specialises in the treatment of children's respiratory diseases and which on this occasion received the Baby Signs Hospital Award as the first hospital in Croatia and Europe to have introduced baby sign language.
Hospital manager Boro Nogalo said one child in four in Croatia had some form of allergy, recalling that on World Asthma Day experts pointed to the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of asthma, the gravest form of allergy.
The Srebrnjak hospital annually treats some 50,000 children with respiratory problems, Nogalo added.
He said the baby sign language programme, devised by two US psychologists, was taught to children of one to three years of age to facilitate their communication with parents and others who care for them. He added this was especially important for children in hospitals, as it made treatment easier and faster.
