Show of hands: who flares during the hot months?
Ever notice that? How it tends to be one or the other? So many asthmatics seem to breathe okay with either warm or cool weather, but usually not both. My kid, for example, sometimes flares with heavy exercise in high humidity, but her airways appear to love the dry, cold air in Colorado. (So far.) (Knock on wood.) (And knocking again.)
Triggers can change right along with the weather, and these are some of the more common summer ones:
1. High humidity
2. Ground-level ozone (smog)
3. Grass allergens
4. Trapped chlorine around poorly ventilated indoor pools
5. Molds
6. Insect bites for allergic folks
I’ve always been surprised by how well my son has tolerated warm, humid air, even when exercising. His flares are more related to allergens (in September) and cold/flu (in the Winter). But that hasn’t stopped me from mildy freaking out about how his lungs will do for 2-3 weeks in heavily industrial, very hot and humid Southern China in August. We live in Vermont, so while it does get warm and humid for a few weeks (ok, really a few days) in the summer, he’s never experienced true heat/humidity and really never experienced such bad air pollution. Anyone know a good asthma doctor in Guangzhou??
Heat/humidity on its own does not bother me, but it comes with a bunch of triggers: smoggy days, pollen, freshly cut grass, and hay.
Allison–You’re going to China? Wow. I’d be freaking out, too, but I’m also jealous! Summer in FL was a catch-22 for us since we’d trade the cold/viral trigger (her biggest one) for the humidity.
Sarah–Grass doesn’t bother anyone else in this family, except now it’s starting to bother me, lol.
M’s lungs hate both cold and humidity….even the relatively mild humidity in WMASS…I know we’re good for flares all summer…as well as winter flares. Fall and Spring are her better seasons, since she doesn’t seem to have seasonal allergies. Though any extreme change in anything sets her off too…so if we get an unseasonable warm day followed by a chilly day (or vice versa) her lungs will get pissed.
You’ve made Colorado sound pretty darn fabulous….maybe I should start pushing hubby to look there for a job.
Funny, my asthma loves the high humidity and heat (I do really well in the summer, with little or no flare ups)…and I live in Texas near Houston…so I know heat. My asthma doesn’t like cold and/or dry environments. I can do relative cold with humidity ok, but definitely not both. I guess it’s what my body has gotten used to as I have grown up and lived here my entire life. I also notice that my asthma seems to be a barometer, I can tell when fronts are coming through as my asthma will act up if we have a drastic change in humidity or temperature…funny how that happens. My asthma also does really well with pools and swimming…I don’t do so well with the running/walking…first off way too hot here to do any of that outside…yuck. No thanks, give me the pool!!
Like Sarah, the heat itself doesn’t bother me, but some things that come along with it do:
- hazy/smoggy/muggy days
- chlorine pools
- bonfires/barbecues
- and like you said, exercise in high humidity
Moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was a great move in terms of summer – which in this country, hot weather is unavoidable. You’re going to get it wherever you go. Here we have a dry heat as opposed to the muggy disgusting heat over there (where an hour after showering, you’re drenched in sweat all over again). Does wonders for my breathing.
Sara–Do it!
Linda–I lived in Florida for 20 years. I know just what you mean. Walking was for fall (what little of it we had) and winter only back then.
Elisheva–Bonfires & BBQs! I forgot those. Also, I didn’t know any part of Israel got humid. I’d always assumed most of the country was dry.
Wierdly, I find exercise in high humidity is actually easier on my breathing than exercise in dry conditions (unless it’s smoggy or pollen-y, in which case, humidity is worse). I guess it depends on what you’re used to.
Amy – yeah, lots of the country is humid. Most Israelis live somewhere along the Mediteranian coast, which goes all the way down Israel’s Western side, which is where Tel Aviv is.
Geography was never my strongest subject, if you couldn’t tell. I think it has something to do with my horrible sense of direction & near-inability to read maps. (Until GPS, I got lost all the time.) And it seems to run in my family, too–none of us have an internal compass. Anyway, learning new stuff is awesome–thanks!
Ava’s worst flares occur during seasonal changes. Spring to Summer this year landed her in the hospital. Fall to Winter always introduces something and sometimes Winter to Spring.
With my own asthma, I’m sensitive to the humidity.