by Suman Gupta
Contributed by Dr Hirenappa Udnur, Consultant – Pulmonology, Columbia Asia Hospital Hebbal
Breathing is the most basic essentiality that we need to be alive but at times due to outside sources or internal reasons even that can become a struggle. One such situation arises in the case of thunderstorm asthma which is a weather-based condition that can turn wind and pollen into a dangerous combination.
A person is told to have asthma when the person’s airways become inflamed, narrow, swollen and produce extra mucus, leading to a struggle while breathing. Asthma is known to affect a person’s bronchial tubes, where the air goes in and out of the lungs. When a person gets an asthma attack, bronchial tubes narrow and that creates difficulty in breathing. A mild asthma attack can last just a few minutes, but stronger ones can go on for hours or even days and require serious medical intervention.
HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?
While thunderstorm asthma occurs when heavy storms happen on a day when the pollen count is very high and triggers the symptoms of an asthma attack. Pollen grains get absorbed in the storm clouds. Once these grains suck in a certain amount of water, they pop, forming even smaller grains which then get into the wind at ground level and can easily be breathed, in leading to asthma attacks.
WHO IS MORE AT RISK?
People who already have asthma and/or hay fever (allergy leading to itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and other similar symptoms) need to be extra careful to avoid thunderstorm asthma attacks. They must stay informed and be prepared in consultation with their doctors like they could use their preventer medicine every day and keep a reliever inhaler (blue puffer) ready with them at all times. Thunderstorm asthma often hits adults who are already affected by asthma or are allergic to grass pollen. But it can cause problems for people even without these pre-existing conditions. People who wheeze and sneeze with hay fever from pollen during spring are more likely to get thunderstorm asthma even if they haven’t had asthma before.
Thunderstorm asthma can occur suddenly in people, mostly during spring or summer when the pollen quantity in the air is very high and the weather is hot, dry, windy and stormy. This is so because as explained earlier the thunderstorm weather in spring can make pollen grains burst into tiny pieces that are further blown around us by the wind. When people end up breathing these tiny pieces of pollen they can penetrate deep inside the lungs and trigger an asthma attack.
SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR
The signs and symptoms of thunderstorm asthma attacks are generally similar to those of a typical asthma attack like:
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Shortness of breath or breathlessness
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Rapid breathing
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Tightness of the chest
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Persistent coughing and wheezing (a whistling sound from the chest while breathing)
Certain asthma symptoms vary individually in different persons and should be kept under check. Some other signs that can be observed include:
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The skin surrounding the breastbone or ribs gets sucked in while breathing
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Face, lips, or fingernails turn very pale or blue
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The chest doesn’t relax while breathing out
