Thunderstorms can trigger asthma attacks

Thunderstorms can sometimes trigger asthma attacks, even in people who've not being diagnosed with asthma.

People who suffer from allergies traditionally hope for the occasional downpour to break up the pollens and molds that prevent easy breathing. But, ironically, the breaking up of those substances that congest the nose and lungs may be what leads to rare thunderstorm-related asthma attacks. A phenomenon not understood well enough by scientists because even people who have no history of asthmatic incidents can suffer from it.

The most popular conjecture is that windy thunderstorms create gusts that cause pollens and molds to rise from the ground while the pounding rain batters those particles into even smaller pieces. A storm’s downward draft of wind then disperses those smaller particles throughout the air. Some scientist believe the electrical charge from the storm increases the likelihood that these unusually small particles will stick to our lungs when inhaled.

One of the greatest challenges to finding concrete information for verifying what’s true and what isn’t is that thunderstorms are local and often fleeting incidents.

According to an article by the Columbian, Elizabeth Matsui, an associate professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, confirms that “the phenomenon exists … the thing about these studies is that they are very hard to do; that they’re all retrospective means that it’s very hard to extrapolate any information about one particular study to all thunderstorm asthma.”

Grains of pollen, particularly weeds and grasses, and mold spores, especially Cladosporium and Alternaria, are thought to be primary enactors of thunderstorm asthma.

While the incidents of these kinds of asthma attacks remain under study, be sure to protect yourself and those you love with the best air purifier for allergies and contact US Air Purifiers Direct 2U. We’re committed to helping you find exactly what you need for the home or office and to making sure you understand all of the benefits of air purifiers.