Not sure if I'm writing on the correct post as this is my first time writing on here. But would appreciate any advice you can give.
I have COPD and chronic sinusitis . I have my regular Inhalers that im normally ok on and also on Azithromycin 3 time's a week. And steroid spray for my sinusitis. However
I have found when I go abroad on holiday I get really ill , a terrible choking cough that I can't sleep or breathe hardly, it's very scary not to mention debilitating as i can't hardly do anything. I take my emergency antibiotics and steroids but to no avail. I met a woman once in Gran Canaria who said it was the desert sand blowing over and there was an actual name for it that I can't find anywhere on Google etc.I'm missing going away because it really affects me. My question being does anyone no what this condition is called? And is there anything else I can do apart from not to go
Many thanks for your time.
Written by
Pollyposh1
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If you are going somewhere hot then, unfortunately, the answer is yes.
Hot weather worsens airway inflamation & also dries out mucus membranes causing irritation. Both of these can make breathing significantly worse. People with severe COPD are advised to stay indoors during hot weather.
First I assume you fly? Have you checked if this is the cause? It is a long time since I did but I have been warned of its possible effects.
Next the air we breath varies. Close to the sea the oxygen available can be less easy to assimilate.
Gran Canaria is a I believe volcanic - is the sulphur content pf the air higher?
Sorry to mention this as a onetime lover of the vine but alcohol can be bad for breathing. Do you drink more or differently? Clear drink tends to be less harmful than red and brown.
And finally, hot air is harder to handle for your lungs than cool.
Thank you for your reply Timberman. Sounds like I'm destined to stay in rainy Britain. Joking aside. It seems places like Egypt Tunisia Gran Canaria I have gotten really ill even in the Netherlands. Greece I seem to have been a bit better that is why I was wondering about the actual places themselves are some worse than others? Perhaps the plane is something to consider and alcohol maybe obviously being on holiday tend to assume more.
Until I ended up on 24x7 oxygen we spent each winter three months (Dec , Jan, Feb) in southern Spain. The weather was brilliant, 20-25 mostly and the air clean. The Med is a calm sea so O3 was not a serious problem. I loved it; it loved me. Covid stopped it and by the time we could get back I was not well enough for the long driving haul and never fancied flying with Oxygen.
Aww that's a shame sorry to hear that. So do you think Spain is maybe a better place to go then regards air quality admittedly I went many years ago and wasn't too bad there though I wasn't as ill then. Thanks again for your reply.
We avoided major towns where the air quality can be poor. And being close to any of their A road would be unwise. In addition the Spanish do still burn a lot of wood so you need to be careful not to be downwind of any large farms et5c.
We found good locations in the following areas of Andalucia:
Mojacar, Almeria
Salobrena and Almunecar, Malaga
Conil la Frontera. Cadiz
Mazarron, Murcia
We had a caravan for some time so visited many more locations in fact.
I would add that the Algarve in Spain is lovely but its is the Atlantic coast and so cooler, wilder and the sea can be very rough.
The air condition in the Canaries when Sahara dust is in the air is called Calima, and could certainly affect your breathing. They recommend anyone with breathing problems to stay indoors. What time of the year do you like to go abroad, we always go during the cooler months, late spring/Autumn or in the Canaries even December and January? I'm OK at the moment when going abroad, however I sometimes have to use my 'reliever' inhaler more often than I do at home.
Thank you Welshcatlady that is the name I was looking for. I literally could hardly get a breath when I was there. It was a lady who was telling me it was the desert sand blowing over. That's what I'm trying to avoid if possible. As it lasted several days its hard to just stay indoors no point in going really. Does this happen in all countries abroad do you know? We tend to go May or September .
As far as I know it's just the Canaries, but with the extreme weather conditions happening lately who knows. The problem is you just don't know when it's going to happen. We were in Tenerife last December and the weather was great, not too hot in the day and no Saharan dust.
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