Can Weather Affect Asthma?
For some people with asthma, a change in weather conditions can be trigger symptoms. While environmental allergens and pollutants such as animal dander, smoke, and pollen are common factors that can aggravate asthma, weather can also play a role. Cold air, humidity, and even thunderstorms are known asthma triggers.
“In people with asthma, the airways become hyper-reactive to allergens such as pollen and irritants such as perfumes,” says Stanley Fineman, MD, MBA, an allergist with the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic.
Humidity, temperature changes, and other weather conditions can also affect asthma. “Temperature changes in the airways can cause inflammation in the airways as well,” says Dr. Fineman. “For most people, this is not a problem. The nose controls humidity without a problem. But for people with allergies and asthma, who may breathe air through the mouth more often, irritants, pollutants, and pollen are more of a factor. Because the airways are inflamed in people with asthma, the more severe the asthma is, the more likely they are to be affected by the weather.”
Your Asthma Weather Report
Common weather triggers that can aggravate asthma symptoms include: