High humidity tough on lung patients

This has been an awesome summer of warm weather, yet it's also been a summer of extreme humidity. While we hate to complain about the warm weather, the high humidity that comes with it can make breathing hard for us chronic lungers.

Yes that's true. And that in mind, I've decided this is a great time to republish a post I wrote a while ago at MyAsthmaCentral.com about the effects of humidity on anyone with a lung condition.

High and Low Humidity Not Good for Asthma

Rick Frea, Wednesday, July 15, 2009, @MyAsthmaCentral.com

It's roasting outside, yet the sun beaming down on Jake Gallant as he rests in his beach chair feels great. The warm breeze wafting over his bare chest feels great too. He closes his eyes and listens to the soporific, relaxing sound of waves.

"This is the kind of weather I'd like to pack into a bottle to open in the dog days of winter," he thinks, "except for one thing: the dog gone humidity make the air heavy to breath."

As anyone with a chronic lung disease will attest to, humidity can make air harder to inhale. Although, as the Asthma Educator's Handbook notes, humidity alone cannot trigger an asthma attack.

That in mind, here is the latest wisdom regarding high humidity and asthma:

• An ARIC report notes that areas with a relative humidity lower than 50% had fewer "rates of asthma."
• The report also states that "every 10% increase in indoor humidity was associated with a 2.7% increase in the prevalence of asthma."
• The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) states high humidity levels also have a tendency to be harboring grounds for fungus and molds that might bother asthmatics.
• When humidity is greater than 50%, the amount of dust mites in the air is increased.

So now that you know high humidity is not particularly good for asthma, what can you do about it?

According to the American Lung Association, "Air-conditioning can help. It allows windows and doors to stay closed. This keeps some pollen and mold spores outside. It also lowers indoor humidity. Low humidity helps to control mold and dust mites."

Another solution, if you can't afford air conditioning, is to have a dehumidifier in your home. This is a little more work as you have to empty it once or twice a day, but it works to keep the humidity down.

Years ago doctors recommended asthmatics move to warmer, and drier climates like that of Arizona. Today doctors no longer recommend this because of technology like dehumidifiers and airconditioners that allow asthmatics to control the climate in their homes, and modern medicines that allow for better control of asthma.

While we see why high levels of humidity are bed for asthmatics, it's also important to make sure you don't make the air too dry. I say this because new research shows that air that is too dry is not good for asthma either. AAAAI.org reports that if the relative humidity is less than 15%, this may trigger an excessive cough for asthmatics.

Low humidity can irritate asthma because it dries out the mucous membranes lining your airway, which are your body's natural defenses against foreign bodies such as viruses and bacteria. Thus, dry mucous membranes make you more susceptible to catching diseases like the common cold virus or influenza. If that's not enough, dry mucous membranes also have the tendency to aggravate allergy symptoms.

In the winter months, the air tends to get very dry, the humidity too low. You can tell when your skin and lips become itchy and chapped and your throat, dry. If the humidity gets too low you can use a humidifier.

Perhaps you're thinking, "How can I win? I can't have humidity too high and I can't have it too low either."

The answer, according to AAAAI.org, is for "asthmatic patients to aim for a 'happy medium' relative humidity in their homes, monitoring their home humidity regularly with a reliable gauge."

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends humidity be set between 35% and 50%.

I'm not endorsing a prouct here, but you can use a humidity monitor like some of the ones at Amazon.com.

The majority of us asthmatics should be able to control our asthma just fine simply by keeping in touch with our doctor and by making sure we take our asthma meds exactly as prescribed. With well controlled asthma, we should all be able to get outside and enjoy the warm, humid, summer weather like Jake Gallant.

Yet, if high humidity continues to pose a problem for your breathing this summer, setting up your home with air conditioning is a great option. You can close all the windows, crank up the air, and enjoy the cool, refreshing, easy-to-breathe air.