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Seasonal asthma - how does the weather affect asthma?
Some people only experience asthma at certain times of the year or find their symptoms worsen in certain seasons. As asthma can be triggered by changes in the environment, knowing which seasons worsen it can help you understand what your asthma triggers are.
What is seasonal asthma?
If you only experience asthma symptoms at certain times of the year, you could have seasonal asthma. You may find that your asthma gets worse when it’s very cold, or when there’s pollen in the air.
Asthma is a long term condition, even if you don’t experience your symptoms all year round. If you think you have asthma, see your doctor, who will devise a treatment plan.
Winter
According to Asthma UK, 75 per cent of people report that cold air triggers their asthma symptoms. Some people find that just breathing in very cold air causes symptoms. When the air hits the airways it can sometimes make them go into spasm, which causes coughing, wheezing, a tight chest and breathlessness.
Spring
Around 50 per cent of people with asthma also have allergies, and if that’s you, you could find that the extra pollen in the air at this time of year aggravates or sets off your asthma. Seasonal pollen in spring time can cause inflammation in your airways and make underlying allergic asthma worse.
Summer and autumn
For some people, very hot weather triggers their asthma symptoms - it’s thought that the hot air can cause the airways to narrow, just like very cold air does. It’s also possible that the amount of pollutants and mould in the air increase as it gets hotter.
Thunderstorms are also known to cause serious asthma attacks for some people - they lead to a six-fold increase in hospital admissions for asthma. It’s not known exactly why this is, although the theory is that it’s linked to high levels of humidity in the air, plus pollen and mould particles being swept up and broken down by the windy conditions that often accompany a storm, and then scattered back down where they are breathed in.
How can you prevent seasonal asthma?
If you know that a change in the weather or certain weather conditions make your symptoms worse, it’s advisable to always keep a close eye on weather, pollen and pollution forecasts so that you’re prepared.
It also helps to:
- Keep your asthma well managed and make sure that you have a written asthma plan which is up to date.
- Take your medication as advised.
- Make sure that you attend regular check-ups with your GP.
How to prevent asthma in cold, damp weather:
- Keep your reliever inhaler with you.
- Make sure you use your preventer inhaler if your doctor has prescribed one.
- Keep an eye on your symptoms; if you need to use your reliever more often, you need to speak to your doctor.
- Keep as warm and dry as possible.
- When you go out in the cold, wear a scarf over your mouth and nose to help warm the air.
- Try breathing in through your nose instead of your mouth, as this helps warm the air.
How to prevent hot weather triggering your asthma:
- Keep your reliever inhaler with you.
- Make sure you use your preventer inhaler if your doctor has prescribed one
- Don't leave your inhalers lying around in in direct sunlight or anywhere they might get too hot like a parked car.
- Make sure you're managing your hay fever well too, as hay fever symptoms can make asthma worse.
- Don’t exercise outdoors between 11am and 3pm.
- If you plan to go outside, try to go out earlier in the day to make the most of better air quality.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Keep doors and windows closed while you’re indoors.
How to stop spring pollen from triggering an asthma attack:
- Keep your reliever inhaler with you.
- Make sure you use your preventer inhaler if your doctor has prescribed one
- Keep an eye on the pollen forecast, either on TV or with an app on your phone/tablet.
- Avoid going outside when pollen is at its highest if you can. This is normally between 5am and 10am.
- Shower and wash your clothes after going outside.
- Dry your sheets and clothes indoors.
- If you have it, use air conditioning instead of open windows in your car (and indoors).
- Keep your grass short. If possible, and if you can get someone else to look after it for you!
- Exercise indoors wherever possible. If you have to work out outside, take your asthma medications before you go.
Avoiding thunderstorm related asthma symptoms:
- Keep an eye on the weather forecast or download an app that can tell you when storms are approaching.
- If a storm is forecast, get indoors as soon as you can and stay indoors before, during and after the storm with the windows closed.
- Shower and change your clothes if you’ve been outside, to get rid of any pollen.
- Keep your reliever close by.
- If you have hay fever, take your usual medicine.
- Don't smoke or let other people smoke around you
- Make sure that you know what to do if your symptoms get worse, and how to recognise when they do.