Winter can be a potentially dangerous time of year for people with asthma as it brings two challenges. One is spending more time inside, and the other is the cold temperature outside. Cold weather can trigger asthma symptoms and flare-ups for many people, especially when the air is dry. Symptoms of asthma in the colder months can be worse than usual, more difficult to control or occur more often in the winter. So, how does winter affect asthma, and what can we do to manage it?
Effects of Winter Weather
Weather and temperature fluctuations can inflame airways and trigger asthma flares. For people with bronchial tubes that are already inflamed, cold weather can cause significant breathing issues. Colder air can trigger asthma symptoms and flare-ups, especially when the air is dry. For many people with asthma, it’s the dryness in cold air that can lead to breathing problems. Cold air accompanied by windy conditions can also trigger symptoms. In general, the more severe your asthma is, the more likely cold air is to affect you.
Cold weather is a common asthma trigger. When someone with asthma breathes in cold, dry air, it can make the muscles inside start to spasm while also trying to keep airways open. Cold air can cause the fluid that protects your airways to evaporate, which can irritate and inflame them. It can also cause your airways to constrict, making it harder to breathe. This can lead to breathing problems like coughing, wheezing, and breathlessness. It can worsen symptoms or cause an asthma flare-up.
The colder weather makes your body produce more mucus, but it’s thicker and stickier than normal. This extra mucus makes you more likely to catch a cold or other infection. Cold air can weaken your immune system, making it harder to fight off respiratory infections such as colds, flu, and other respiratory infections that tend to circulate during the winter months. These infections are also known exacerbate asthma symptoms.
Cold air can also cause airways to produce a substance called histamine, which is the same chemical your body makes during an allergy attack. Histamine triggers wheezing and other asthma symptoms.
While exercise is good for you, cold weather can make it harder. Breathing through your nose in cold weather may be easier on your body, but physical activity often forces you to breathe through your mouth which brings the cold, dry air straight to your airways which can dry your airways out and cause asthma symptoms to flare up.
Wintertime and cold air mean more time indoors, where dust, mold, and pet dander flourish. These allergens can be triggers for asthma symptoms in some people.
Some practical tips to help keep cold air from causing an asthma flare:
- Use a short-acting albuterol inhaler at the first sign of symptoms to keep asthma from worsening.
- Staying inside as often as you can allows you to breathe warmer air which will help open your airways. However, it is important to make sure there are no indoor allergens and irritants.
- Use humidifiers in your home just be sure they are free of mold.
- Wash hands frequently.
- Get the flu vaccine and stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines.
- Stay up to date on the weather forecast and try to stay inside on the very coldest days.
- When out in the cold, keep your mouth and nose shielded with a scarf to warm the air before you breathe it in.
Takeaways
Talk to your physician about a long-term treatment plan if you experience symptoms more frequently in cold weather months. If you are prescribed an inhaler or other medication to manage your asthma, don’t skip using it when you’re feeling fine. It is important to always follow the plan you have in place to avoid unnecessary flare-ups.
For asthma sufferers, colder months can be a recipe for flare-ups, with severe asthma symptoms becoming more frequent or uncontrolled. West Tennessee Medical Group has pulmonologists who can help treat and manage your asthma in the winter and all year long. To schedule an appointment, click here.
