Hot Sticky Summer Days Can Pose Risks for Children With Asthma

In Houston, we experience a high number of ozone days during the summer.  For some children and adolescents, prolonged outdoor exposure can trigger asthma attacks.  Watch for "ozone alert" days.  Dr. Susarla

Avoiding asthma dangers on hot, humid days

It’s been hot all week -- okay, make that all summer -- in Boston, with air quality alertsissued as the temperature and humidity level climb. Poor air quality can pose particular dangers for those who have asthma and other lung diseases.

Hot humid air traps ozone and particulate matter, which can irritate the lining of lung airways, triggering wheezing and breathing difficulties in asthma patients, according to Dr. Elliot Israel, director of the respiratory therapy department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“For some patients, irritation builds over time and they experience problems after several poor air quality days, but for others it takes just one blast,” Israel said.

Asthma sufferers shouldn’t run around outdoors on humid days that hit 90 degrees or above, Israel recommended. “Don’t do a 40-minute run if that’s what you usually do. Stick with a 10-minute run in the morning and a 10-minute run in the evening.”

In fact, he offers that same advice for anyone during hot sticky weather. Humidity increases the possibility of heat-related illnesses because our body’s cooling mechanisms don’t work as well on humid days. Instead of our sweat evaporating, as it would in dry heat, it clings to our skin, trapping heat.

But it’s tough to tell a 9-year-old with asthma that he can’t play capture the flag or soccer at an outdoor summer camp for days on end.

On “yellow” air-quality days like today -- which means the air quality is acceptable for most but may pose some problems for those with lung conditions -- kids with asthma can probably continue their normal actitivities but should keep their inhaler on hand just in case they need to use it more. But if it’s a hazardous air quality day -- an orange or red on the air quality index -- they should head for sitting activities in the shade and stick to indoor exercise in an air conditioned facility, Israel recommended.

An estimated 4,500 Americans die every year from asthma attacks, including former Globe reporter Anthony Shadid.

“Commonsense is what’s needed on those bad air days,” he said, “and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Those who experience an aggravation of their lung condition due to the heat -- uncontrolled wheezing, shortness of breath, or an inability to speak in complete sentences -- should seek immediate medical attention.

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