A pharmacist has urged those who have been diagnosed with asthma or hay fever to "stay indoors" during thunderstorms, amid an spike of 'thunderstorm asthma' attacks.
Thunderstorm asthma happens during high humidity and strong winds, as electrical charges in thunderstorms rupture pollen grains into smaller particles, causing a "pollen burst," Abbas Kanani, pharmacist at Chemist Click Online Pharmacy, explains.
Speaking to The Mirror, he added: "These smaller pollen particles are then dispersed in the air and can be easily inhaled deep into the lungs. As the pollen particles generated during a thunderstorm are smaller, they're more likely to reach the lower respiratory tract compared to larger, heavier particles that typically settle in the upper airways."
