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Thunderstorms Lead to Asthma Attacks

Posted by michael on from the cough-cough-wheeze dept.

Bill Kendrick writes "New York Times (free reg, blah blah) reports on a study that finds thunderstorms can cause asthma attacks. They suspect rain and gusts dislodge fungus spores into the air, and suggest folks with sever asthma "stay indoors" after thunderstorms."

2 of 19 comments (clear)

  1. Other causes? by lommer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The article is a bit light on details, but could there be other causes for the spike in asthma after a thunderstorm? For example, when lightning occurs, ozone (O3) is generated. Is it possible that an increased O3 level has some effect? Or how about just plain humidity? Given that there is no causal link, and that they didn't explore a correlation with high winds (which would presumably also stir up allergens), I think it is premature to jump to that conclusion.

  2. Another explanation by jeorgen · · Score: 1, Interesting
    A very elegant explanation of the cause for asthma is that it's due to subtle chronic hyperventilation. Asthma is simply a protection mechanism against the depletion of carbon dioxide in the body. Some people have genetic predisposition for this protection. CO2 is needed to balance the immune system and to relax muscle tissue, among other things. A thunderstorm imposes stress and that is enough to trigger the protection mechanism.

    Many people , bear witness of how they have rid themselves of asthma by recalibrating their CO2 tolerance to sane levels.

    And you can do this on your own, although there are people in many countries(not in mine though) that can help you with it.

    /jeorgen