After the wettest year on record, followed by a long, cold winter, residents of the UK may be a little depressed to know that meteorological experts are predicting a stormy summer. This could be even worse news, however, for the thousands of asthma sufferers in the UK, as experts believe that heavy rain can trigger asthma attacks and have a serious effect on their wellbeing.
Dr Prasanna Sankaran, a registrar and specialist in the field of respiratory medicine at Norfolk and Norwich hospital, has confirmed that new hospital admissions to those suffering from asthma attacks most frequently occur following a spell of heavy rain and thunderstorms. The expert believes that this may be because this type of weather releases fungal spores from the soil into the atmosphere.
Specialist nurse at Asthma UK, Angela Jones, agrees that thunder and lightning storms can be the cause of asthma attacks because it can lead to large amounts of pollen being released into the air. This can then trigger a serious asthma attack, which may even result in the sufferer having to be admitted to hospital in an emergency scenario.
Down-draughts of colder air are also thought to stir pollen and other types of spores. When in the air, these can be broken down into smaller pieces which enter the lungs and penetrate even deeper, causing more irritation and affecting the wellness of asthma sufferers in particular.
Doctors encourage asthma sufferers to be extra vigilant about keeping their medication with them during periods of turbulent weather, because the disease kills three people every day in the UK. One person is also admitted to hospital with an asthma attack every seven minutes in the UK.
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