For the millions of Americans with asthma, summer heat waves and stifling humidity can trigger flare-ups and lead to emergency room visits.
The weather conditions also can contribute to higher levels of air pollution, such as ground-level ozone—the primary ingredient in smog—which forms most often in summer months, on days with clear skies and low winds. Exposure to high levels of ozone is particularly harmful for people with asthma, as it causes muscles in the airways to constrict, making it more difficult—and even painful—to take a deep breath.
“For people with asthma, even short-term exposure to air pollutants can exacerbate symptoms,” says Michael Phillips, a professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care. He notes that there’s usually a significant uptick in asthma-related ER visits on days with poor air quality.
More than 25 million Americans have asthma, a chronic condition in which one’s airways narrow and swell, and produce extra mucus. While the severity and frequency of the symptoms vary from person to person, the condition often causes periods of wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. Severe asthma attacks can be life-threatening, and the condition accounts for more than 1.6 million emergency department visits each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For some people, the signs and flare-ups emerge after exercise, or following exposure to workplace irritants, like gases or chemical fumes, or allergens such as pollen and mold. In the summer, elevated temperatures and high humidity can trigger symptoms. In fact, researchers found that exposure to extreme heat and precipitation participation, particularly in the summer, is linked to an increased risk of hospitalizations from asthma.
Read more at Penn Medicine News.
