Posted by Franklin Adkinson, M.D. on Thu, May 10, 2007, 8:19 am PDT
You may remember last summer's sweltering heat wave and the many tragic heat-related deaths. As we approach the warmer months this year, it's important to remember how asthma can be triggered by protracted heat.
It's not so much the heat itself that aggravates asthma but the air inversions that result from heat waves. These inversions, in which a layer of warm air is trapped by cooler air above, can increase the amount of toxic air pollutants by more than tenfold.
The increase in harmful oxidants and particles present during heat waves makes breathing even harder for persons with asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions.
These breathing difficulties are not caused by the extra allergens in the air but because they increase the twitchiness of the airways, making the lungs more vulnerable to the allergens we are always exposed to, like Grandma's cat, dust mites, or molds.
If you have asthma and are caught in a heat wave and your start to wonder when it's all going to end, stay in air-conditioned comfort as much as possible and get your exercise in the swimming pool or at an air-conditioned gym. Your local weather channel's air-pollution alert can give you daily updates about the quality of the air you can expect in your region.
Hot weather deserves healthy respect, especially from people with heart and lung diseases. Stay ahead of the game by drinking lots of fluids.
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