According to weather forcasters summer has arrived - am stocking up on Ventolin, pred and suntan lotion!! Any tips on how to help lungs behave as heat is my main trigger?
Summer's here!!: According to weather... - Asthma Community ...
Summer's here!!
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Hi there,
I know how you feel, on the one hand, it is nice to see a bit of sun after weeks of rain, but on the other hand, the old lungs don't like it very much! And don't even start on BBQ smoke... luckily I can make hubby cook on the BBQ at the end of the garden whilst I sit at the other end out of harms way and sip Pimms!
It's well worth investing in an air conditioning unit for your bedroom, if you can afford it. My grandparents bought me one last year during the heat wave and it was a godsend and probably kept me out of hospital for a few weeks. It has to be a proper air con unit that vents through the wall to the outside world, not a fan type one that just moves the air around. The one I've got is a brand called Airforce, it was from B&Q and from memory it cost about £400. It cools the room wonderfully - to the point where you need your duvet, if you want it to - and in fact is powerful enough so that if we shut all the other doors upstairs and downstairs and leave the bedroom door open it will cool the landing and the dining room, where we are currently sleeping. It also acts as a dehumidifier and an ioniser, if you believe such things help your asthma (well, it works as those things even if you don't believe they help, but you know what I mean!). All in all an investment that was well worth it - although it's easy for me to say that, since I didn't pay for mine! And, yes, I know that they are not very environmentally friendly - but I shouldn't think that Intensive Care admissions do much for my carbon footprint either!
Otherwise, I find it's just a case of playing it by ear and staying in if things are too unpleasent out there, if you can. You can get pollen count and air quality updates on the BBC website as well as on here, I think? Those little hand fans can be quite good for relieving that stifling sensation of the air being made of treacle, although I'm sure they don't actually do much in the way of preventing heat induced attacks. I also find that if I do want to sit outside (which I do!) early evening is by far the best time, when it's cooler and the pollen seems to have died down a bit.
Enjoy the sun if you can!
Em H
if you find anything that works sarah please let me know my lungs are in a great big strop at mo so not impressed and as can't cope with air con now either cud b fun.
good luck
I'm not a lover of air conditioners. I find that using a cheap spray water bottle (the kind you have for spraying plants) is a great cheap (though temporary) solution to clear the air and give some respite. I spray it up and into the room or even better if you have a fan spray it in front so it can spread it about even more efficiently. I alsos use it for spraying nightclothes, pillows and bedding to ease the temprature at night. Without my bottle I would end up collapsed in a corner due to either heat exhaustion or a dicky chest.
air conditioners
I always find I am much better in the car, which has air con, in hot weather so I invested in a unit for the bedroom. It is a real help. If thinking of buying one try going out in a car with one first and see if it helps. I also find a dehumidifier works.
The air con in the car is both a blessing and a problem to me - its great to be able to cool the car down, but I usually find it starts to affect my chest after about 10 mins or so and on longer journeys it can be pretty uncomfortable and tight.
Not sure if its jus the cold air or if it also means that pollen etc is ciruclating around more.
Kat
I think the care air con starts to give off some chemical pollutant after a while - Ozone I think! I too have to turn it off after a while.
You can get water sprayers with fans attacjed! Usually cheapy type shops such as poundland etc
Kate
hi all
At my last occ health appt they insited I got a desk fan - I was sceptical at 1st, but have found it really useful when hot and sticky - as Kate says - doesn't help heat induced attached, but does make you feel more comfortable before that stage, and i've found also helps to move the air a bit so helps breathing a wee bit
could always move to Aberdeen, where summer is most certainly not here yet!
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