See What ‘Storm Asthma’ Is Attacking Even Non-Asthmatics

With the onset of the rainy season in Brazil, a respiratory illness that can cause asthma – even in people who don’t have symptoms of the disease – is a worrying and need-to-know factor. about this “storm hung”triggered when the grass pollen count is high and a thunderstorm occurs on the ground.

In an article published on the website Speech Last week (6) researchers found that during the pollen season that occurs in the Southern Hemisphere in September and October, these tiny grains produced by angiosperm flowers can worsen allergic rhinitis, asthmatic conditions, and in some cases, . storm triggers asthma.

Although rare, storm asthma events can be overwhelming. Heavy rain occurred during grass pollen season in Melbourne, Australia in November 2016, brought at least 10,000 people affected by respiratory attacks to healthcare overnight. Ten people died at that time.

What is storm asthma?

Storm asthma arises from a combination of two conditions: occurrence of thunderstorms and high pollen counts. In this way, the former causes a drop in temperature and a sudden increase in humidity, so that pollen grains that are normally too large to be inhaled break down into microparticles that easily reach the inside of the lungs.

Storm caused in Melbourne pollen produced by grass, a type of pasture spread all over the city, usually planted during the winter months. In Brazil, the plant spread to the Southern region a few years ago to be used as fodder for cattle during the winter, but is now classified as a weed in almost all crops, according to the Aegro software website.

According to the São Paulo association Crônicos do Dia a Dia, some preventative measures for storm asthma include:

• take a testTo find out if you have a pollen allergy, and if so:
• take preventive medicine before and during the pollen season;
• have an up-to-date asthma action plan;
• stay inside during the stormwindows are closed.