Water/dampness as a trigger

Me again!

Does anyone else have water/dampness as a trigger? I can usually tell when we are in for rain as my chest goes tight - even if the sun is still shining!

Heidi x

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Hello Heidi

I find that when I get into the shower my chest tightens but maybe this could be the chemicals in the water.

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The damp weather always irritates my chest, along with my sinuses. Really not looking forward to April showers.

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my peak flow is always really low after i shower, and i am really tight chested, which i always found strange because isnt it supposed to open your airways?

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I too have humid air as a trigger. I thought 'normal' asthmatics would enjoy humidity and 'cause I'm not 'average' that's why I don't ( It makes me grow tight - I hate any additional particles in the air, it seems, wheter it is water, perfume or smoke... ) but having read these comments of yours I'm starting to wonder, if this is again one of those things where there is, as a rule, huge variation between persons..

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humidity

I find humid air really bad, to the extent I had to give up swimming. I couldn't cope with the warm moist air. Even odder I find cold air really helps so I now go ice skating regularly and find my breathing much better and my peak flow way up when I have been on the ice.

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I have the exact same problem! I can actually predict the weather now! If i wake up in the morning, i have ...well, its like an itchy feeling in my chest, and i dont even have to look outside. I know its raining. Or it will rain. I'm glad i'm not the only person!

But i find if im in the shower and the doors closed, and its a bit steamy that my asthma starts up. Although if I come out of the room, I dont need to take my inhaler. Just be careful that's all. Actually I find that with a lot of things, if you calm yourself down, and relax, sometimes you dont need to take your inhaler at all.

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Welcome nat to the forum!

I see you joined us only today

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Hi Nat

welcome to the forum!

I also find that sometimes if I relax and think about something else I don't need to take my inhaler, especially when I'm at work, my job is really stressful (nursery nurse!) and I think when you are stressed you tend to breathe faster, which might be why calming down and relaxing seems to help

Lejaya x

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rising damp!

...Hi Heidi, Water or dampness has always been bad news for me too. A trigger for both rhinitis and asthma. Today the weather has been a bit damp and my chest is likewise. I love to have a bath, but sometimes wish I hadn't due to slight chestiness afterwards. A quick shower or rub down and rapid exit from the bathroom is always the safer option, but it must be done.

I learned at the end of my teens that it was important to wash! No joke. The point is that even the build up of natural perspiration is potentially lethal! When I was 19 I discovered that if I was having one of those 5am wheezy attacks I could more or less cure it by getting some hot water going and washing and thoroughly drying my torso, in particular my back. I would then replace my top with a thick woolly jumper and go back to bed and ease myself back to sleep for another hour or two. So I began to have a complete wash down and change of clothes every morning and late afternoon/early evening.

I am sure that I sweat no more than anyone else, but do have a hyper sensitivity to damp, which can include my own quite average perspiration...

If I put on a pair of socks that I have worn for too long I find my rhinitis will start, and if I have just left the house I have to turn back and change into a fresh 'dry' pair - if I don't the wheeze will surely follow! Welcome to my crazy life!!!

I also tend to go for shirts of soft material that are likely to be absorbent. The best shirt I have is one with an absorbent lining all over the inside, but do you know try as I may I cannot find another one anywhere! The best I can find is lining around the top of the back and shoulder area in outdoor or winter sports stores..

For me the cold damp air of winter is the worst, especially when misty. When going out I will always wear a scarf round my neck, with some of it wrapped around my mouth and nose. I breathe through the scarf, to avoid the cold wet stuff! Comfortable water-proof boots are another useful item!

Having said all of the above I can honestly say that this condition has not prevented me from doing things and enjoying the great outdoors, and even trading at a market stall but I have had to tweek my clothing to suit a bit more than most people!!!

All the best and good luck with your battles with the damp! - and have fun with the weather forecasting!

Twizzle

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Mine too it also seems to play up when the seasons change and when you get mist on the fields in the morning that affects me too.