With rainy and wet weather conditions that followed a record-breaking heatwave, the NHS has now come out with important advice to anyone who has been prescribed an inhaler, as it’ll be more important than ever to carry it around with you. During the heatwave, temperatures skyrocketed the UK, with 35.1C measured in Kew Gardens, west London, and 32.9C recorded at Cardiff’s Bute Park, on Tuesday. Subsequently, however, the weather saw a big change on Monday (June 1), with heavy rain crossing the whole country and cooler weather to continue.
NHS’ Instagram post said: “Thunderstorm can trigger symptoms for those with lung conditions, like asthma.
“If the weather makes your symptoms worse and you need to use your inhaler more, talk to your pharmacist, contact your GP or NHS 111.”
In a recent survey made by the charity, 7 in 10 people said that changes in weather triggered their asthma, The Mirror reports.
As heatwaves are often followed by intense thunderstorms, people with certain health conditions, like asthma, need to be more vigilant.
According to Asthma + Lung UK, thunderstorms can trigger a person’s asthma, causing more attacks and making symptoms like breathlessness, wheezing and coughing worse. Sometimes, this is called thunderstorm asthma – a rare condition that does not affect all people with asthma, but that people are more likely to experience if a person has both asthma and hay fever.
There is also evidence that younger adults under 30 are more affected by thunderstorm asthma.
If you do experience thunderstorm asthma, there are things you can do to protect yourself, such as following the NHS’ advice of always keeping your inhaler near during thunderstorms.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
