JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you suffer from certain respiratory conditions, your lungs may feel the effects of the hot and humid air.
Allergist Dr. Sunil Joshi said asthma is one of those conditions.
“With asthma, in particular, the humidity is a non-specific trigger, so when you combine that with the heat, it, causes our bronchial tubes to constrict,” Joshi said. “And when you combine that with having an illness or being dehydrated, or picking up a virus, you can have severe asthma consequences where oxygen levels go down and you feel very uncomfortable.”
Oxygen therapy could be a solution because it can provide temporary relief.
People with asthma will become hypoxic, meaning their oxygen levels will decrease and that makes it hard for the blood to take oxygen to the brain and other parts of the body.
Joshi said COPD, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain mental illnesses, diabetes and obesity could also contribute to putting a strain on the respiratory system when temperatures get extremely hot, especially considering those medical conditions could be genetic.
Joshi demonstrated how the lungs are affected by adverse temps.
“As you’re breathing in more humid air, hot air, or the opposite, very cold and dry air, as that air is coming into the lungs, if it’s not typical body temperature, the lungs are not used to that,” Joshi said. “So, the way the lungs try to react to stimuli that may be interfering with normal production is to constrict. It’s trying to keep those stimuli out of the airway. So, the bronchial tubes constrict and produce more mucus and what happens to you is you have a harder time getting air in; getting oxygen into your bloodstream.”
When that happens, Joshi said it can also put a strain on your heart.