Summer and your asthma
In our in-house GP, Dr Andy’s latest blog, he shares tips on keeping up doing the things that keep you well, even when everything else is out of routine.
I am sitting here writing this blog with the sun shining outside. There is a gentle breeze – a far cry from the strong winds of the weekend, the very heavy rains of recent weeks or the oppressive heat of last month. This is a typical British summer; a little bit of everything!
Today is nice. Not too hot, not too windy, not too wet. Pollen and pollution levels are both low on the BBC weather pages - another two things that can unsettle some people’s lungs at this time of year.
I am hearing from many of my patients that this last month or so has been dreadful for their lungs, largely due to the very high pollen levels. A lot of people have been getting more chest symptoms: coughing, more phlegm, more breathlessness. Many have been contacting the surgery feeling like they have a chest infection. Normally this is a quiet time for GP surgeries, but it seems as busy as winter.
Summer holidays and asthma routines
The summer, and holiday times in general, are a time when many people get out of their normal routines. Some people are doing new activities, or not doing their normal activities, or spending more time in places where there are different triggers. Because of this, quite a few people forget to take their usual (preventer) medicine.
Preventer medicines take time to build up protection in the lungs, which means that more people are at risk of asthma symptoms and asthma attacks in the autumn and winter. I try to urge my patients to find ways of keeping up good habits, even when everything else is out of routine. Keep your reliever medication (if you have any) with you at all times and make sure you have enough supplies with you if you are going away.
Of course, if you have an asthma action plan, keep it handy. This could be a paper copy or a photo on your mobile phone, so that you know what to do if your symptoms start up. If you don’t have one, visit the Asthma UK website, where you can download an asthma action plan or print one off.
If you haven’t checked your inhaler technique for a while, take a watch of our short inhaler videos. Improving your inhaler technique will help you get the best out of your asthma medicine and reduce the chance of side effects. You can also ask your pharmacist, GP or asthma nurse to check your inhaler technique.
The NHS is starting to get more information about this year’s flu programme and the COVID-19 booster campaign. Keep an eye on the Asthma UK website for more information, but you should start to hear more from your GP surgery soon about what is happening in your area.
I hope that you make the most of any nice weather and take some time to relax (especially if you have got a holiday planned or time off work and school). Keep doing the things that keep you well – I hope this allows you to enjoy the summer and spend some quality time with family and friends.
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