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Did you get an RCB alert about an impending storm? If you suffer from asthma or are allergic to pollen, you should especially take it to heart. Storm asthma causes severe symptoms, and patients may require hospitalization. History knows deaths related to this condition.
- The storm can threaten not only crops or objects left on the balcony. It also has a negative impact on the well-being of some people
- In addition to high blood pressure and heart patients, asthmatics can also fear the storm
- In 2016, in Australia, about 9 patients were hospitalized in connection with storm asthma. people. 10 patients died
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Storm asthma – a serious threat to asthmatics and allergy sufferers
In November 2016, a storm hit Melbourne, Australia. Immediately after her, other people experiencing severe breathlessness began to call the ambulance service. In total, after comparing with previous years, it was calculated that the number of notifications increased then by 672%.
In total, dispatchers received over 14 thousand. reports from people who were unable to breathe after the storm passed. Of these, as many as 9 thousand. had to go to the hospital. As a result of stormy asthma, 10 people between the ages of 18 and 57 died during this surprising “epidemic”.
It was very hot and dry in Melbourne that day. The temperature remained at the level of 30 degrees C. There were over 102 pollen per m2 in the air, which means that at that time the grass pollination season in Australia reached its peak.
“ The incident occurred in the high season for hay fever and most patients had an allergic respiratory response, ” Kathryn Emmerson, author of the 2016 stormy asthma report, explained to Live Science.
As we read in Live Science, pollen of Italian ryegrass (mainly they caused a reaction in patients) is too large to reach the lungs. As a result, they get stuck in the nose or throat. During a storm in 2016, pollen sacs somehow ruptured and released millions of allergen particles. This, in turn, has led to numerous episodes of asthma in Australians.
Storm asthma is not common, but it does happen. The case from 2016 was the most tragic, but apart from it, 21 others have been reported so far (a total of 10 took place in Australia, but also occurred in Europe or the Middle East).
The rest of the text below the video.
Storm Asthma – How Does It Happen?
Scientists have tried to find the cause of the “epidemic” of storm asthma in Australia. They managed to establish that on the day of the fateful storm, there was a gusty wind and there was practically no rain.
In the event of a downpour, Melbourne residents would take refuge in their homes without risking inhaling pollen. However, this did not happen, and many allergy sufferers and asthmatics received a large dose of fragmented allergens that triggered a respiratory reaction.
However, it was still unknown why the pollen sacs burst in the absence of heavy rains. A joint analysis by CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and scientists from Melbourne, the University of Tasmania and the Environment Protection Authority finally showed that the blame could be placed on lightning, which was then extremely frequent in very dry air.
It remains a mystery, however, why the inhabitants of Melbourne suffered from respiratory ailments, since lightning struck often, but outside the city limits. Therefore, scientists believe that they have still not fully broken the ‘trigger code’ that leads to such strong reactions from human organisms.
Who is most at risk of storm asthma?
Certain individuals are particularly vulnerable to symptoms of asthma during a storm. These are mainly patients diagnosed with asthma (especially when they forget about specialist controls), but also those in whom the disease has not been diagnosed so far.
Storm asthma can also threaten allergy sufferers with hay fever. In the case of Melbourne patients, allergy to Italian ryegrass was also a risk factor.
Do you suspect you are allergic to pollen? Perform diagnostic blood tests
How to protect yourself from storm asthma?
The Australian National Asthma Board has developed a policy for people who are at risk of developing symptoms during a storm. In particular, they recommend that people at risk during the pollen season preventively use nasal sprays prescribed by a doctor. In addition, asthmatics should also have an inhaler with them at all times.
Further recommendations include regular checking of pollen levels in the air and weather forecasts. It is also very important not to be outside just before or during a storm. Especially if the phenomenon is accompanied by gusts of wind.
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