Londoners with lung conditions were on Wednesday urged to be “extra cautious” amid fears that soaring pollen levels could increase the risk of asthma attacks.
Pollen levels have been rising this week and are expected to peak at ‘very high’ across most of England, including the capital and the South East.
Asthma + Lung UK is urging people with lung conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to take precautions to protect their health. In April, the charity’s helpline received 397 calls relating to pollen and hay fever and 407 calls last month.
Erika Radford, Head of Health Advice at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “Rising pollen levels can be very problematic for people with lung conditions like asthma and COPD. It can make someone’s lung condition symptoms much worse or lead to a potentially life-threatening asthma attack or COPD flare-up.
“When pollen particles are breathed in, they can cause inflammation in the airways and get into the lungs, making it harder for those with lung conditions to breathe.
“This can be terrifying. However, if you have a lung condition such as asthma and you are affected by pollen, there are things you can do to protect yourself. Using your preventer inhaler every day as prescribed is very important as the medicine dampens down swelling and inflammation in the airways. This means you are less likely to react badly to a trigger like pollen. “
The charity has urged anyone with a lung condition to keep windows and doors closed, take antihistamine medication and keep a reliever inhaler nearby in case of breathing difficulty.
In a recent survey by the charity, 47 per cent of people with asthma and 27 per cent of people with COPD, said pollen was a trigger for their condition, causing a flare up of their symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, a tight chest and breathlessness.
Hay fever is usually at its worst between March and September when the pollen count is at its highest and the weather can be warm, windy and humid.
NHS England, which runs the NHS.uk website, said that there were 122,650 visits to the hay fever section of the website in the first week of June.
Symptoms of hay fever can include: sneezing and coughing; a runny or blocked nose and itchy, red or watery eyes.
