When the Weather Makes It Hard to Breathe
小的临时的变化erature and humidity can make a big difference in how you feel when you have COPD. Here’s what to look out for.
曾经想过为什么你的慢性阻塞性肺病（或者知道它，COPD）似乎在下雨时变得更糟？或者为什么你刮胡子时会更喘不过何？谈到copd和天气时，两个单词适用：金发姑娘原则。
Like the three bears’ porridge, the weather can be too hot, too cold, and occasionally, just right for people with COPD. “Everyone is different, but in general, if you have obstructive lung disease, it’s the extremes in weather that can really present problems,” says Gabriel Lockhart, M.D., a pulmonologist in the division of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at National Jewish Health Hospital in Denver.
Take a look at how common weather conditions can affect your COPD and follow our experts' advice for breathing easier, no matter what the day brings.
预测：高湿度
“Humidity is one of the biggest issues for patients with COPD,” says Megan Dulohery Scrodin, M.D., a pulmonology specialist and co-director of the COPD Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. “In times of high humidity, it is frequently more difficult to breathe. This increased shortness of breath can cause a COPD patient to develop more coughing or wheezing.”
Exacerbating matters, high humidity can make mold and other airborne allergens worse. The ideal humidity level for people with COPD is 30% to 50%, says Dr. Lockhardt. But unless you live in regions like the American Southwest, those conditions can be hard to come by on a regular basis. And in some areas of the country, like the Pacific Northwest, days of 60% or higher humidity far outweigh low humidity ones.
处理这些条件的解决方案并不完全革命：“一般来说，在高湿度期间，我们建议COPD患者尽量避免在外面敞口，”Dulohery Scriot博士说。此外，考虑在室内运行除湿器 - 特别是在卧室里，晚上睡个好觉。
预测：热波
如果湿度呼吸艰难，炎热的天气使其变得更加强硬。洛克哈特博士说：“当高湿度环绕时，问题可能会恶化。”“Even people who don’t have lung disease can feel like they’re suffocating outside and ‘swimming’ through hot, humid air." If you have COPD, high heat can aggravate the condition. (There is no official temperature above which COPD symptoms can flare, but temps in the 80s and 90s will likely make your breathing worse.)
热量与另一个折磨器密切相关：高臭氧。“炎热的一天往往是污染的一天，或高颗粒 - 物质日，”约翰霍普金斯大学医学教授Greg Diette，M.D。专门从事哮喘和阻塞性肺病。“那些污染物对肺有超级刺激性，特别是如果你试图运动 - 他们会导致你过度通气。”如果您有足够的运动，有氧运动尤为重要，所以不要放弃锻炼！相反，在晚上或晚上，当温度最低，或者将您的会议移动到健身房或空调客厅时，尝试在户外或晚上锻炼身体。
预测：低湿度
What about dry air? It seems counterintuitive that it would be a problem, but like Goldilocks’ too-hot and too-cold porridge, it turns out, dry air can be as big of a stressor on your lungs as overly moist air. “This hospital was founded over a century ago with the idea that all the sunshine and low humidity here in Colorado would be beneficial, especially to tuberculosis patients,” says Dr. Lockhart of National Jewish. “But some people have trouble with dry air as well. For instance, if you are a person who produces a fair amount of mucus, low humidity can actually dry out your lungs, meaning even though you have a persistent cough, you can’t cough up what you need to in order to feel better.”
您可以通过在家庭或工作区中使用加湿器来找到一些缓解。一定要清洁加湿器每周 - 细菌可以在坦克中积聚，你不希望机器喷出更多垃圾进入你呼吸的空气中。
Forecast: Freezing Temps
寒冷的天气？也不是你的朋友。随着Temps朝向冻结标记的，您的支气管内的几率（肺部拧紧气道）或支气管关系上升。冷空气还可以引发呼吸急促和喘息的喘息。“吸入冷空气使你的航空公司收缩，”迪维特博士说。“这对任何人发生了，但对于具有像COPD这样的疾病的人尤其如此，因为你的航空公司可能已经有些收缩，并且比平均水平”。
您可以在冬季为寒冷的条件进行冬季帮助您的原因。“如果你出去，盖住你的嘴巴，鼻子可以减少击中你的气道的冷空气量，”Dulery Scriot博士说。温暖的围巾会做诀窍，或寻找颈部绑架（在大多数户外运动店出售），在脖子上，可以在你呼吸时升温，以温暖空气。它也可能有助于使用your rescue bronchodilator (short-acting meds that can provide quick relief) before going outside if you plan to be active, says Nikita Desai, M.D. a pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
预测：大风日
如果你走出走了，这是一个明确的，温和的日子，不要假设你从树林里脱颖而出。一个简短的预测可以在自己的讨厌问题中吹嘘。“特别是在空气中存在灰尘或其他颗粒的干燥区域，风可能会导致呼吸道症状的增加，如呼吸短促，咳嗽和喘息，”Dulery Scriot博士说。“此外，一些地区的高风可以从甚至关闭的森林火灾中带来烟雾，这使得呼吸系统症状更糟。”
Seasonal changes—particularly spring into summer—can add to symptoms as pollen soars through the air on windy days. “When seasons change, some people with COPD will experience more allergic reactions—their eyes are itchy, they have more postnasal drip—and that can cause some worsening of their cough as well as shortness of breath,” says Dr. Lockhart. Face masks may help (there are a lot of cool styles available on the internet, so you don’t have to look like you just escaped your hospital bed if you wear one) or wrap a scarf high over your mouth to provide some blockage between you and the elements.
Bottom line: In the perfect world, temperatures would hover at 65°F, humidity would rest around 40%, and the sky would be blue and windless every day, all year long. In reality, weather is never that cooperative and you have a busy life to live, COPD be damned. Knowing what to expect before you step out the front door can give you a head start on whatever Mother Nature has in store.
COPD和天气:国际慢性阻塞性肺疾病杂志。（2014）。“COPD恶化季节变异的原因和后果。”ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4199860/
COPD and Humidity:International Journal of Biometeorology。(2017). “Synergistic Effects of Temperature and Humidity on the Symptoms of COPD Patients.”
COPD and Cold:European Respiratory Review。(2006). “How Different Measures of Cold Weather Affect Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Hospital Admissions in London.”
COPD and Heat: Johns Hopkins University. (2014). “Indoor and Outdoor Heat Exposure Is Associated with Increased COPD Morbidity.”
COPD and Pollution:国际慢性阻塞性肺疾病杂志。（2016）。“主要的空气污染物和COPD恶化的风险：系统审查和荟萃分析。”ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5161337/
COPD and Pollution:European Respiratory Journal。(2019). “Air Pollution, Lung Function and COPD: Results from the Population-Based UK Biobank Study.”
