How does Humidity make Asthma worse?

by Garreth Myers


asthma is a medical condition which tends to attack the lungs of both adults and children. The common symptoms of asthma are chest tightness, breathlessness, wheezing and coughing especially during the night as well as early in the morning. An asthmatic attack is usually triggered when something tends to affect the lungs. Very often extreme humidity and heat tend to make asthma worse and trigger the asthma attacks. This is because heat tends to increase the body temperature of the individual and also the metabolic rate, which results in the body using more oxygen. The need for the additional oxygen tends to result in deeper or faster breathing, which is a problem for asthmatics. Similarly, extreme humidity can make asthma worse as it makes it difficult to lower the body temperature which results in the body working harder and even loner thereby increasing the need of the body for oxygen. A dangerous combination for asthmatic patients is high humidity and high temperature. This is because one of the asthma irritants which is mold, which tends to be more prevalent at high humidity and high temperatures. This is a severe irritant for the airways and its presence is in the environment is hard to avoid. Humidified air or rather air with high humidity levels poses a greater threat to asthmatics because the high moisture levels in the air make it even harder to breathe.

Additionally some other asthma attack triggers such as dust mites also tend to thrive in humid climates. On the other hand extremely dry areas also have increased levels of smog, which is a trigger for asthmatic attacks. Dry air also tends to irritate the upper passages of air which in turn tends to worsen the asthma. On the other hand, research has also shown that humid air tends to reduce the quantity of negative ions in the air which would otherwise ease the process of breathing. Humidity and heat are both known to be the main enemies for individuals suffering from asthma as they both tend to cause a reduction in the amount of air that is taken into the lungs of asthma patients. Additionally another one of the triggers for an asthmatic attack is environmental pollution, which when combined with extreme heat or humidity can act as a trigger for those suffering from asthma. One may measure the amount of humidity in the air by using a hygrometer.


Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.


Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
More articles from the Wellness Category