Health. What is a “stormy asthma”?

While part of France is regularly placed in vigilance storms during the summer. Meanwhile, specialists alert to a phenomenon still little known to the general public: thestormy asthma. However, These sudden respiratory episodes can cause particularly severe crises, prioritizing allergic, asthmatic or exposed to air pollution.

When a thunderstorm breaks out during the period of strong pollination. Nevertheless, humidity, atmospheric electricity and the wind help weaken pollen grains. Consequently, These then fragmented into microscopic particles, much thinner than intact pollen. For example, Inhaled, they penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and trigger a violent allergic reaction.

The typical gusts of thunderstorms massively disperse these fragments. which suddenly exposes an entire population, sometimes in just a few minutes.

Different crises of the usual asthma – Health. what "stormy asthma"?

The symptoms of stormy asthma are close to those of a classic crisis – cough. shortness of breath, chest oppression, health. what “stormy asthma”? respiratory whistles – but their trigger is often brutal and massive. Rescue bronchodilators can be less effective, sometimes requiring hospital care. In some cases, emergency services are quickly saturated with the influx of patients.

Atmospheric pollution, in particular fine particles, accentuates the severity of these crises. These pollutants modify the structure of the pollens and aggravate their allergenic power. Result: a stronger inflammatory reaction and exacerbated symptoms.

People allergic to pollens and poorly controlled asthmatics are the first victims of this phenomenon. Young adults. adolescents are particularly represented in the episodes identified, such as that which occurred in Nantes in 2013 or in Île-de-France in 2023.

But cases also exist in individuals without known history. In most situations, these crises reveal an allergy or an asthma hitherto not diagnosed.

Strong regions and episodes

The phenomenon has already been observed several times in France and abroad. Nantes in 2013 experienced a health. what “stormy asthma”? massive influx in the emergency room after a violent thunderstorm. while London in 1994 and Melbourne in 2016 recorded thousands of simultaneous cases, with deaths identified in Australia.

All pollen regions can be affected, as soon as they combine high concentration of pollens and summer thunderstorms.

How to protect yourself?

Pulmonologists recommend several reflexes:

• Stay inside at the time of a storm in times of pollination.
• Close doors and windows, including by car;
• Always have your emergency treatment at hand and correctly follow your background treatment;
• Consult quickly in case of severe symptoms.

Allergological or respiratory monitoring is advised after an episode of storm asthma, in order to better prevent recurrences.

With climate change, the conditions conducive to stormy asthma tend to increase. The increase in violent stormy episodes. the lengthening of pollen seasons create a terrain favorable to the multiplication of these crises. Specialists therefore fear health. what “stormy asthma”? an increase in cases in the coming decades, making this risk of public health to watch closely.

Photo credit: DR
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